Massive bill to make our taps lead-free

HOUSEHOLDS face a combined cost of $2.7 billion to make water from just one of their taps safe from lead poisoning.

And new official advice — to avoid the toxic metal by flushing taps for 30 seconds in the morning before using them for drinking or cooking — could see the equivalent of eight Olympic swimming pools wasted every day.

As revealed by News Corp Australia yesterday, authorities are preparing to slash the amount of lead in taps by up to 94 per cent amid growing concerns about its health impact.

Lead leaches from brass fittings into water after long periods of contact.

It can damage cardiovascular, renal and reproductive functions. Its most serious effect is on the brains of bottlefed babies.

At the moment brass in Australian households taps contains up to 4.5 per cent lead — 18 times what the US and Canada permit.

That is set to be cut following recommendations by the Environmental Health Standing Committee or enHealth

The largest plumbing supplies company, Reece, has no lead-free taps. The cheapest Bunnings lead-free tap costs $130 plus $150 for installation. If every one of Australia’s 9.5 million households made the switch for just one tap the total cost would be $2.7 billion.

enHealth has said there is no need for replacement — if households flush their taps.

Running a kitchen tap for half a minute can release up to two litres of water. That’s 19 million litres per day for one tap per home or seven billion litres a year.

enHealth’s household advice was finalised in July but was not widely known until yesterday.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt yesterday blamed the lack of attention on the media. “I was surprised at the time it wasn’t given more publicity and disappointed,” Mr Hunt said.