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THE OCCURRENCE OF CONTAMINANT ACCUMULATION IN LEAD PIPE SCALES FROM DOMESTIC DRINKING WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS
Citation:
SCHOCK, M. R., R. N. HYLAND, AND M. M. WELCH. THE OCCURRENCE OF CONTAMINANT ACCUMULATION IN LEAD PIPE SCALES FROM DOMESTIC DRINKING WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS . DOI: 10.1021/es70248, J. Schnoor (ed.), ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 42(12):4285-4291, (2008).
Impact/Purpose:
to inform the public
Description:
Previous work has shown that contaminants, such as Al, As and Ra, can accumulate in drinking water distribution system solids. The release of accumulated contaminants back into the water supply could result in elevated levels at consumers’ taps, and current monitoring practices do not appear to adequately track and identify the potential for accumulation and release of various contaminants or their temporal behavior. The objective of this study was to determine the occurrence of inorganic contaminants in distribution system lead service lines using primarily elemental analysis via Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy following complete decomposition of scale material. Contaminants were categorized by their average concentrations, and were found to occur at levels that could conceivably result in elevated levels at the consumer’s taps if they were to be mobilized. The data indicates an imminent need for further research into the transport and fate of contaminants in drinking water distribution system pipes, as well as a re-evaluation of sampling protocol in order to more accurately determine the temporal behavior of contaminants in water distribution systems.
URLs/Downloads:
THE OCCURRENCE OF CONTAMINANT ACCUMULATION IN LEAD PIPE SCALES FROM DOMESTIC DRINKING WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS