Evaluation of the Lead Content in Water for Human Consumption

摘要

Drinking water, though of good quality when released from potabilization plants, may receive serious damage following its contact with the distribution network or with home plants. This is mainly due to the corrosion of metal parts or to the leaking of plastic materials. This is particularly true in the old parts of big cities, where the network is usually quite old or has undergone many interventions, but there are also many cases of recent networks built with inappropriate materials. Recent studieshave shown that the presence of unwanted species is mainly due to home plants rather than to aqueduct networks. Table 1 lists the materials most commonly used in home plants. As we can see, lead started to be used almost two centuries ago, though thereis news of its usage dating back even to ancient Greece.