Red-Lead

Download or read book Red-Lead written by Alvah Sabin and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2015-05-20 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An interesting, yet disturbing excerpt from page 49: Water Tanks and Pipes It has been said that red-lead paint is used on interiors of water tanks, standpipes and conduits. Twenty or thirty years ago it was thought that this might contaminate the water with lead salts, which would occasion lead-poisoning; but consideration of the fact that red-lead paint is almost universally used on the outside of ships suggested the conclusion that as the paint does not decompose, but remains to give good service for years, it must be that the lead does not go into solution, and therefore is perfectly safe. At first attempts were made to evade the question; to get the good qualities the paint was made half red-lead and half some other material, as graphite, and the red-lead was reduced still more in the finishing coat. Probably this was also done to avoid prejudice, for there was much loose talk about lead-poisoning from lead water-pipes; but in later years this has been so completely disproved that the cities of New York and Boston and many more will not allow any but lead pipes to be laid between the street mains and the houses; and now the most eminent sanitary engineers, such as those of the Massachusetts state organization referred to, are using pure red-lead for all three coats on such work. No lead is found in the water, and the paint is quite satisfactory. Current Publisher's Disclaimer: "Oops"...