Fun fact: Romans were well aware of lead poisoning and preferred terracotta pipes. When they did use lead they allowed mineral buildup inside the pipes, which shielded the water from the lead itself.
This limestone encrustation (sinter, from the German), which had to be periodically chipped away, suggests that deposits of calcium carbonate in pipes and aqueducts protected against corrosion and insulated against the introduction of lead into the water they conveyed. Too, with no taps to shut off, water flowed continuously and so would not have been in prolonged contact with the metal. https://penelope.uchicago.edu/encyclopaedia_romana/wine/leadpoisoning.html
Lead plates are fine as long as you don’t eat anything that is both liquid and acidic. Pewter plates (when it was still made with lead) were used until very recently.
Still not much in the grand scheme of things. Smelting lead to extract silver would have been a far greater contributor, especially since it makes the lead airborne as leaded fuel did recently.
It’s like they studied the fall of Rome and said yes let’s do that
Fun fact: Romans were well aware of lead poisoning and preferred terracotta pipes. When they did use lead they allowed mineral buildup inside the pipes, which shielded the water from the lead itself.
They still used lead-based makeup and ate on lead plates.
Lead plates are fine as long as you don’t eat anything that is both liquid and acidic. Pewter plates (when it was still made with lead) were used until very recently.
Liquid and acidic like garum? The fermented fish sauce the Romans put on pretty much everything?
Still not much in the grand scheme of things. Smelting lead to extract silver would have been a far greater contributor, especially since it makes the lead airborne as leaded fuel did recently.