Several years ago I was obliged to buy a 40 metre 18mm garden hose (Australian made). That summer, as I filled a watering can, I was taken aback by the large pile of white foam that spilled out of the top and spout of the watering can when it was barely half-filled. It was as though I’d tipped a good amount of dishwashing detergent in it. There was a smell too - chemical, but not acrid. I let the first lot of water in the hose run out (though it pained me to waster so much) and tried again. Less foam, but still plenty to do one’s dishes in.
I thought I’d do a bit of research but had no luck with finding much in the way of scholarly articles. However less, largely unreferenced, sites made for alarming reading. This from one:
Lead, BPA, and phthalates are used in garden hoses mainly to stabilize the plastics. The most common plastic is polyvinyl chloride, which may release toxic vinyl chloride. Antimony and bromine are components of flame retardant chemicals.
A study conducted by the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor, M.I. (healthystuff.org), found lead levels exceeded the safety limits set by the Safe Water Drinking Act in 100% of the garden hoses they tested. A third of the hoses contained organotin, which disrupts the endocrine system. Half the hoses contained antimony, which is linked to liver, kidney, and other organ damage. All of the randomly selected hoses contained extremely high levels of phthalates, which can lower intelligence, damage the endocrine system, and cause behavioral changes.
Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. “Is It Safe to Drink Water From a Hose?” ThoughtCo, Sep. 3, 2019, thoughtco.com/is-it-safe-to-drink-hose-water-609429.
Then I realised that the articles I was reading were mostly based on the same 2016 Ecology Center study in the USA. Here’s part of the executive summary:
- Lead in the metal parts: 15% of metal fittings (4 of 27) contained elevated lead. This represents an improvement . Five years ago, 40% of metal fittings tested (44 of 110) contained lead. Most of these had high lead levels in the range of 1 to 6% by weight.
- Recycled electronic waste vinyl appears to have been used in a number of PVC hoses, resulting in high levels of bromine (indicating brominated flame retardants), lead, antimony, and tin (indicating organotin stabilizers).
- BPA and lead were found to leach into water held in certain hoses. Phthalates were not detected in the hose water, although similar leaching tests in recent years did find phthalates leaching into the water.
- The ten hoses labeled “Drinking water safe” were free of significant lead, bromine, antimony, and tin. However, three (30%) of them contained potentially hazardous phthalates.
So, apart from telling anyone who’d listen, I decided to release the first 40 metres of water according to a rough calculation, and to fill the birdbaths using a watering can filled from the tap. My plants didn’t die, but it still bothered me. Surely, though, if it was a genuine health concern we’d know about it?
This year I thought to try my hand at growing some veggies. I thought about the hose water. I thought about one of the main findings in that ecocenter study:
BPA and lead were found to leach into water held in certain hoses.
Are people watering their food plants with these ‘certain hoses’? Organic farmers? ‘Kids in schools’?
Garden hoses and the water coming out of them are benign objects everywhere you look. TV, backyards with slippery slides and inflatable swimming pools.
This is just one study. Are there more, maybe you know of one? Because I would like to know and, I believe the world should know - is there BPA and lead in the water from a PVC garden hose?
Added 10th Oct (I attempted to add this beneath my original message but it went under someone’s reply - it’s not directed at any response in particular)
While opinion has its place (I don’t have enough evidence, as yet, to form one - just enough to have concerns) what I am really looking for is independent, rigorous research that leads to a definitive answer. If it should emerge that there is BPA and lead in the water from a PVC garden hose, other questions will follow - one being the possible take-up of these toxins by food plants watered with it. If there is no such research then I believe it is warranted due to public health considerations.