USA - Some Blount Co. residents warned of lead in water

Some Blount Co. residents warned of lead in water
March 7, 2008 10:03 PM By WHITNEY HOLMES6

News Anchor/Reporter
BLOUNT COUNTY (WATE) -- The South Blount Utility District is asking customers to take precautions with their drinking water after tests show above normal levels of lead.
The utility has been treating the water, but the problem is that the corrosion inhibitor isn't working.
"I was concerned about it because any time you got lead, you need to be concerned," says one customer, Loreta Gregory.
Since receiving a letter last week from the utility, Gregory has been very careful with her water.
"If I need a drink, then I'll run the water for a few minutes and if I cook with it, then I'll boil it," she explains.
For over a year and a half, the South Blount Utility District has been battling with the amount of lead in its water.
Although it's above EPA standards, utility manager Henry Durant says the water is only one-tenth of the level deemed dangerous.
"This amount that is in the water is not a dangerous level, but it is a level that over a period of time it could be a concern," Durant says.
Repeated exposure to lead can cause neurological and kidney damage. The problem is only with copper pipes in houses built before 1987. At that time, lead was allowed as a soldering agent.
The South Blount Utility District has been using a corrosion inhibitor to separate out the lead, but for unknown reasons, it hasn't been successful.
"The corrosion inhibitor puts a coating on the pipe that isolates the lead from the water. So even if it does corrode, it doesn't come into the water," Durant explains.
He also says the inhibitor is completely safe. Currently, researchers from Virginia Tech are trying to find a better way to lower the lead levels. Their findings are expected by the end of March.
In the meantime, utility officials ask ask customers to keep being careful. "Be cautious and do as you're asked," Gregory advises.
Faucet filters also work to reduce exposure to lead.
The South Blount Utility District is the same utility that recently came under fire after announcing that fluoride will be added to customers' water.