Impact of Water Chemistry on Lead Carbonate Dissolution in Drinking Water Distribution Systems

Elemental lead is a known toxic metal that can pose threats to human health and can be found in a variety of sources including drinking water at very low level concentrations (i.e. μg/L range). Destabilization of the corrosion scale at the inner layer of pipeline is the major source of lead in drinking water. Chemical properties of the water passing through the distribution system such as pH, alkalinity, chlorine content, oxidation reduction potential (ORP) and natural organic matters will affect the formation and/or destabilization of the corrosion scale. This research examines the impact of pH values (7.0 9.5), temperatures (5 ̊C vs 20 ̊C) and alkalinity levels (moderate vs low), in the presence of chlorine, on dissolution of hydrocerussite and cerussite in drinking water by various sets of batch dissolution experiments. The results showed dissolution of cerussite and hydrocerussite was not impacted significantly by pH ranging 7.0 9.5. In addition, and somewhat surprisingly, cold temperature (5 ̊C) and moderate alkalinity showed a great influence on decreasing the solubility of lead species.