Hundreds of years from now, scientists analysing the bones of 20th century Parisians may discover that they - like the ancient Romans - died prematurely of lead poisoning.
The Romans stored their wine in lead jars, not knowing that lead is a poisonous metal that stays in the blood for several weeks before lodging in the bones.
A report published yesterday by the Federal Union of Consumers in its September Que Choisir journal shows that banal tap water, not wine, is now a health hazard to tens of millions of French people. The lead they ingest can cause brain damage, especially among young children. It may also be responsible for birth defects, and is carcinogenic.
Other sources of lead poisoning are industrial pollution, peeling paint in old buildings and leaded petrol - all considered less dangerous than drinking water in France.
In a study carried out with the ministry of the environment, Que Choisir tested water samples from 137 apartment buildings in 20 French cities. In 13 of 137 homes, the lead content was higher than 50 micrograms per litre of water; unfit for human consumption under French regulations.
In the rue Las Cases in Paris's 7th arrondissement - probably the most expensive street in the capital - the initial stream of water when a tap was opened contained 510 micrograms of lead per litre, more than 10 times the legal French limit and 50 times the World Health Organisation's recommended limit.
Old lead pipes are at fault. Our word "plumber" comes from the Latin word for lead, because until recently lead was the material of choice for water pipes. In France, lead pipes were not outlawed until 1995, and four million lead pipe installations connect water networks across the country to the meters in private buildings, while 10 million French apartment buildings have internal plumbing systems made of lead.
The study published yesterday follows a 1995 EU report which estimated 32 million French people risked lead poisoning from drinking water. A 1998 EU directive will reduce the legal limit to 25 micrograms per litre by the end of 2003, and to 10 micrograms, recommended by the WHO, in 2013.
Prompted by the Que Choisir report, Lyonnaise des eaux, one of several French water companies, this week announced that it will spend Ffr 5.5 billion (£660 million) to replace old lead connection pipes before the 2013 deadline. The cost of replacing all lead pipes in France, public and private, is estimated at Ffr 120 billion (£14.4 billion).
In the meantime, the French consumer group is helping members of the public who want to test the lead content of their water supply. Never drink the first water that comes out of the tap in the morning, Que Choisir advises its readers - it probably stagnated in lead pipes overnight. Let the tap run for a while before using water for food or drinking, and never use hot water to wash or cook food because lead is absorbed more quickly into hot water.
