Sneaky Chemical Exposures - The Garden Hose?!

It's a tough world to navigate.  Parents make hundreds of choices a day; all of which can potentially impact their children's health.  No pressure.  Unfortunately, some of the choices we make are ill-informed.  The worst is when you don't even realize you're ill-informed.

The other day, my son was happily filling his pool with the garden hose.  When the obvious next thing happened and he drank from the hose, I was hit by a powerful "ick" factor.  However, when all the other adults found it hilarious, my son did too, and kept it up for the sake of performance.  I wanted to stop him, but I just couldn't bring myself to crush his joy.  Reassuring myself with thoughts of how many people have drunk copious amounts of hose water during endless summers, I allowed him to continue, stifling my gut reaction.

 Photo by Mark Turnauckas; downloaded from Flickr without amendment

The next day, I told the story to my friend.  Feeling it was a stupid question since she was talking to her doctor friend (yours truly) who happens to be quite proactive about chemical exposures, she asked anyway: "your hose is lead free, right?"  Well, I should have known this, but it turns out, many of the garden hoses sold in the United States right now do contain lead, as well as BPA and phthalates.

The good news is that, according to a study by HealthyStuff.org, the number of hoses containing lead  did drop from 2012 to 2013.  However, even in 2013, 14% of the hoses they measured contained greater than 100 parts per million of lead.  When no amount of lead is safe for any living being, particularly a child, this is 14% too many.

And, for someone who assiduously avoids plastic, letting my son drink from a BPA- and phthalate-ridden hose was a major lapse in judgment.

Photo by Marc Lagneau; downloaded from Flickr without amendement

So, how can you save your children from the garden hose?  Buy a lead-free hose that is food grade polyurethane or rubber, "drinking water safe," and outfitted with non-brass fittings, such as nickel, aluminum, or stainless steel (brass may be okay if it is certified lead free).  Also, be sure to store your hose in the shade, and let it run for a few minutes before watering edibles or filling the kiddie pool.

Find more information on garden hose safety at:
HealthyStuff.org
Time Magazine
The Environment Report

Find more information on the problem of lead exposure at:
CDC
Kids Health
Mayo Clinic
Bioscience Technology

Find more information on the problem of exposure to BPA and phthalates at:
WebMD
Medscape
CNN
WebMD Fetal Exposure to Plastics and Asthma Risk