Hot Pipe Water for Cooking?

Hot Water from Pipes

Do you use hot pipe water for cooking or for drinking? Think over again. I am here to share the strongest source of information about this from United States Environmental Protection Agency. 

Lead is a chemical element in the carbon group. It is a soft, malleable and heavy post-transition metal. Lead is used in building construction. Lead can enter drinking water when service pipes that contain lead corrode, especially where the water has high acidity or low mineral content that corrodes pipes and fixtures. The most common problem is with brass or chrome-plated brass faucets and fixtures with lead solder, from which significant amounts of lead can enter into the water, especially hot water. Here is what you need to know. If ingested or inhaled, lead and its compounds are poisonous to animals and humans. Lead is a neurotoxin that accumulates both in soft tissues and the bones, damaging the nervous system and causing brain disorders.

Even low levels of lead in the blood of children can result in:

• Behavior and learning problems
• Lower IQ and hyperactivity
• Slowed growth
• Hearing problems
• Anemia
• In rare cases, ingestion of lead can cause seizures, coma and even death.

For Pregnant women, lead has serious effects including :

• Reduced growth of the fetus
• Premature birth

Lead is also harmful to adults. Adults exposed to lead can suffer from:

• Cardiovascular effects, increased blood pressure and incidence of hypertension
• Decreased kidney function
• Reproductive problems (in both men and women)

Never be careless. Just being in a developed country doesn't mean everything will be perfect. Do you know about the recent Flint water crisis? Here is what you need to do. You can have your water tested for lead. Flush your pipes before drinking by running cold water for a few minutes until it becomes cold. Use only cold water for eating, drinking and cooking. Note that boiling water will NOT get rid of lead contamination. Use proper water filters. Though lead in drinking water is bad for us, EPA states that bathing and showering should be safe for us and our children, even if the water contains lead over EPA’s action level as human skin does not absorb lead in water.

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Sources:
www.wikipedia.org
https://www3.epa.gov/
Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/136119893@N07