Sander Allmere discovered the old water pipes underneath his Kadriorg home in last fall when he was doing renovations. After suspecting that the pipes might be lead, which is often mistaken for tin, Allmere decided to test the water just in case.

"It turned out that we had lead levels in the water almost six times above the permitted limit of 56 micrograms per liter (ug/l). The permitted limit is 10 ug/l. We had to go over five times the permitted limit. Let it be said that lead is a toxic heavy metal, the level of which in drinking water ought to be 0," said Allmere.

Lead poisoning is most dangerous for pregnant women and children. The symptoms include headaches, irritability, aggressiveness, memory problems and hand tremors. It can also cause developmental problems in unborn babies as well as infertility in adults. In more severe cases, lead poisoning can cause anemia, comas or even death.

"As soon as we knew the water results, we had the whole family checked for lead in their blood. We all had high readings because we drank tap water every day, but not high enough to require treatment. At the time of the blood test, we also hadn't drunk tap water for a couple of weeks, so the reading was probably a little lower than our previous daily levels. Lead does not leave the body by itself, most of it ends up being deposited in tissues and bones," Allmere said.

The family also contacted water company Tallinna Vesi and decided to replace all the water pipes entering their property in the spring.

"Now that all the pipes have been replaced, I did the water tests again just in case. Even though the lead level had dropped considerably, it was still above the permitted limit of 11 ug/l. With new pipes, the reading should be 0. This indicates that to some extent the lead is also coming from the water in the tramway, which gets there via the backflow from old pipes in the neighboring buildings, as Tallinna Vesi claims their tramway pipes have been replaced," Allmere said.

Allmere believes Tallinna Vesi should now carry out an information campaign to inform housing associations about the possibility of old lead pipes in the area.

Tallinna Vesi: Pipe material often only revealed during excavation

Tarvi Thomberg, Tallinna Vesi's deputy managing director, said tap water in the Estonian capital is generally safe, and that it is monitored by both the company itself and the Health Board.

"The public water supply pipes in Tallinn are either plastic, steel or cast iron – these are modern and safe materials. The use of lead in water pipes ended at the beginning of the 20th century and was only used for some building pipe connections, while both steel and cast iron connections were built at the same time. The vast majority of buildings and plumbing infrastructure in Tallinn is much newer and so, lead was no longer used as a material for the piping. In general, therefore, the tap water is safe and its quality is constantly monitored by both the water company and the Health Board. During the year, Tallinna Vesi alone takes more than 3,000 water samples," Thomberg told ERR.

However, Tallinn Vesi has no data available on the materials used to install pipes in buildings before the 20th century, so it does not know where lead pipes may still be hiding in the capital.

"Often the material that a pipe is made from is only revealed during excavation. If our company has identified a section of a housing connection with a lead pipe while doing water damage work somewhere, we have replaced it with one made from modern materials. Over the course of a year, Tallinna Vesi renews and re-lays nearly 45 km of piping," added Thomberg.

According to Thomberg, various tests have shown that the water in pipes can only exceed the limit value for lead if it is left to sit there a long period of time. In other words, when the piping is not used.

"The general recommendation is not to use the water that has been sat in the pipes, but to let it run for a while and use fresh water. If there are any doubts, you can have the water analyzed by a laboratory and we recommend doing that to be sure. The water company also carries out additional analyses itself on a regular basis, and the lead levels in the analyses we have conducted have not exceeded the permitted limit (10 ug/l). We will continue to deal with the example reported in the media from a building in Kadriorg and take further water analyses to investigate the situation further," Thomberg said.

Thomberg also pointed out that the issue of lead Allmere believes Tallinna Vesi should now carry out an information campaign to inform housing associations about the possibility of old lead pipes in the area.

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