The historical installation of lead service pipes to supply drinking water has left a legacy health issue through the leaching of lead into the drinking water . In response to the awareness of this risk governments have imposed increasingly tighter standards. In Europe it is estimated that circa 25 % of properties may have a lead service pipe and most of these are at risk of infringing the European standard for lead in the absence of suitable corrosion inhibitors ). In the UK there are estimated 8 million properties with lead services pipes . In the North America there are estimated over 3 million properties with lead service pipes .