Lead - Next to chlorine and chloramine, lead is the most common contaminant found in tap water.

Lead is a dangerous neurotoxin, particularly for children and fetuses. Low levels can harm children’s developing brains, causing learning disabilities and reduced IQs. Lead is a cumulative poison, meaning that the body doesn't eliminate it quickly. It enters tissue, and ultimately bones... and most of it stays in the body for years or even decades.

Next to Arsenic Lead is the #2 "CERCLA" toxin. This means you and your family are exposed in everyday life.

Although solder (a material used to join copper pipes) was banned about 20 years ago in Europe and America, it is still legal to use in South Africa's water plumbing pipes.

Virtually all tap water has lead in it which is why you are never supposed to mix baby formula with warm or hot tap water. Most lead in drinking water comes from lead lined pipes, lead solder, and brass plumbing fixtures inside your home. In fact, almost 99% of homes in South Africa's homes have pipes, fixtures or solder joints that can contribute some level of lead to the tap water.

Most people who suffer lead poisoning develop the poisoning over a period of time. When lead is absorbed into the blood stream, lead attaches itself to red blood cells and circulates throughout the body. The body recognizes lead as being calcium. Therefore, lead infiltrates bones and teeth.

Lead is also absorbed into the reproductive system. Historians speculate that Julius Caesar only had one child and Caesar Augustus may have been completely sterile due to lead poisoning. Aristocratic Romans used lead in their wines and their foods, despite understanding that lead could have detrimental affects on their health.

When lead enters the brain, lead interferes with triggering neurotransmitters, a job that calcium is supposed to regulate. This can result in brain development problems if the lead is ingested by young children.

Lead also resides in the kidneys. This can result in kidney damage, sometimes without any symptoms appearing at all.

Short-term health effects include:
  a) interference with red blood cell chemistry
  b) delays in normal physical and mental development in babies and young children
  c) slight deficits in attention span
  d) hearing, and learning abilities of children - even low levels of lead can cause reduced IQ's and behavioral problems in children.

Long-term health effects include:
  a) stroke
  b) kidney failure
  c} and cancer.

The biggest tragedy of lead in our drinking water is that it is preventable. Again, high quality residential filters can virtually eliminate the crippling effects of lead on our society, and most importantly, on our children.