I’m remodeling my kitchen and have heard there is lead in faucets. Is this true? And, if so, are there lead-free faucets? Where can I buy them?

Dan from Tampa

Debra Lynn Dadd "Queen of Green"

EXPERT ANSWER: First, there is no safe level for lead exposure, so anything you can do to reduce your lead exposure to any degree is good.

A 1996 amendment to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act called for “lead free” plumbing fixtures. At that time, a “lead-free” fixture was legally defined as one that had 8% or less lead in it (this is hardly “free of lead” but imagine how much more  lead was in faucets prior to 1986!)

According to NSF: Faucets. federal law now requires faucets to meet the lead leaching requirements outlined in their NSF/ANSI Standard 61, which sets limit to lead leaching to no more than 5 ppb of lead into drinking water. You can view their list of faucets that meet this standard at: NSF Certified Faucets. New faucets meeting the NSF 61 standard will have “NSF 61/9″ stamped on cardboard box.

Last year, my husband and I replaced the pre-1996 faucet in our kitchen. We had no problem finding NSF 61/9 faucets at all the local stores that sell faucets. It’s pretty much the standard now. But check the label to be sure.

Coming up on 1/1/2010, the NSF standard goes down to ≤ 0.25 percent lead. That’s better!

More info: San Francisco Public Utilities Commission: Identifying & Purchasing Lead-Free Faucets.