Chemical added to water to combat lead pipes

Irish Water is looking to add a chemical to the water supply in Limerick to reduce the levels of lead found in the supply.

Jerry Grant, head of asset management at Irish Water, said the company will be introducing orthophosphate in the coming weeks as part of a pilot project. If the programme is successful, the organisation plans to implement it in other areas also.

Irish Water estimates 200,000 households could have lead piping. This means hundreds of thousands of people may be consuming dangerous levels of lead on a daily basis.