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Tuesday 17 April 2018

Scientists, Yorkshire Water collaborate to reduce lead in water




University Of Huddersfield scientists and Yorkshire Water will combine to help reduce the traces of lead occasionally found in tap water. The university has been supplied with equipment from treatment plants, including rigs that mimic the lead pipes that connect to the mains in some older houses.
The equipment will enable project leader Dr Jeremy Hopwood and postdoctoral researcher Dr Taher Rabizadeh to simulate aspects of domestic plumbing systems, and replicate the problems that can arise from the lead piping that still connects a large number of homes to the mains. A key aim of the project is to identify whether any further improvements can be achieved by changes to water chemistry to reduce exposure to lead. For their experiments and analysis, the two chemists will use both tap water and water that they have synthesised in the new lab.
The research is being funded by the utility Yorkshire Water, as part of its long-term strategy to remove lead where it can and minimise lead solubility elsewhere. They estimate around 900,000 properties around the region have some lead pipe associated with them. A key aim is to ensure compliance with the current legal UK limit of 10 micrograms of lead per litre. Also taking part in the research are professor Paul Humphreys and Dr Gemma Sweeney, alongside the utility’s Jenny Banks, John Haley and Stephen Coleman.

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