Starbase Zero Water Supply
Starbase Zero receives its exquisitely flavored tap
water from the Cambridge water supply. Many inhabitants of the house
improve the taste and nutrition of their water by brewing tea.
Starbase Zero Lead Test Results
Information about lead in your drinking water
is available.
Starbase Zero had its tap water tested for lead in
January 1996 by John MacFarlane, Research Engineer of the MIT Civil
Engineering Dept. Two water samples were taken from the cold
tap of our kitchen (after the water had been standing for over six
hours) and analyzed using an atomic absorbsion spectrometer, a device
which burns a sample and tells how much of a substance was in the
sample. The results were:
- Sample taken before flushing water: 5.1 ppb Pb
- Sample taken after flushing water: below detection limits
(less than 0.3 ppb Pb)
The initial tap water sample had elevated Pb levels (action level is
15 ppb Pb), but is not considered a health risk. This signal
disappears with flushing.
Thus we recommend that Starbase Zero water users
flush the cold tap before using water for drinking, cooking, or
brewing tea.
Last updated 13 March 1996.