On Sep 28, 11:06*am, Mycosimian wrote:
I was just at the store looking at garden hoses and I noticed that all
of their labels carry a warning which says that they contain lead,
one should not drink from them, and one should wash their hands after
use.

I am wondering if anyone knows where I can find information on lead
exposure from using these hoses.



http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/h...-505/index.htm


Dare you drink from a garden hose?



We'd answer that question by saying it's OK to drink from a hose only
if you know it was labeled safe on the package and if you flush it
first. If you don't flush out the hose, the water standing inside may
contain worrisome amounts of lead and other chemicals that leach from
the hose itself. Many hoses are made of polyvinyl chloride, which uses
lead as a stabilizer.

We recently tested hoses sold at national chains and on the Internet.
Some had packaging indicating they were safe for drinking; others had
warning labels. But some of the hoses weren't labeled either way.

The hoses labeled safe for drinking typically contained less lead in
their construction than the others. In our tests, those hoses leached
minuscule amounts of lead into water that had been standing in the
hose for 20 hours or more. We measured concentrations well below 15
parts per billion, the level in drinking water at which the
Environmental Protection Agency requires remedial action. In fact, tap
water contained as much lead as some samples. (The time the water
stands in the hose, water temperature and acidity all affect the
amount of lead leaching.) Hoses containing the highest amounts of
lead, only two of which carried a "do not drink" label, leached 10 to
100 times allowable lead levels in the first draw of standing water.

However, even extremely low levels of lead may cause health problems.
A recent study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine
suggests that lead levels in the blood even lower than the current
definition of toxicity may adversely affect a child's IQ.

The bottom line. When you buy a hose, choose one labeled safe for
drinking. If you use a hose whose package label you haven't seen,
assume it's not safe for drinking. With any hose, flush it by letting
the water run for a minute or so before you drink.