We’ve all heard that you shouldn’t drink hot water out of the tap, and most of us know why. As a story from this past week’s New York Times explains, contaminants from pipes, such as lead, are easily dissolved into hot water. But the article goes on to state something I didn’t know: “even newer plumbing advertised as ‘lead-free’ can still contain as much as 8 percent lead.”
What?
Sure enough, if you dig around in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website, you can learn all about the Lead and Copper Rule. Paragraph D of section 141.43 states that the term lead free, “[w]hen used with respect to pipes and pipe fittings refers to pipes and pipe fittings containing not more than 8.0 percent lead.”
I’m reminded of the “0 grams of trans fat” language approved by the Food and Drug Administration. As I’ve ranted about here before, products can claim to have 0 grams but actually contain .49 grams—nothing to sneeze at when you consider that the American Heart Association recommends consuming less than 2 grams of trans fat a day (assuming a regular 2,000-calorie diet).
The Lead and Copper Rule has been in force since 1991, and apparently it’s an improvement over previous regulations, so that’s good, but still. Eight percent is not “lead free,” in my book.
Can any doublespeak experts out there shed light on this?
