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Lead

Source
Lead is a metal found in natural deposits as ores containing other elements. It is sometimes used in household plumbing materials or in water service lines used to bring water from the main to the home.

Lead may occur in drinking water either by contamination of the source water used by the water system, or by corrosion of lead plumbing or fixtures. Corrosion of plumbing is by far the greatest cause for concern.

All water is corrosive to metal plumbing materials to some degree. Grounding of household electrical systems to plumbing may also exacerbate corrosion. Over time, lead-containing plumbing materials will usually develop a scale that minimizes further corrosion of the pipe.

Lead is rarely found in source water, but lead mining and smelting operations may be sources of contamination. Eighty-eight percent of the lead mined in the US comes from seven mines in the New Lead Belt in southeastern Missouri.

From 1987 to 1993, according to the Toxics Release Inventory, lead compound releases to land and water totaled nearly 144 million lbs. These releases were primarily from lead and copper smelting industries. The largest releases occurred in Missouri, Arizona and Montana. The largest direct releases to water occurred in Ohio.

When released to land, lead binds to soils and does not migrate to ground water. In water, it binds to sediments. It does not accumulate in fish, but does in some shellfish, such as mussels.

Effect
Short-term exposure to lead can cause a variety of adverse health effects when exposure reaches levels above the MCL. These effects may include interference with red blood cell chemistry, delays in normal physical and mental development in babies and young children, slight deficits in the attention span, hearing, and learning abilities of children, and slight increases in the blood pressure of some adults.

Long-term exposure to lead has the potential to cause the following effects when exposure reaches levels above the MCL: stroke, kidney disease and cancer.