Shocking: Undrinkable tap water in Budapest, hundreds of thousands in danger

In a representative exploratory monitoring programme of 60 sampling sites, 14 percent of the water samples taken at tap opening and 6 percent of the samples taken after 1 minute of run-off exceeded the lead limit. Here is why this is dangerous and how this problem could be solved.

Tap water in Budapest

G7 writes that they have tested the lead content of tap water. The samples were taken from the kitchen of a house built in the late 1970s and one built in the 1920s in Budapest. Unfortunately, the results have backed up the research team’s horrible suspicions. In the older house, lead concentrations were almost 40 micrograms per litre, four times the limit of 10 micrograms per litre, in the water that was taken right after opening the tap. Meanwhile, in the late-1970s house, the concentration was only 0.29 micrograms.

The results revealed that the lead risk is significant in houses built before 1970, but mostly before 1945. Back then, lead pipes were still used for plumbing. Based on the age of the building stock, some 50,000 buildings in Budapest, affecting 620,000 people, and 32,000 buildings in the countryside, affecting 130,000 people, are in danger due to the lead levels, according to the National Water Utility Strategy of 2021.

Lead in the human body and its dangers

The main sources of lead entering the human body are food, dust and air. Drinking water contributes 10–15% to the total lead intake. According to calculations from 1997, Hungarians’ daily lead intake is about 130 micrograms, which is 52 percent of the temporarily tolerable weekly intake. If we project the amounts for over a week, we can see that Hungarians are putting 3.5 times more lead into their bodies through food alone than we could tolerate temporarily, not in the long run.

Lead intake from air and tap water only makes this number even higher. Moreover, there is no safe lead level for children, its intake should be minimised. Lead intake from drinking water can be a long-term, low-dose intake of lead. The most notable danger of lead for children is its negative effects on their mental development. Several studies have shown a link between blood lead levels and reduced IQ in children.

Possible solution

The lead levels of water can be reduced if we run the tap water for at least one minute. Then we can collect a bigger amount of water and then store it in the fridge for a day. It is also suggested to only drink and cook with cold water from the tap. However, these will not solve the problem itself. Thus, the only real solution is a full-scale replacement of pipes and other lead sources in the entire building. In addition to pipes, lead can also leach from water meters, galvanised steel pipes, taps, lead-containing solder and copper pipes and lead-containing fittings.