&gt; It&#x27;s hard to imagine why the U.S. ever had a single lead water pipe, let alone huge numbers of them.<p>Lead has some advantages. Its melting point is low, so it&#x27;s easy to weld. It doesn&#x27;t corrode quickly, so pipes last a long time. And it&#x27;s malleable, so pipes don&#x27;t break when soil and foundation shift. But yes, it&#x27;s very poisonous, so the advantages are moot for drinking water.<p>For corrosive waste plumbing, on the other hand, it can be a good choice. It even tolerates HF, which glass doesn&#x27;t. Glass is sexier, however.