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Years ago parents were shaken by a report that stated the lead paint used in their children’s bedrooms was a health hazard. Though it was outlawed and removed from most homes, lead remains a serious health concern. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency stated, “Lead is the number-one environmental health threat to our children.”

There are five heavy metals that pose a health risk when ingested: lead, cadmium, mercury, aluminum, and beryllium. The first three are the most dangerous. None of the five has any known health benefit. Lead gets into our systems through newsprint, paint, pencils, pesticides, rain water, pvc containers, tin cans with lead solder, toothpastes, metal polish, and several other means.

One major way of ingesting these poisons is through drinking water. Old houses might still have lead pipes. Though copper replaced lead a long time ago, not all houses have been upgraded. Old well casings and storage tanks might also contain lead. City water is fed by wells or rivers and they inevitably contain some level of lead. The author checked his own city water system and found the level of lead in the water he receives is 2.5 parts per billion. Levels as high as 12 ppb are still within the limits. However, the last lead test on the water was done two years before the report was issued.

An examination of 65 of the 3,000 largest utilities found that cities such as Philadelphia, Boston, New York City, Providence, R.I., and Portland, Maine, are “manipulating the results of tests used to detect lead in water, violating federal law and putting millions of Americans at risk,” The Washington Post reported. More than 250 major cities currently exceed the EPA’s lead standards, and many of them have been deceptive, or even fraudulent, in their reporting of the problems.

Though lead has no advantage to the body, it does cause serious problems.  “Each year in the U.S., lead in drinking water contributes to 480,000 cases of learning disorders in children and 560,000 cases of hypertension in adult males.” The truth is, we cannot be rid of the problem of ingesting lead entirely. However, we can do as much as possible to minimize its presence.

The list of negative effects of lead in the system is long. Here is an edited version: abdominal pain, adrenal insufficiency, allergies, anemia, anorexia, anxiety, arthritis (rheumatoid and osteo), attention deficit disorder, autism, back pain, behavioral disorders, blindness, cardiovascular disease, cartilage destruction, coordination loss, concentration loss, constipation, convulsions, and deafness.

The list continues. In summary, the leading areas of concern are kidney problems and nervous system damage. As you can see, these are not the only problems lead causes, but they are certainly a legitimate concern.

The next question is, what do we do about it? How can we protect our children from any possibility of the crippling effects of lead poisoning? First, check your house for lead paint and your water system for lead pipes. Second, filter your drinking and cooking water. A good activated carbon filter like the Black Berkey or their shower filter will remove 95% of the lead present in the water. That is a giant first step in providing safe water for yourself and your family.