Montreal's plan for removing lead pipes far behind schedule

Ten years after promising aggressive action on lead pipes, Montreal's efforts are way behind schedule, a Radio-Canada investigation has found.

In 2006, Montreal established a 20-year plan for replacing lead pipes on its territory. Ten years later, only 8,000 of the 69,000 identified dwellings have been fixed.

The city's executive committee is expected to approve additional financing today that will provide funding for 5,000 replacements a year.

This latest plan will prioritize post-war homes built in the 1940s and 1950s, which are considered most at-risk of contamination.

"We have to do this, it's our responsibility. We want to attain zero risk," said Chantal Rouleau, the executive committee member responsible for water.

• Lead found in FACE school's drinking water

Theplan will only replace lead pipes on public property, under the sidewalk in front of homes.

The city willalso encouragehomeowners to replace the pipes on their private property, otherwise the problem won't be resolved.

To this end, the city will be distributing 360,000 letters to property owners and tenants starting in mid-July informing them of the dangers of lead piping.

Level of risk up for debate

Montreal public health official Monique Beausoleil says therisks are limited to pregnant women and children under six years of age.Even then, the risks are not significant, she said.

"It's not an emergency. It's not the kind of exposure that puts children at risk," she said.

Action is required in those homes.It's significant enough to increase the levels of lead in the blood of children.- MichlePrvost, professor atPolytechnique Montral

No case of lead poisoning from tap water has ever been registered in Montreal, Beausoleil added.

She said the amount of lead children are exposed to today is much less than their parents' generation, when lead was present in paint, petrol,packaging and toys.

If you have lead pipes and are pregnant or have children under six years old, public health recommendsusing a water filter that's certifiedNSF/ANSI53.

It's also recommended that you let the water run for a few minutes before drinking it.

Readings higher than Flint?

That view is disputed by Polytechnique Montral professorMichle Prvost, who specializes in drinking water.

• Safe drinking? How Flint's water crisis came to be a state of emergency

She saidlead levels measured in some post-war homes in Montreal are more elevatedthanhigh-concentrationareasinFlint, Mich.

"Action is required in those homes.It's significant enough to increase the levels of lead in the blood of children," she said.

Prvost said the norms used in Quebec when it comes to lead are less stringent than international standards.

"[Montreal's] public health authority's position is different from the World Health Organization, from Health Canada, from many provincial governments, from the Centre for Disease Control in the United States," she said.

"It's up to you to judge."

Lead pipes are most common in homes or apartments of less than eight units built before 1970, and especially during the 1940s and 1950s. Theyare grey,don't resonate when struck and won't attract a magnet.