Procedure for Determining Lead Levels in Water

Question

I enjoyed chemistry in college and have always wanted an excuse to try it at home. A relative is currently very worried about lead from various sources. I think this is a great excuse to get back into chemistry. I was looking for a procedure that could determine the quantity of lead in a water sample. I was not able to find much on the topic but I did find this. https://chemistry-dictionary.yallascience.com/2017/05/determination-of-lead-by-edta-titration.html

My only concern with this procedure is I'm not sure what concentrations are required for a positive result, and I do not know if the test is invalidated by the presence of other metals in the solution.

Obviously "ship it off to a lab" is not the answer here, as testing for lead is only an excuse to buy some glassware. Procedures that require expensive equipment, or require a high quality fume extraction system are obviously not viable, though I can't imagine testing for lead is that complex considering you can buy test strips from the hardware store.

Edit: Mauricehas confirmed my suspicion that the included procedure will not work for the above reasons. I am still interested if anyone knows of a procedure that works in the ppm range.

Answer 1

The mentioned reference is valid for titrating lead solutions which don't contain other ions. If the $\ce{Pb^{2+}}$ solution contains also some other ions, like $\ce{Ca^{2+}}$ or $\ce{Mg^{2+}}$, the procedure will titrate the total amount of these ions. Furthermore, it is valid for concentrations of the order of $50$ to $1000$ mg/L $\ce{Pb}$ if the reference volume to be measured is $20$ mL. If the solutions you want to titrate contains less $\ce{Pb^{2+}}$, this amount is too small to be determined by the given method.