[Greenbuilding] permissible lead in "lead-free" faucets

[Irina Golfman]

Reuben,

How did you test for lead? Did you do the "first draw" test? You will find 
different results from the 1st draw and after the water has been running 
for a while. The 1st draw should be done from the kitchen faucet first 
thing in the morning (before anyone takes a shower or flushes a toilet).

In my experience the lead could be from anything in or outside the house. 
You've got the piping and old solder, and the faucet. In my old house it 
was definitely not the faucet. Where I live many communities have old 
systems where lead can be found in municipal pipes. You can filter most 
lead with either the whole house or the point of service water filter.

Someone told me recently that new faucets leach arsenic for some period of 
time. I haven't done any research on this, but thought I'd mention it to 
see if someone else might know something about this.

Cheers,
Irina

At 10:06 PM 11/11/2006, Reuben Deumling wrote:
>Perhaps you all already know this, but I've just learned how much lead (with
>the potential to leach) can be in faucets themselves. The brass which is
>used inside faucets has lead in it. Less than it used to, but the State of
>California seems to think it is still too much. My research suggests that
>the amount of lead permissible in faucets sold since 1994 in the US is 8%.
>NSF 61/9 stipulates a performance standard to go with this requirement. Just
>recently a CA law was passed that will require this level to be reduced  to
>0.25% starting sometime in the near future. What I have not been able to
>learn as yet is what an 8% lead containing faucet can be expected to leach
>out under different scenarios (when new; when first used after water has sat
>in it overnight, when old; after standing water has had a chance to be
>flushed out)? Or for that matter what the range of concentrations is
>plausibly for older (pre-1994) faucets?
>
>Also I don't know what other brass fittings, such as are used in PEX
>systems, and are not likely to be subject to the faucet 8% rule, might
>plausibly leach. This is all quite new to me and I confess to being rather
>astonished that so much lead is still around and about in these locations.
>
>If anyone can help me with any of these numbers I'd be most appreciative.
>Our household water was just tested and the lead level is 15ppm, which is
>right at EPA's threshold. I'm assuming it is probably our old faucet, but
>don't know. It could be lead solder in the copper pipes, or it could be
>both.
>
>Reuben Deumling
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