According to the World Health Organization (WHO), lead is a naturally occurring toxic

metal found within the Earth’s crust. Its widespread use has resulted in extensive

environmental contamination, human exposure and significant public health problems in

numerous parts of the world. Lead enters drinking water when plumbing materials that contain

lead corrode, especially where the water has high acidity or low mineral content that corrodes

pipes and fixtures. In fact, in October 1988 a major amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act

(SDWA) was the addition of the Lead Contamination Control Act in US. This act focused on lead

in school drinking water coolers and funding childhood lead screening programs (Mushak,

2011).

Reference:

1. Paul Mushak, Chapter 28 - Regulation and Regulatory Policies for Lead in Water, Trace
Metals and other Contaminants in the Environment, Elsevier, Volume 10, 2011, Pages
899-922, ISSN 1875-1121, ISBN 9780444515544, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-
51554-4.00028-6.
2. Lead Poisoning and Health (2019). Retrived from World Health Organization:
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health