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RE: Golden Nuggets #3 - Now giving away 80% of SBD earnings!
Is there a way of testing for high concentrations of lead in drinking water or do you have to send in a sample for testing? Any warning indications besides harm on living organisms?
There is no at home test for Pb that I know of that has results you can check for yourself. To my knowledge you must send a sample off for analysis, which is time consuming.
Science Lesson Time:
Typically Pb from pipes does not get into the water supply, this is because the bad form of Pb is not elemental but rather the ionic form free Pb2+, under neutral to basic conditions (such as drinking water) would be in the form of an insoluble Pb(OH)2 and would get filtered away/removed. However situations like Flint Michigan arise when people do not maintain the proper alkalinity of the water, resulting in the release of free Pb2+ (as more acidic conditions break down the Pb(OH)2, the basic form of the ion).
Hi guys! It warms my heart to see you discussing lead :)
@justtryme90 is right, to test properly you will want to send a water sample to a reputable company. That being said, most water systems in the United States already test for lead themselves. You should be able to access the results by reviewing the annual reports. I know that a lot of people on Steemit are outside of the US, though, and therefore do not have the same regulations/acess to information.
Aside from physical symptoms, there are a few things that can alert you to the presence of lead in your water. This include taste, odor, and color, as well as staining on laundry, faucets/fixtures, and the inside of sinks. If you suspect that lead-based materials were used in your plumbing system (age of your home is a good indicator), water leakage can indicate corrosion, which increases the possibility of lead to leaching into the water.
The Environmental Protection Agency published a great resource on water testing that I recomend taking a look at. You can access it here.
If the tragedy of Flint is to serve as an example for something, its that while the US government does test for Pb, it might be in everyone's best interest to test their own water, or at least for someone out of a group of friends in a similar area. Government is great, but with something as serious as Pb contamination, and with the prevalence of Pb pipes through out the US, a little bit of extra testing might go a long way to ensure that your health is safe with the water you use to bathe, cook, and wash clothes with.