Is Your Garden Hose Toxic?

Lead, BPA, you name it. Some of the most harmful chemicals still on the market are in your garden hose.

As a gardener, I’m always sipping water from the hose — especially during these brutally hot days when I have no choice but to get out and weed. You can imagine how dismayed I was to come upon research released by the Ecology Center, which tested water coming from standard garden hoses and found that it can contain lead, endocrine disruptors and neurotoxins, especially in older hoses.

Hose fittings contain brass, an alloy that can contain up to 8% lead. One in three hoses tested had levels of lead that exceeded drinking water standards — one as high as 18 times the level. It turns out that hoses aren’t covered by the same lead laws that govern plumbing fixtures — even though those hoses are watering our food. Lead is also used as a stabilizer or pigment in the tube, especially in yellow and green hoses, which are practically ubiquitous. Lead is a potent neurotoxin that especially affects children. Newer hoses, purchased since 2007, when a lawsuit led by California required labeling on hoses, might be lead-free, although Consumer Reports testing in 2011 still found lead in new hoses.

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