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Also, who knows through what pipes bottled water have flowed through. Not only that, but the plants we eat contain every mineral I can think of, including copper. All depends on which minerals and chemical elements are present in the ground the plants grow at.
Besides that, there are medical conditions where one's body builds up too much iron, or copper, and so on. My father in law, who is nearly 90 years old suffers from a medical condition that effects the iron contents in his blood. For some reason he has an abnormally high amount of iron in his blood, but he has lived a long life without problems other than old age, and I don't think he has been poisoned by iron-made drinking water pipes.
Copper pipes are quite safe, and can last a very long time (they won't rust). The only real concern would be, if they are very old, they might contain lead in the solder at joints, whereas more modern copper installations do not contain lead in the solder. Not sure when that changed, but certainly by the 1950s.
Also, brass was used for water pipes at one time, and they sometimes are mistaken for copper, but they tend to have threaded fittings, not soldered. Brass too will last a long time (I still have a couple of runs of original brass waterlines in my house, built in 1892--they are still going strong--the rest were replaced with copper at some point in the 1960s or 70s).
What you really want to be concerned about, and look out for, are old lead water pipes. They usually have threaded fittings and can be mistaken for old galvanized iron or steel pipes.
These should be replaced if they are still being used. However, just because a house is old, does not mean its pipes will be as well. Over the course of say 100 years, its quite possible the water pipes were replaced entirely at least once, or even twice (or more likely, a mix of older and newer as alterations, additions and repairs have been done).
The service pipe from the street to the meter was often lead, and those are still fairly common to find in use. I am not sure exactly when lead stopped being used in the US for water pipes in homes, but I have seen them as service lines from the street in houses built as late as about 1935.
I am interested in buying a house that says it has copper pipes. I have read about some health risks associated with copper pipes, specifically the body's effects of ingesting too much copper that gets into the water. Apparently Alzheimer's disease is also linked to copper pipes.
How can I find out the age of the copper pipes, and would an inspection tell me the condition of these pipes? Any thoughts about the health risks? Should I consider ripping them all out and having them replaced?
If you need an inspections to check for cracks, bulges, lead soldering or such, do it. Some plumbers won't charge too much nor will they say you need one thing over the other, they will give you options.
Unless one of the aforementioned things is wrong in a BIG way, don't rip out the plumbing. Yes there are cheaper materials, but the current craze of PEX pipe has been found, according to a Purdue University study, to leach toxic chemicals into the water above EPA standards. Especially in new plumbing. PVC also has as much leachate, though not in the same chemicals. Remeember that all plastics are manmade and aren't even anywhere near being natural, no matter how"safe" it is claimed to be. Also, it is usually with new copper plumbing that the majority of health concerns are, existing plumbing has an inner lining created over time that makes the water less likely to contain copper in unhealthy amounts.
If you are seriously concerned, have your water tested. My Dad did for about a hundred dollars. And isn't it worth it more for peace of mind than in twenty years hearing how plastic plumbing created a third arm on some kids who are now teenagers?
Ultimately it is all your choice, and i'd stick with the tried and true, only replacing it if you HAVE to as long as it is currently safe. God bless.
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Also, who knows through what pipes bottled water have flowed through. Not only that, but the plants we eat contain every mineral I can think of, including copper. All depends on which minerals and chemical elements are present in the ground the plants grow at.
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