More Lead In Our Drinking Water

[ScrewyBrewer]

We've all heard about the nightmare the people in Flint, Michigan are having with lead in their drinking water. Now there are also reports of lead in the drinking water in many schools in Newark, NJ too. As time goes on I think more and more water systems will be found to have unsafe levels of lead in their water too. As Americans we all walk around with smartphones, have tons of high tech equipment in our homes and cars yet drink water from pipes that were installed 100 years ago in many places.

Installing a Reverse Osmosis filter system in my home was the smartest thing I could have done considering the recent outcry about lead in our drinking water.

[Beer-lord]

I don't want to get political but where are our leaders and local, state and federal government who are supposed to be watching stuff exactly like this? This is sad, sad, sad that we are supposedly, the richest nation in the world and our drinking water isn't even safe. Makes me wonder about everything else like our food and medicine. It pisses me off!

I'm sure the RO companies are seeing a huge jump in demand for their products. Maybe the Borg should buy some stock in these companies right away.

[RickBeer]

Just to put it in perspective, many not-very-old homes have copper pipes with solder that is 50% tin and 50% lead, which was not banned until 1986, and was the most widely used solder for drinking water systems until them. That's why people say not to use hot water for drinking or cooking (more lead leaches), and to run your cold water for a short period to flush the line. Of course there's nothing that you can do as a homeowner if the pipes outside your home are lead or have lead solder in them.

[braukasper]

The saddest part of all this that Flint is being used for political ends. Lead in city water supplies has a long prevous history. With DC having already having lived the horror, we never heard about that or any of the other cities because they did not occur during a presdental election. I do not trust the Detroit water system either. Just waiting for that one to blow up.