ON OUR CORNER : THE LEAD DANGER IN GARDEN HOSES
Although garden hoses may come with tags that say Danger or Warning about not drinking from them, the reason isn't always clarified. Generally, people tend to remove the tag and hopefully tell their children not to drink from the hose.
An ABC Good Morning America report of July 12, 2007, talked about a test their Phoenix affiliate, KNXV-TV ran. The station purchased 10 hoses randomly at Ace, Target, Wal-Mart, Home Depot and the like.
Of the 10 hoses, 5 had higher lead levels than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows for drinking water. Even if no one in the family actually drinks from the hose, this lead impacts gardens, yards, family pools, and pets. This is significant because lead is a neurotoxin.
According to author Nena Baker in The Body Toxic, even tiny amounts of such chemicals as lead "...are called endocrine disruptors because of the tricks they play with the complex physiology that controls the basic systems of the body from fetal development through adulthood."
However, one still needs to be cautious when choosing a lead-free hose. While some manufacturers claim it is "safe" to drink from their lead-free hoses, those hoses often contain polyurethane, a petrochemical, and some rubber hoses are mixed with chemicals or made of artificial rubber.
Anyone who has Chemical Sensitivity, has loved ones with it, or doesn't want to have it needs to be cautious of petrochemicals as well. In short, don't drink directly from a garden hose period, but some are certainly safer than others for general use.
Another thing to consider is finding a lead-free hose which meets California standards. In 2004, California's Center for Environmental Health (CEH), sued garden hose makers for producing hoses that leached lead into the water. At that time, CEH Executive Director Michael Green said, "Our yards shouldn't be danger zones where children are poisoned while they're cooling off in the sprinkler."
Those high standards were not adopted nationwide. Chances are, asking for a lead-free hose at your hardware store will draw blank stares from the clerks or worse yet, false assurances just to sell a product. If it's truly lead-free, it will be labeled as such.
A Quality Life recommends doing a "Lead-free garden hose" search on the internet for more information. They can also be purchased that way. Since California standards are the highest, a hose that meets their standards would be safest.
