While lead has many properties beneficial to mankind, including, but not limited to: high density, a relatively low melting point, resistance to oxidation and rust, and abundance, which leaves little question as to why it is used in bullets, weights, solder, radiation shields, and even batteries and plumbing, certain things humans take for granted, lead has many, many disadvantages. Lead is extremely toxic, and can be either swallowed, touched, or even inhaled, can affect many different parts of the body. Thus, the Flint Crisis is no laughing matter, and provides serious health concerns, as lead poisoning due to contaminated water is far from a modern occurrence.
Thousands of years ago, early civilizations could easily extract lead ore from the earth, from the mineral galena. Galena also contained silver, so they were often mined together and even held with the same respect. Many historians argue that, since lead is found in so many ancient artifacts, that it could very well have been one of the first metals, along with copper, that were mined. The ancient Egyptians used it in cosmetics and their fishing weights, and is even mentioned in the Old Testament, being described as the slag that came from silver ore. Often, elements such as Gold (Au) and Iron (Fe) get their chemical symbols from Latin root words. Lead is symbolized as (Pb) from the Latin word plumbum. From this root word came many things associated with lead, such as plumb bob, plumbata (A sort of Ancient Roman throwing dart) and perhaps most famously, plumbing, plumber and plumb lines, as Rome was the first civilization with a plumbing system, using pipes made from lead.
Only the rich, ruling classes of Rome’s finest could afford the exotic luxury of lead plumbing and fancy leaded wine casks. Thus, the wealthier Roman citizens often suffered insomnia, hallucinations, partial blindness, irritability, lowered fertility, and other signs of deteriorating mental health. Chemical analysis of human remains from Roman tombs reveal staggering, increasing concentrations of lead. Several Roman emperors could have suffered the effects of madness brought on by lead poisoning. The evidence of lead poisoning and madness is so abundant that many historians list lead poisoning as a factor contributing to the fall of the Roman Empire.
Lead was seldom used in the Middle Ages, only used in the making of stained glass windows. However, lead was called into action once again with the rise of the industrial revolution and modern cities. With modern cities came modern plumbing, and thus, the cycle began again, and has now only recently been called into concern due to several “lead crises” such as Washington’s, and more recent, Flint.
To quote the Washington Post: “Flint’s water was contaminated when a state-appointed emergency manager, in a cost-cutting move, switched the city’s water supply from the Detroit system to the Flint River. State environmental officials failed to ensure that anti-corrosive chemicals were added to the water, allowing lead to leech from aging pipes.”
Lead will enter drinking water when iron service pipes that contain lead corrode, especially where the water has high acidity or low mineral content that corrodes pipes and fixtures. High levels of iron in distributed drinking water have been tested, and contain trace amounts of lead. When iron corrodes, and flakes off from the inside of pipes, the lead solder can break off much easier, leading to many unfortunate lead poisoning cases.
Lead solder can even be found in chrome or brass-plated faucets, which, when introduced to hot water, will break off into what is supposed to be potable water. Hot water dissolves white, powdery lead, turning the water a sickly yellow color.
Per the Journal of Chemical Education: “Lead is relatively insoluble in sulfuric and hydrochloric acid, but will dissolve in hot, concentrated nitric acid. Lead is slowly oxidized and carbonated in moist air and may he attacked by either pure water or weak acids in the presence of oxygen to form lead hydroxide.”,
In lay man’s terms, neither foods nor beverages should he stored in fancy antique pewter or soldered cans, which contain highly dangerous amounts of lead. Lead is resistant to hard water, hydrogen. fluoride, brine, and most solvents and is used industrially for storage and transport of many solvents, including cold sulfuric acid.
Often used in batteries, workers in lead-battery industries suffer both neurologic and reproductive damage, developing weak, slow, mutated sperm cells. Thus, these workers have a lower fertility rate than similar workers in non-lead, blue-collar industries. Similar results were obtained for the female workers who had not only a lower fertility rate but also a higher incidence of spontaneous abortions and deformed babies than comparable female workers in non-lead industries.
An increase in fetal death rates arose during the Washington water crisis, which affected Washington DC from 2000 to 2004, peaking in 2001. Lead abortion pills were used in the early 1900s, and the use of new lead pipe in potable water systems for cities without proper maintenance increased fetal mortality nearly threefold. Stillborn children, impotence, and even miscarriages were the result of ingesting these pills and drinking contaminated water.
Young children, infants, and fetuses are particularly vulnerable to lead because the physical and behavioral effects of lead occur at lower exposure levels in children than in adults. A dose of lead that would have little effect on an adult can have a significant effect on a child, since children are still growing and developing. In children, even very low levels of exposure have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation and function of blood cells, all caused by stunted growth of the nervous system, a symptom of lead poisoning.
According to the EPA “Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures and solder. The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) has reduced the maximum allowable lead content -- that is, content that is considered "lead-free" -- to be a weighted average of 0.25 percent calculated across the wetted surfaces of pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings, and fixtures and 0.2 percent for solder and flux.”
Homes described above may have internal plumbing materials containing lead. Since one cannot see, taste, or smell lead dissolved in water, like you can with rusty water, testing is one of the only ways of telling whether if your water is safe to drink or not. Testing a home for contaminated water can cost up to $100, and is often less.
Many water filters and water treatment devices are certified by independent organizations for effective lead reduction, such as Brita filters, and as a more modern example, the Life Straw. Devices that are not designed to remove lead will not work, and should be tested often. One must verify the claims of manufacturers by checking with independent certifying organizations that provide lists of treatment devices they have certified.
In conclusion, lead poisoning can be found in all walks of life, and up until recent times, such as during Flint’s water crisis, Americans seldom worried about where, when and how lead worked. Only time will tell if Flint’s water crisis will be solved. Until then, the residents of Flint will need to rely on donated bottled water to use as potable water, which they’ll likely never see soon.
