Lead common in environment poses threat to health

ALBANY — The presence of older homes in Southwest Georgia brings along a greater risk of lead exposure, including through drinking water, which makes finding risk factors vital to occupants’ overall health.

Lead is a natural part of the environment and is used in the production of batteries, ammunition, medal products and devices to shield X-rays. Over the years, as more has become known about the impact the element can have on a person’s health, lead has been used less in the manufacture of products such as paint and gasoline.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that drinking water alone can make up to 20 percent or more of a person’s total exposure to lead, with infants consuming formula mostly mixed in water receiving 40-60 percent of their exposure to the element.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said small children are often exposed to high levels of lead by eating paint chips in a home with lead-based paint, chewing on objects painted with lead paint or swallowing house dust, soil or lead.

Exposure from drinking water comes from older homes that still utilize lead pipes.

“When it comes to lead in drinking water, the problem is usually traced back to old plumbing,” Laura Searcy, environmental health specialist at the Worth County Health Department, said. “Metal pipes containing lead or lead solder are the culprits. Over time, the lead leaches out of the pipes and soldering into the drinking water. Certain things like water with high acidity or low mineral content can exacerbate the leaching. Hot water will also cause increased leaching.

“The ideal thing would be to replace suspect plumbing pipes, solders and fixtures with new components that are ‘lead-free.’”

All houses built before 1978 are likely to contain some level of lead-based paint, and homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures and solder. The CDC estimates that 24 million housing units have deteriorated lead paint and elevated levels of lead-contaminated house dust, and four million of such dwellings have at least one young child.

“Over time, as homes age, the paint can flake or chip or be ‘rubbed off’ of other surfaces, such as frequently opened windows or doors or high foot traffic areas such as stairs or entryways, creating lead-contaminated dust,” Searcy said.

Officials said many families living in older homes are impoverished, another factor potentially putting many in and near the Albany area at higher risk.

The CDC said children are more vulnerable to lead poisoning than adults, and may develop anemia, severe stomachaches, muscle weakness and brain damage when exposed to higher levels of the element. Even at low levels of exposure, there is a chance of an impact on mental and physical growth, which is why blood testing for lead has become a routine part of pediatrician visits in recent years.

Unborn children are also at risk of premature birth, low weight, decreased mental ability, learning difficulties and reduced growth. Lead may also compromise kidney health, reproductive health and increase the chances of miscarriage at high levels, the CDC said.

Dr. James Black, an emergency medical physician at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, said symptoms of lead poisoning — such as constipation, abdominal pain and seizures — may not be immediately connected to lead and that tracking down the source can be difficult.

“There are many sources we come into contact with,” he said.

Black said cases of lead poisoning are not common in Phoebe’s emergency center, thanks to the increased efforts among pediatricians to catch a lead exposure problem before it causes a significant health impact. In the event a test indicates high levels of exposure, the next step is to find the cause. Black noted that the fact 20 percent of lead exposure can come from water is something that is often overlooked.

“Historically, that is an underappreciated amount,” he said.

The CDC suggests parents not allow children to chew or mouth surfaces with lead-based paint, run or flush water that has been standing overnight for at least 30 seconds before drinking or cooking, wash children’s faces and hands often to remove lead dusts and soil, regularly clean houses of dust and soil, and use water filters or treatment devices.

The CDC also said cold water is preferred, as hot water is more likely to contain higher levels of lead, which cannot be eliminated by boiling. Adults should shower and change clothes after finishing tasks working with lead-based products.

Candies from Mexico are best avoided, as are containers not labeled as lead-free. Exposure to bare soil should be avoided, floors and windows should be wiped regularly, and care should be taken with toys with lead-based paint, the CDC said.

The CDC said lead in teeth or bones can be measured by X-ray techniques, but this is not a method that is widely available. An elevated level is defined as five micrograms per deciliter in a blood sample, and 15 micrograms per liter in water. No safe blood lead level in children has been identified, the CDC said.

The CDC recommends testing for children ages 1 or 2. Children ages 3-6 should be screened if they have not been tested before, receive public assistance services, frequently occupy a structure built before 1950 or a home built before 1978 that has been recently remodeled, or have relatives or playmates suffering from lead poisoning.

Kurt Anthony, water quality supervisor for the Albany Utility Board, said Albany is under a reduced monitoring program that cycles every three years because the city has never had a problem with lead. There have been 172 homes identified to be at high risk, and 30 of those are chosen to pull samples from.

The samples are taken from bottles sent to the consumers, who take the first draw from their water after it has been sitting idle for at least six hours.

“We don’t have lead in our service lines,” Anthony said. “The problem comes (primarily) from houses built before 1983.”

Anthony said the target sites are inspected twice a year for lead and copper with the use of supplies and instructions sent from state officials, and that wells are checked daily for harmful contaminants.

He added that Albany has been fortunate in that its pH is at a neutral level.

“We have never had a problem in Albany,” he said. “We are lucky to have good water. Hopefully, with education on dumping … hopefully we can have good water for years to come.”

The EPA said that there are 98,000 public schools and 500,000 child care facilities not regulated under the Safe Water Drinking Act passed in 1974. Testing for lead and copper is voluntary, unless a facility is on a public water system, which is typically defined as providing water for consumption to an average of at least 25 individuals a day using their own water source.

Lead testing protocols used by public water systems are aimed at identifying systemwide problems, not at outlets and taps in individual buildings. The EPA recommends schools collect 250 milliliter first-draw samples, and that outlets with a lead level above 20 parts per billion be taken out of service.

The Lead and Copper Rule in 1991 establishes a lead action level of 15 ppb for one-liter samples taken at high-risk residences, and if more than 10 percent of the samples at residences exceed 15 ppb, systemwide corrosion control treatment can be used.

The EPA said changes to the SWDA in 2011 reduced the maximum allowable level of lead content to be a weighted average of .25 percent calculated across the wetted surfaces of pipes, pipe fittings, plumbing fittings and fixtures, and .2 percent for solder and flux.

Human skin does not absorb lead, so bathing and showering is still considered safe even in a supply above the EPA action level, the agency said.

A report showing the 2015 results from Albany’s water system showed a detected lead level of 9.7 ppb, attributed to the “corrosion of household plumbing system (and) erosion of natural deposits.”

Individuals wanting more information on lead testing are encouraged to contact their water supplier or county extension service. Data on systems that have been tested in Georgia, including Dougherty County, can be found at gadrinkingwater.net.