Lead arsenate was sprayed directly onto fruit (like apples) as an insecticide until the government revoked its authorization for use on food products in 1988.
No OP and I don't know about 1988, but lead pipes are still common in the US, either many states have them or all states do. Flint, MI has a plan to eliminate them this year, maybe.
Lead in pipes is only a problem if you have the wrong water chemistry. If the water is naturally or or treated to have the right pH then lead phosphates form and no lead leeches into the water.
Hm, didn't know about that. I wonder if that is why my mom never bought canned vegetables when I was a kid. She always bought frozen if she couldn't get fresh.
I'd be interested too, the only thing I could find was the Lead Contamination Act of 1988 that was supposed to fight contaminated water coolers - pretty bizarre that this was actually a thing.
