Lead in brass beads?

[EricF 0]

OK, we're not talking hypotheticals - there have been 29 cases of adults having elevated blood lead levels in Maine over the last 10 years that were related to reloading, casting lead or shooting. In this case "elevated" is considered 25 ug lead/dL blood - which is the occupational guideline and is generally considered not adequate. There has been interest in lowering that to 10 and as I already mentioned there are several toxicological endpoints in adults that have recently been determined to act with no threshold - check the National Toxicology Program reports if you are interested, they came out this summer.

 

There is an adult blood lead surveillance program called ABLES - they regularly report statistics on sources of exposure for adults in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. In 2008 there were 26 individuals poisoned through hobby casting and in 2009 there were 20. Again poisoned being defined as 25 ug/dL in blood.

 

I think there is a significant difference between a kid getting into a hook. Which hurts. Compared to ingesting a lead containing sinker or other product, which leads to irreversible brain damage (and this is the kind of exposure where we see much more significant blood lead levels and impacts). The data on lead poisoning in children is of excellent quality, so don't tell me that it doesn't exist. Take a look at ATSDR's toxicological profile for lead if you want a dated summary. There are several case studies from the medical literature of chlidren ingesting lead containing fishing gear W. Scott St. Clair and John Benjamin Lead Intoxication from Ingestion of Fishing Sinkers: A Case Study and Review of the Literature CLIN PEDIATR 2008 47: 66 is one example.

 

Lead is an element - whether it is used for fly fishing or reloading has no bearing on it's toxicology. If it is ingested then it can have quite serious effects. I'm not arguing we should ban lead in fly fishing - I'm saying people should be aware of the risks and act appropriately. Toddlers like to put stuff in their mouths and lead containing items poison them. Period. Sure, more kids are going to die in car accidents than by incidentally ingesting lead. But that is not an excuse for ignoring data that shows there is lead in brass and that there are cases where children eat lead containing products and are seriously poisoned. Can I point to a case where a child ingested a bead intended for fly tying and had lead poisoning? No, and I'm not going to look. Do you need that kind of evidence to be careful around your kids? I think not. Sure there are still people who believe the earth is flat. And they can believe that. Just don't feed brass beads to your kids...you'll poison them.

 

And just for the record, I reload, I shoot, and I live in an old house full of lead paint and I raised my daughter here. It can be done safely.

[kimjensen 0]

Thank you very much for all the replys. Here in DK we have strict rules for lead in fishing tackle, but not all retailers follow the rules. We get products from both USA and China, so i don't know how we would even check if the values are being held by the manufacture. But i have asked Griffin if they have any lead in their accesories and their reply was No, so i guess they have them self a new costumer. Not that i will only buy their products.

[JSzymczyk 0]

Just don't feed brass beads to your kids...you'll poison them.

 

And just for the record, I reload, I shoot, and I live in an old house full of lead paint and I raised my daughter here. It can be done safely.

 

And that, really, is all that needs to be said, right?

 

I would be willing to bet a lot of my hard earned money that there has not been a documented case of lead "poisoning" or detectable lead in bloodstream for that matter, due to contact or ingestion of FLY TYING BRASS BEADS.

 

 

Of those 29 people over the last 10 years, how were the elevated levels discovered? Were they incidental to other conditions or tests, or were they a primary reason for some condition caused by the lead itself? I know my Doc has a lead-check done on my blood annually as part of my physical, because he knows I handload and shoot a lot. Never found anything.

 

 

 

 

[tidewaterfly 0]

I'm in agreement with both EricJ & Joel. Anytime there is lead being used, whether alone or as an alloy, safety should be a concern. I've molded lead fishing tackle too for many years, literally thousands of jig heads & many hundreds of pounds of lead, and like Joel make a point of having my blood checked when I have physicals each year. So far, there has been no issues. I wear appropriate PPE, only use specific utensils for lead & provide plenty of ventilation. My children are all grown, but I do have grand kids to consider & of course mine & my wife's health.

 

As far as fly tying beads, cones, etc. go that might or might not contain lead, IMO it would always be a good idea to keep such things away from small children anyway, if for no other reason than it could also be a choking hazard. Also, keep in mind that many such beads we tie with are coated, either with paints or some other finish. This helps limit any leeching and possible exposure IF lead is present. Lead & products containing lead in fly tying can be used safely, but anyone doing so should be aware there is always possible health issues. Use some common sense & you should be fine.