Ž . The Science of the Total Environment 275 2001 1926 Lead contamination in tap water of households with children in Lower Saxony, Germany Bjorn Zietz  , Julia Dassel de Vergara, Sebastian Kevekordes, ¨ Hartmut Dunkelberg Medical Institute of General Hygiene and En ironmental Health, Uni  ersity of Gottingen, Windausweg 2, ¨ D-37073 Gottingen, Germany ¨ Received 7 January 2000; accepted 20 February 2000 Abstract Lead has numerous acute and chronic adverse effects on human beings. This is especially true for infants and children. The main path of lead ingestion in children can be different according to housing and living situation. The intake of lead through drinking water is commonly due to metal corrosion. The users plumbing can be an important factor. In recent years, many lead pipes in Germany have been replaced by pipes made of an alternative material. The aim of this study is to assess the present state of drinking water contamination and the resulting exposure of infants to lead. For this purpose mothers of new-born babies were offered a free examination of their drinking water. After a written declaration of consent had been obtained and after the infant in question had reached an age of 3 months, a stagnation sample of cold tap-water after overnight stagnation together with a random daytime sample was obtained from the family. The collected samples were analysed by atomic absorption spectrometry for their lead concentration. In total, 1485 samples from households were collected. Of the 1434 stagnation samples, 3.1% had lead Ž . concentrations greater than 0.01 mgl recommended limit of the WHO and 0.6% had concentrations above the Ž . limit of the German drinking water regulation 0.04 mgl . The values for the 1474 random daytime samples were 2.1% above 0.01 mgl and 0.2% greater than 0.04 mgl, respectively. By region, the areas Bovenden, Friedland, Duderstadt, Northeim and Rosdorf were particularly affected. The highest measured concentrations of lead in the stagnation samples were 0.11 mgl and 0.15 mgl in the random daytime samples, respectively.  2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Lead; Drinking water; Lead pipes; Lower Saxony  Corresponding author. Tel.: 49-551-394971; fax: 49-551-394957. Ž . E-mail address: bzietz@gwdg.de B. Zietz . 0048-969701$ - see front matter  2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Ž . PII: S 0 0 4 8 - 9 6 9 7 00 00453-8