Raheny Residents Find Lead in the Waterworks

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A HOME ON the street where the the first Dublin Says No protest took place has the highest level of lead contamination of drinking water in Dublin.
Local resident TONY MacHALE gives Noel McGuinness the background to the findings.
Results of random testing showed that the house on Watermill Drive in Raheny had lead contamination over 80 times the level allowed by the EU.
The figures were released under Freedom of Information with the utility identifying 20 homes with lead contamination levels of between five to 80 times above what is allowable.
18 of the 20 homes listed are in the neighbouring Dublin 3 and Dublin 5 areas on the capital’s northside.
Adverse effects of exposure to lead include damage to most organs in the body, particularly the kidneys and blood systems. Children and pregnant women are most vulnerable according to the Health Service Executive and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The readings relate to drinking water that is beyond the public water main system and is within private residences. Lead has not been used in public piping systems since the 1970s but some older building still have internal lead piping.

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