Big Troubles
05-27-2007, 11:02 PM
Water testing falls short of proposed standards
James Wallace
The Ontario government this week ordered municipalities across the province to begin testing homeowners' drinking water for lead.
Tens of thousands of Ontario homes, apartments and other properties have underground lead service pipes that connect taps to municipal water mains and may be contaminating household drinking water.
However, testing underway in 36 municipalities to reveal the extent of the problem and potential health risk to consumers falls far short of testing requirements called for by U.S. law and new, proposed Canadian standards.
In fact, the provincial order only scrapes the surface of the potential problem.
Ontario boasts the most stringent water protection legislation in North America but only requires municipalities to test for contaminants in treatment plants and city water mains - not at the place where people actually drink.
This is concerning as thousands of people may unwittingly have been poisoning themselves with lead for years by drinking water they had every right to believe was safe.
Lead exposure can lead to a variety of adverse health effects, particularly in children and pregnant women.
It can impair physical and mental development and affect attention span and learning abilities. Adults who drink lead-tainted water over years risk kidney problems and high blood pressure.
That is why the Americans don't want any lead in their water and since 1991 have worked to replace lead service pipes and other sources of lead contamination in their water.
The government intends to test tap water in just 20 private homes in 36 municipalities (North Bay is one of the communities involved in the testing).
Kingston, for example, has a population of approximately 112,000 and under both U.S. and proposed Canadian standards would be required to test 100 homes for lead, not 20.
Secondly, the provincial order targets homes with lead service pipes, primarily homes built pre-1950.
It does not, however, require testing for the hundreds of thousands of homes built pre-1990 with lead solder to join and seal copper pipes.
Both the U.S. EPA and proposed Health Canada guidelines identify lead solder as a source of lead contamination in household plumbing and scientific studies have found high lead levels in drinking water at taps serviced by pipes connected with lead solder.
Thirdly, schools, apartments or other high risk properties that may have lead problems are not targeted in the testing, again something strongly recommended in the U.S.
Fourthly, the provincial order requires municipalities to take samples after "flushing" household taps for "a timed five-minute period."
Effectively, most of the evidence will be washed down the drain.
Both U.S. EPA standards and proposed Canadian guidelines call for testing when water has been "stagnant" for at least six to eight hours.
If lead levels exceed acceptable levels, a further test is required after flushing the system for five minutes.
And if lead levels remain high after flushing, both U.S. standards and Canadian guidelines call for suspect plumbing to be replaced.
Just one sample exceeded national standards after five minutes of flushing.
The testing now underway in 36 municipalities is a start and credit deserved for that.
It fails however to deal with the scope of potential threats or potentially impacted households.
Finally, most people don't routinely flush their taps for five minutes before getting a drink.
http://ospreymedialp.com/corporate/Default.asp?section=home
James Wallace
The Ontario government this week ordered municipalities across the province to begin testing homeowners' drinking water for lead.
Tens of thousands of Ontario homes, apartments and other properties have underground lead service pipes that connect taps to municipal water mains and may be contaminating household drinking water.
However, testing underway in 36 municipalities to reveal the extent of the problem and potential health risk to consumers falls far short of testing requirements called for by U.S. law and new, proposed Canadian standards.
In fact, the provincial order only scrapes the surface of the potential problem.
Ontario boasts the most stringent water protection legislation in North America but only requires municipalities to test for contaminants in treatment plants and city water mains - not at the place where people actually drink.
This is concerning as thousands of people may unwittingly have been poisoning themselves with lead for years by drinking water they had every right to believe was safe.
Lead exposure can lead to a variety of adverse health effects, particularly in children and pregnant women.
It can impair physical and mental development and affect attention span and learning abilities. Adults who drink lead-tainted water over years risk kidney problems and high blood pressure.
That is why the Americans don't want any lead in their water and since 1991 have worked to replace lead service pipes and other sources of lead contamination in their water.
The government intends to test tap water in just 20 private homes in 36 municipalities (North Bay is one of the communities involved in the testing).
Kingston, for example, has a population of approximately 112,000 and under both U.S. and proposed Canadian standards would be required to test 100 homes for lead, not 20.
Secondly, the provincial order targets homes with lead service pipes, primarily homes built pre-1950.
It does not, however, require testing for the hundreds of thousands of homes built pre-1990 with lead solder to join and seal copper pipes.
Both the U.S. EPA and proposed Health Canada guidelines identify lead solder as a source of lead contamination in household plumbing and scientific studies have found high lead levels in drinking water at taps serviced by pipes connected with lead solder.
Thirdly, schools, apartments or other high risk properties that may have lead problems are not targeted in the testing, again something strongly recommended in the U.S.
Fourthly, the provincial order requires municipalities to take samples after "flushing" household taps for "a timed five-minute period."
Effectively, most of the evidence will be washed down the drain.
Both U.S. EPA standards and proposed Canadian guidelines call for testing when water has been "stagnant" for at least six to eight hours.
If lead levels exceed acceptable levels, a further test is required after flushing the system for five minutes.
And if lead levels remain high after flushing, both U.S. standards and Canadian guidelines call for suspect plumbing to be replaced.
Just one sample exceeded national standards after five minutes of flushing.
The testing now underway in 36 municipalities is a start and credit deserved for that.
It fails however to deal with the scope of potential threats or potentially impacted households.
Finally, most people don't routinely flush their taps for five minutes before getting a drink.
http://ospreymedialp.com/corporate/Default.asp?section=home