Indians at risk for ignoring lead seeping in tap water

The water contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan has fueled concerns about how much lead is coming out of taps in homes across India.

The case study acted as an eye opener for many countries across the globe in implementing strict regulations on manufacturing of pipes and faucets for domestic use.

However, India seems to ignore this on temperamental level. The shining faucets largely used in Indian families, are actually made up of Brass, which causes lead contamination in water and causes severe damage to human body.

Indian Plumbing Today (IPT) feels our real estate developers, plumbing design consultants and contractors should join hands together to put their full efforts in providing a self-regulating mechanism where proper govt. regulations and guidelines can be developed and are followed by Indian manufacturers for fixtures and fittings.

Active in Sinks and Faucet Industry since two decades, Anupam Sinks exposed the reality behind shining and beautiful faucets widely used in almost every Indian family.

According to Centre for Science and Environment research, the sub-standard household plumbing fixture contribute to contamination of lead in the drinking water, a neurotoxin that affects the developing brains and nervous systems of children and infants. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has permitted 0.01 mg/l(max) of lead in drinking water.

This amount, apart from old rusted plumbing in Indian household, is easily contributed by sub-standard faucets which usually contain about 12 percent of lead. Water sitting for several hours or overnight in a brass faucet can leach lead from the brass faucet interior which may produce high lead levels in the first draw of drinking water.

According to Environment Protection Agency (EPA) of United States, the Household plumbing is an alarming source of lead exposure and brass faucets are the single greatest contributing source of lead in consumers' drinking water. The EPA estimates that up to 20 percent of human lead exposure is the result of lead in our plumbing, including faucets. Brass Faucets are banned in US under Section 1417 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

India's veteran manufacturers of high quality stainless steel kitchen sinks & faucets, Anupam Sinks, Director, Rajendra Garg informs, as compared to price and appearance Brass Faucet has relatively low melting points that make it easy to cast and easy to produce and sale in term of cost as well.

However, Stainless Steel contains no lead, which in today's regulatory environment is a big plus. Mr Garg believes that a combined effort by industry leaders and government can ensure to keep our drinking water safe and hence prevent irreplaceable damage.