ARNHEM - The drinking water in the Netherlands is of very good quality, and good in comparison to water in other European countries. Nevertheless a recent study by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and the certification organisation KIWA has shown that there are excessive concentrations of lead, nickel and other metals in many of our faucets. These metals contaminate our drinking water and can be harmful to public health.

Many faucets are made of brass, an alloy that includes copper, zinc and lead. Faucets that are chrome plated also contain nickel. According to European standards, the percentage of lead may be up to 3-3.5%. The European Union has determined that, in addition to testing the percentage of lead in the brass, the water flowing from the faucet should also be tested. Rules for this were drawn up in 1998. Unfortunately the testing bodies focus only on the material that the faucet is made of, and do not test the drinking water.

The health effects of lead

According to the norms for drinking water in the Netherlands, the water may contain a maximum of 0.01 mg of lead and 0.02 mg of nickel per litre. If we swallow lead with our drinking water, it’s not broken down by our bodies. In the longer term, an accumulation of lead toxic constituents builds up in your body. The transport of oxygen to the organs by the red blood corpuscles is hindered. This affects the functioning of various organs, especially the brain, the kidneys and our nervous system. Young children are very vulnerable, because lead disrupts the healthy development of the brain. Nickel causes skin irritations.

Causes

It can sometimes happen, for example as a result of wear and tear, that lead or nickel is leached into the drinking water, which is likely to mean that the norms are exceeded. The RIVM also reports increasing pollution of drinking water in newly constructed housing developments. Researchers were contracted to take faucet water samples in new houses that were ready to be handed over to their owners. In almost every case the drinking water did not comply with the quality standards.

Lead-free faucets

Consumers are advised to let the faucet run for at least 30 seconds so that most of the metals in the drinking water are flushed out. This advice could easily entail a wastage of 0.5 to 1 billion litres of water per year in the Netherlands. And this is contaminated water, which will end up in the environment. It would be better if the harmful metals were removed from our faucets.

There has finally been a breakthrough in dealing with this problem recently. After many years of research, lead-free and nickel-free faucets have been developed. Could this be the solution to our lead and nickel problem?