Charles Clover examines the cost of making it safe
IF YOU have young children, or are planning a family, and are one of the 25 million people in
Britain who drink water from lead pipes, read on. It could affect your child's IQ. Are you aware that the World Health Organisation recently toughened its standard for lead in drinking water by 80 per cent? Or that the difference between Britain's present standard for lead in tap water and the one proposed by the WHO could make a difference of up to three IQ points to children under two?
Lead is one of the oldest pollution problems. From the ancient Romans until the 20th century, lead was synonymous with plumbing (from the Latin plumbum: lead). It is a toxic substance known to be absorbed by the skeleton and, in large quantities, to cause deterioration of the brain. The Emperor Caligula is thought to have been driven mad by his fondness for fruit sauces which dissolved the lead of his plates.
The Water Research Centre (WRc), the principal authority on water science in Britain, says studies have shown beyond reasonable doubt that excessive levels of lead in the blood can affect the IQ. Lead in tap water is most dangerous to children under two and pregnant women. So why do we hear so little about lead?
Only about 300,000 people in soft-water areas of England and Wales receive tap water which exceeds the present health limit for lead of 50 microgrammes per litre. In hard-water areas, lime scale forms, which can reduce the lead in contact with the pipe. In acid (soft) water areas, water companies have begun to treat the water to produce a similar scaling, but this will not enable them to meet the new WHO limit of a weekly average of 10 microgrammes per litre.
The European Commission has set a 10 microgramme maximum in proposed revisions to the EU drinking water directive. This would mean 1.9 million people in England and Wales drink water which breached the EU standard.
These people are most likely to be in the north and west of the country, but it is not clear exactly who they are. There are 11 million households in Britain with lead pipes. This means that, at an average of 2.4 people per household, half the population potentially has a problem. The European Commission estimates the cost of tackling this at £12.5 billion over 15 years.
What makes the lead problem more intractable than other pollution is that three-quarters of lead pipes are in people's homes and are not the responsibility of the water companies.
The proposed EU directive will not force member states to change pipes in people's homes. But it is fair to assume pressure is likely to grow for the Government to do something about lead, if only to provide better information, since if the EU directive is passed, the Drinking Water Inspectorate will have to report that millions of homes have failed each year.
WHAT can the consumer who is worried about lead in tap water do about it now? First, have the water tested. This is a service which water companies are meant to provide if there is a reasonable likelihood of pollution (lead pipes should be enough). Getting a test can be tricky; getting a result something else, as I found when trying to persuade Thames Water to test my house in London.
To be fair, Thames has mostly hard water, so lead pipes are a low priority. We waited more than a month for a test and six weeks for a result. Thames seemed unconcerned, even though we have a son under two.
Whether the test result is over the WHO limit or not, homes with lead pipes are likely to be advised by the water company to run the tap for up to two minutes each morning. This should get rid of the water which has been sitting next to the lead.
The WRc has prepared a CD-Rom which tells the water companies how to calculate the amount of water to be drawn off and the time this takes.
The law says that if you replace your lead pipes and can prove it (you need only to replace the length from the boundary of the property to the drinking water tap, generally in the kitchen), the company must replace its service pipes leading from the mains to your property.
The WRc estimates the average cost of replacing a pipe to the water company of £200 and the cost to the consumer of between £200 and £500. Grants for replacing lead pipes are available from local councils in cases of hardship, and water companies give advice on replacement.
So far, however, the take-up of grants and advice is only a handful a year in any company area. According to Bob Breach, head of quality and environmental planning for Severn Trent: "I'm afraid people's attitude tends to be that if the pollution is caused by the water company something must be done, but if it is the customer's own problem they will decide to live with it, even if you say: 'You've got babies, madam. Why don't you spend £200 on pipe replacement?' "
Lead is one of the few pollution problems for which the householder is responsible, so it is an
interesting test of one's priorities. In our case, the test recorded only five microgrammes per litre but we have replaced all the lead pipes inside our house and therefore Thames are obliged by law to replace their lead pipes in the street. As one scientist we know remarked: "Five is not bad but nought is preferable."
