In a first-of-its-kind study, physician-researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) report that even lead levels below the EPA's threshold in household water may adversely affect individuals with chronic kidney disease. In a nationwide, cross-sectional analysis of household water lead concentrations and blood characteristics in patients beginning dialysis therapy, the team's findings— published in JAMA Internal Medicine —suggested that levels of lead commonly found in U.S.
drinking water may be associated with lead poisoning among susceptible individuals. "Low levels of lead are found commonly in drinking water in the United States, and to date, there is little information about their potential health impact," said corresponding author John Danziger, MD, MPhil, a nephrologist at BIDMC and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. "Our study provides a large-scale analysis of how measured levels of lead contamination commonly found in the U.
S. water supply may adversely affect those with chronic kidney disease." Experts agree any exposure to lead—a known neurotoxin—in drinking water is unsafe, yet the lack of systematic surveillance means the scope and risk of lead contamination in U.
S. household water is largely undocumented. The United States' aging infrastructure and lead plumbing expose millions of Americans to lead through household water containing levels of lead at or below15 micrograms per liter (μ/l) of water—the allowable limit set .
