Not so bad, funny enough! The Romans recognized that lead was unhealthy, but knew that running water through the pipes would cause calcium buildup which prevented the lead leaching into the water supply after a few months’ use.
The real lead issue was that Romans boiled down grape sweetener in lead vessels, specifically, because the lead would react with the grape juice and make the resulting syrup sweeter.
Don’t forget lead pipes.
Not so bad, funny enough! The Romans recognized that lead was unhealthy, but knew that running water through the pipes would cause calcium buildup which prevented the lead leaching into the water supply after a few months’ use.
The real lead issue was that Romans boiled down grape sweetener in lead vessels, specifically, because the lead would react with the grape juice and make the resulting syrup sweeter.
Delicious!