**6. Lead in drinking water**

Recent scientific findings suggest that all exposures to lead should be avoided as there is no safe exposure concentration for lead. The lower concentration levels of lead in water (<10–13 μg/l) obtained in the mining area may be disguised when compared to that in soil because children who drink contaminated water are also exposed to lead-contaminated dust and/or get exposure through hand to mouth behavior, a bigger impact of lead poisoning may arise. Therefore even the lower concentrations found in drinking water wells in most contaminated villages in Zamfara State might be a risk, especially for younger children aged 0 to 5 years. However, since results from the investigations of Zamfara lead poisoning reported no contamination in boreholes, drinking water from boreholes might be considered a safe alternative for people in the villages [17].
