Effectiveness of Prevailing Flush Guidelines to Prevent Exposure to Lead in Tap Water

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dc.contributor.authorKatner, Adrienneen
dc.contributor.authorPieper, Kelsey J.en
dc.contributor.authorBrown, Komalen
dc.contributor.authorLin, Hui-Yien
dc.contributor.authorParks, Jeffrey L.en
dc.contributor.authorWang, Xinnanen
dc.contributor.authorHu, Chih-Yangen
dc.contributor.authorMasters, Sheldonen
dc.contributor.authorMielke, Howarden
dc.contributor.authorEdwards, Marc A.en
dc.contributor.departmentCivil and Environmental Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2018-07-25T12:55:39Zen
dc.date.available2018-07-25T12:55:39Zen
dc.date.issued2018-07-20en
dc.date.updated2018-07-25T12:41:02Zen
dc.description.abstractFlushing tap water is promoted as a low cost approach to reducing water lead exposures. This study evaluated lead reduction when prevailing flush guidelines (30 s&ndash;2 min) are implemented in a city compliant with lead-associated water regulations (New Orleans, LA, USA). Water samples (<i>n</i> = 1497) collected from a convenience sample of 376 residential sites (2015&ndash;2017) were analyzed for lead. Samples were collected at (1) first draw (<i>n</i> = 375) and after incremental flushes of (2) 30&ndash;45 s (<i>n</i> = 375); (3) 2.5&ndash;3 min (<i>n</i> = 373), and (4) 5.5&ndash;6 min (<i>n</i> = 218). There was a small but significant increase in water lead after the 30 s flush (vs. first draw lead). There was no significant lead reduction until the 6 min flush (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05); but of these samples, 52% still had detectable lead (&ge;1 ppb). Older homes (pre-1950) and low occupancy sites had significantly higher water lead (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05). Each sample type had health-based standard exceedances in over 50% of sites sampled (max: 58 ppb). While flushing may be an effective short-term approach to remediate high lead, prevailing flush recommendations are an inconsistently effective exposure prevention measure that may inadvertently increase exposures. Public health messages should be modified to ensure appropriate application of flushing, while acknowledging its short-comings and practical limitations.en
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationKatner, A.; Pieper, K.; Brown, K.; Lin, H.-Y.; Parks, J.; Wang, X.; Hu, C.-Y.; Masters, S.; Mielke, H.; Edwards, M. Effectiveness of Prevailing Flush Guidelines to Prevent Exposure to Lead in Tap Water. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 1537.en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15071537en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/84386en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherMDPIen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.subjectdrinking wateren
dc.subjectleaden
dc.subjectPben
dc.subjectflushen
dc.subjectexposure preventionen
dc.subjectinterventionen
dc.subjectlead service lineen
dc.titleEffectiveness of Prevailing Flush Guidelines to Prevent Exposure to Lead in Tap Wateren
dc.title.serialInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Healthen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten

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