Lead in Drinking Water in Australia
Hazards associated with lead based solder on pipes

Factsheet written and illustrated by Patricia Parkinson, Lead Advisory Service Australia

In Australia, little is heard about drinking water as a source of lead poisoning, probably because – unlike Europe and the US – lead pipe plumbing is not widespread in Australian homes. The late Lead Reference Centre (a section of NSW Environment Protection Authority devoted to lead policy and education from 1997-9) has not even devoted a fact sheet to the subject. Nevertheless, it may be an issue worth investigating if your home was built prior to the 1930’s, when copper pipes replaced lead pipes.

The main concern, however, arises out of the common use of lead based solder on brass fittings and copper pipes up until as recently as 1989. As a result of corrosion, there is a potential for the lead to leach into the water after prolonged contact. It is therefore the consumption of first flush water – the first cup of tea in the morning – which presents a hazard.

This was demonstrated in a study conducted by Dr Brian Gulson, in 1992 in the Sydney suburbs of Turramurra, Burwood, and Epping and in Broken Hill in the far west of New South Wales. The study revealed that the lead levels in first flush tap water in many cases exceeded the acceptable level.

Further studies conducted in Perth (WA) in 1993 on cold water from kitchen taps have indicated that 5% of samples were above the acceptable lead level as defined by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), 2% were above the limit for cadmium and 12% above the limit for copper.

The maximum acceptable level of lead (and other heavy metals) in drinking water has been established by the NHMRC in the "Australian Drinking Water Guidelines" at 0.01 mg/L (lowered from 0.05 mg/L). And yes, as your plumber should be able to tell you, the use of lead based solder on drinking water pipes has been banned in Australia since 1989 (see box).

However, there is virtually no monitoring of the water quality at the kitchen tap. Water quality monitoring takes place before the water reaches your home, with the exception of the occasional monitoring at the garden tap. This is not going to tell you whether the water in your kitchen is safe after travelling in your plumbing system.

Here are some steps you can take to protect yourself and your family if you suspect that lead based solder was used in your home:

• If you do not know when or how your plumbing system was installed, you can collect a sample of water from your kitchen tap and send it to a laboratory for analysis;
• Flush your plumbing in the morning. It takes on average 10 litres – or one minute – of running water to flush each tap every morning (I know, this is not good for water conservation). This is however impractical in high rise buildings including most office buildings, due to the length of pipes;
• Avoid using hot water for drinking or cooking purposes (this advice applies equally to non-leaded plumbing systems - in order to reduce copper intake);
• Install a water filter.

You should definitely have your tap water tested for lead by a laboratory.
Phone the Global Lead Advice and Support Service - +61 2 9716 0132 or within Australia 1800 626 086 - or send an email from www.lead.org.au/cu.html with your name, Visa or Mastercard details, postal address, email address and phone number, to purchase a DIY Home Lead Assessment Kit.
See Do-It-Yourself-Lead-Safe-Test-Kits-20070526.html so you can specify if you need a Basic 2-sample kit for $80 or the Comprehensive 8-sample kit for $220. The Kit provides sample bottles and instructions for you to collect water sample/s (or roof paint or flashing sample/s etc), and the price covers the cost of the laboratory analysis for lead.
One quarter of the tank water samples tested in a Victorian study contained more than the acceptable drinking water level of lead. Lead contamination of tank water could be the result of lead paint or flashing on roofs, lead paint or soldering in the guttering, soft soldered tanks or lead fallout from air pollution including from smelting, mining, lead paint removal, vehicle emissions and wood smoke, lead washers from corrugated roofing (which sometimes fall into the tank), overflow from hot water systems and evaporative air conditioners. Go to www.dhs.vic.gov.au/phd/9911054 for a pamphlet on maintenance of tanks, entitled "Your Private Drinking Water Supply".

The recommendations of the National Strategy for Reducing Lead Exposure in Australia, include to:- "implement a pilot program for testing lead in first flush drinking water, rainwater tanks and drinking fountains; conduct education programs to inform home handy persons of the dangers in using lead solder in plumbing and review drinking water guidelines for lead in context of an overall lead reduction strategy." Contact your state health department to ask for an update on this policy and for information on the education program in your state.

References:

1. The USEPA has suggested that 20-40% of the average blood lead levels in children in the US is from drinking water.

3. 'Lead contamination in Perth drinking water', Peter McCafferty MRCI, Roger Schulz and Ron D’Ercole, Chemistry in Australia, August 1995.

5. Recommendation 8: 'Recommendations for a National Strategy' in Reducing Lead Exposure in Australia – July 1993, Final Report, Pages ES 7 to ES 20. Funded by National Health and Medical Research Council. Published by Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, 1994.

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