US authorities distorting tests to downplay lead content of water | Hacker News Reader

US authorities distorting tests to downplay lead content of water

theguardian.com

9 pointsfinid3 comments

It seems to me that "flushing the pipes" in this manner would only affect the amount of lead due to joints within the house. It wouldn't hide a problem with the municipal water supply. So if not flushing causes the test to go over, the implied fix is for the owner to replumb (deplumb?) their house.

It would be nice if the article spent some time detailing the mechanics at work and resulting implications, rather than only touching upon the actual specifics once, spending most of the article beating around the bush with tangentially-related scare stories.

The current problem in Flint was caused by the Flint River being more corrosive than Lake Huron, not by lead contamination at the water source. The reason lead testing is done in houses instead of just at treatment plants is to make sure that even the water in houses with lead solder is safe.

>[...] houses built before 1987, when lead was banned for use in water pipes, often had lead solder joining copper pipes in home plumbing systems. In houses built before 1983, the solder has had time to build up a mineral coating that keeps lead from seeping into the water; in homes built between 1983 and 1986, seepage could occur, so the EPA orders regular testing of their water. [0]

[0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2004/04/04/wssc...

I suppose it gets to be a public health issue, but the problem still lies with the individual homes. If the pH is as basic as it can practically be, then what else can the water dept do? It's ultimately down to those individual home owners to run their tap before taking drinking water, and/or spend the money replumbing. And while such a testing bias could mean a public health issue goes undiagnosed, my problem is that the article is way too ambiguously alarmist while failing to mention even straightforward steps that individuals can take.

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