Lead in Water Pipes: A Toxic History

Lead has been used by humans for thousands of years, from the Roman Empire to today’s industrial society, leading to serious health problems, especially for the most vulnerable. Despite knowledge of the dangers of lead, political and economic interests have often delayed action, as we see in today’s use of hazardous substances such as PFAS, plastics and aluminum.

Our history with lead goes back thousands of years, past the Roman Empire and the Ancient Greeks, to sampling of the ice in Greenland and peat bogs in Scandinavia. The oldest evidence of human use of lead comes from Anatolia, about 6,400 years ago. Since then, we humans have used lead in everything from water pipes and construction to cutlery, wall paint and cosmetics.

Unfortunately, lead is also toxic to us humans. Even small amounts of lead can negatively affect our health, both mentally and physically, especially in children and young people.

Greenland ice and lead in Swedish lakes

Through various tests, we can also follow lead use up here in the Nordic countries, by examining ice cores in Greenland or sediment cores in our Swedish lakes.

In a study conducted on sediment cores from 19 Swedish lakes, researchers found elevated levels of lead about 2,600 years ago. The levels rose for several hundred years to reach a peak about 2,000 years ago, after which they fell again for a thousand years until the next increase. What this means in practice is that someone in the “nearby” started processing lead 2,600 years ago and over the following 600 years, more and more people joined in.

Fictional researcher examining samples from the Greenland ice core. By Grok

The timings correspond well with what we know about lead use and extraction in the rest of Europe. When Ancient Greece began minting silver, which was extracted from lead ore, sediments of this material settled in Sweden. The Romans followed the Greeks and production increased from about 2600 years ago until the lead deposits in Spain began to run out 2000 years ago. When Germany then increased its silver production 1000 years ago, the amount of lead-poisoned air pollution in Sweden increased again.

The Roman Empire: An infrastructure made of lead

The Roman Empire is well known for its beautiful and well-functioning aqueducts and sewage systems, but also for its use of lead in water pipes (plumbum).

The Romans also used lead to a very large extent in other types of infrastructure, such as runoff and drainage of rainwater, larger water cisterns for storage, and as joints in buildings, facades and other structures. By pouring liquid lead around iron reinforcements, one not only obtained a durable and malleable joint, but also a kind of rust protection for the iron.

In addition to buildings, lead was often used in households, for food containers, saucepans, wine containers with a thin layer of lead on the inside, and even as an additive in food and drink. Since sweeteners were relatively expensive, a type of grape juice was often used as a sweetener for cooking. It was made by boiling young wine in copper pots with a lead liner on the inside, as lead was considered to have a sweeter effect on the food than copper. The beauty industry also used lead extensively in various cures, makeup and treatments, against skin diseases, wrinkles, as contraceptives and eye ointments.

Despite the fact that some Roman thinkers and doctors warned of the harmful effects of lead, there was no will from the ruling class to reduce its use. The water supply and the construction industry were too important, which made the issue politically uninteresting.

The Romans were exposed to lead poisoning from all sides, and some researchers and historians have argued that chronic lead poisoning was a major contributor to the fall of the Roman Empire.

The Middle Ages and the Renaissance: Decline and Return

A few hundred years later, it was time for lead to make a comeback, this time much closer to home and with a bang. One of the first medieval mines to start mining lead was the Rammelsber mine in Germany, which quickly became a major producer of silver. When silver was mined, it was done from sulfide ores that also contained a lot of lead.

Fictional image of medieval miners. By Grok

Just like the Romans, lead once again began to be used for water pipes and building structures. Here too, lead found its way into people's homes in the form of drinking cups, glazes, food storage, but also for coins and colored glass. When firearms began to be used, lead was the obvious choice for the projectile itself. With its low density and melting point, it was the obvious choice and has been so to this day. Beautiful women made themselves even more beautiful with makeup containing lead and the aristocracy was very fond of powdering their faces white to show their modesty.

Again, the negative effects of lead poisoning could be traced to the aristocracy and the more affluent.

19th Century Industrialization: The Golden Age of Lead

You might think that the advent of the Industrial Revolution would cause lead pollution to skyrocket, but that is not really the case. Some sources suggest that the true industrial period ~1800-present has only accounted for 50% of the total lead pollution, with the remaining 50% coming from earlier periods, such as the Roman Empire, Greece and Europe during the Middle Ages.

However, this does not mean that we have not released a lot of lead into our nature since 1800. Lead emissions were at their highest during the second half of the 20th century and reached their highest point in 1970. It is also during this time that we are starting to look more at the negative effects of lead and lead poisoning.

Fictional image of the Industrial Revolution. By Grok

As urbanization took hold, lead became a natural material in water supplies – even though scientists had already begun to understand its toxic effects in the 19th century. Many cities in Europe and the United States continued to install lead pipes, partly due to pressure from industries that made big money from the material. The political will to regulate lead use was weak, as short-term economic gains outweighed public health.

The 20th Century: When Science Met Politics

Just as in previous periods, lead was widely used in everything from water pipes and fuel to paint and as a glaze for ceramics. The connection between lead and health problems became increasingly clear, but political and economic interests delayed action. In the United States, the lead industry actively fought to undermine research on the dangers of lead, while cities and municipalities often resisted replacing their lead pipes because of the high costs. It was only after extensive campaigns and scandals, such as the one in Flint, Michigan, that legislation began to take greater account of public health.

Lead has now been almost completely phased out of our homes and industries, although some work remains. A well-known example from the bathroom industry is the requirement for lead-free faucets for showers, sinks and baths, something that was introduced in recent years.

Present: The legacy of lead

Lead's popularity has come from its beneficial properties, such as resistance to corrosion, weight, flexibility and resistance to radiation. It is still used with great success in a variety of areas, in batteries, as radiation shielding and cable protection. Despite our knowledge of the dangers of lead, we see similar problems today with substances such as PFAS, plastics and aluminium. History shows that economic interests often delay action – but can we break the pattern this time?