The Fatal Attraction of Lead

John Winter · Oct 15, 2014

For millennia lead has held a deep attraction for painters, builders, chemists and winemakers - but historically it's also done untold harm, especially to children. And while it's been banned in petrol, your car still contains several kilograms of it. So have we finally learned how to use lead safely?

Detectorists also find lots of the stuff over here in the UK ... this is a fascinating article from the BBC NEWS Magazine:

BBC News - The fatal attraction of lead

BosnMate · Oct 15, 2014

When I was a kid I carried the lead pellets my air gun fired in my mouth. I wonder if 65 years later that's why I'm so dumb when it comes to figuring out this computer.

mavroskylos · Oct 15, 2014

BosnMate said:
When I was a kid I carried the lead pellets my air gun fired in my mouth. I wonder if 65 years later that's why I'm so dumb when it comes to figuring out this computer.

Me too, I wonder if I would have grown up to be a genius if I hadn't done that.

Diggin-N-Dumps · Oct 15, 2014

BosnMate said:
When I was a kid I carried the lead pellets my air gun fired in my mouth. I wonder if 65 years later that's why I'm so dumb when it comes to figuring out this computer.

..and how many times did you bite down on the lead sinker to crimp it on the fishing line....I did ..uh..EVERYTIME..lol

bayou bandit · Oct 16, 2014

BosnMate said:
When I was a kid I carried the lead pellets my air gun fired in my mouth. I wonder if 65 years later that's why I'm so dumb when it comes to figuring out this computer.

I did the same thing and I still bite down on lead sinkers when bream fishing, maybe I could qualify for disability so I can have more detecting time. :laughing7:

Frankn · Oct 17, 2014

Hay look at the good things lead has done. Meat on the table, the pleasure of knocking down a soda can at 100 yards, with every shot. Holding that bait down till the fish or crabs came to feast.
Hay, there is two sides to every story. Maybe biting that split shot made me say this, lol!

Frank

Red James Cash · Oct 18, 2014

Maybe biting that split shot made me say this, lol!

Nah frankn,it made you join Tnet :laughing9:

we're all crazy here.

hvacker · Oct 18, 2014

Years ago plumbers made pipe joint compound from white lead and linseed oil. People never knew the problem was in their pipes. The word plumber was derived from Latin word plumbo (sp) meaning lead as early roman pipes were made from it. That's all I know about plumbing except hot is on the left, payday's on Friday and don't bite your nails.

coinman123 · Oct 18, 2014

bayou bandit said:
I did the same thing and I still bite down on lead sinkers when bream fishing, maybe I could qualify for disability so I can have more detecting time.

Yay, an excuse for handicap parking!

Msbeepbeep · Oct 19, 2014

And the lead pencils kids used to chew on. It's a wonder we survived! Stubborn I guess.

Frankn · Oct 20, 2014

hvacker said:
Years ago plumbers made pipe joint compound from white lead and linseed oil. People never knew the problem was in their pipes. The word plumber was derived from Latin word plumbo (sp) meaning lead as early roman pipes were made from it. That's all I know about plumbing except hot is on the left, payday's on Friday and don't bite your nails.

Hay, you left out the most important rule, sh it runs down hill. lol
*****************************************
Don't worry about the pencils, they contain graphite, not lead. This was a common misconception.
Frank

John Winter · Oct 20, 2014

Why Pencil "Lead" is Called "Lead"

Frankn · Oct 20, 2014

John Winter said:
Why Pencil "Lead" is Called "Lead"

Well, I read the thread and I think I got the point! lol Frank

Dave Rishar · Oct 21, 2014

hvacker said:
Years ago plumbers made pipe joint compound from white lead and linseed oil. People never knew the problem was in their pipes. The word plumber was derived from Latin word plumbo (sp) meaning lead as early roman pipes were made from it. That's all I know about plumbing except hot is on the left, payday's on Friday and don't bite your nails.

Close. The Latin term for it was plumbum. That's where the "Pb" for lead on the periodic table came from, in case anyone was curious about it.

As for the chewing on lead sinkers and such, elemental lead has a hard time crossing the blood-brain barrier, and lead poisoning is much more of an issue for children than for adults. I'm not about to go and eat lead, and I wash my hands after handling lead, but I reload, I cast my own bullets, I'm exposed to lead occupationally, yadda yadda yadda, and my lead levels are checked annually as part of my job. If it's not a problem for me, it's probably not a problem for most other people either. I don't have a source to cite, but I live with this stuff and I'm no longer concerned about it. YMMV.

Hell, they used to can food in lead-soldered tins. Sailors ate that crap for months or years on end. Lead poisoning was the least of their concerns.

Charlie P. (NY) · Oct 21, 2014

The Romans used lead as a sweetener. Lead oxide mixed with vinegar makes lead acetate - a sweet tasting substance and not good at all for the body. That and honey were about the only sweeteners they had at the time.

I have consumed the occasional lead pellet in the grouse and rabbits I hunt and eat and it hasnt hurt me none. I'm pickle wrench in the dropsie flardpungle.

lookindown · Oct 22, 2014

Diggin-N-Dumps said:
..and how many times did you bite down on the lead sinker to crimp it on the fishing line....I did ..uh..EVERYTIME..lol

I still do...when I get older I will know better...Im only 50.

lookindown · Oct 22, 2014

Dave Rishar said:
Close. The Latin term for it was plumbum. That's where the "Pb" for lead on the periodic table came from, in case anyone was curious about it.

As for the chewing on lead sinkers and such, elemental lead has a hard time crossing the blood-brain barrier, and lead poisoning is much more of an issue for children than for adults. I'm not about to go and eat lead, and I wash my hands after handling lead, but I reload, I cast my own bullets, I'm exposed to lead occupationally, yadda yadda yadda, and my lead levels are checked annually as part of my job. If it's not a problem for me, it's probably not a problem for most other people either. I don't have a source to cite, but I live with this stuff and I'm no longer concerned about it. YMMV.

Hell, they used to can food in lead-soldered tins. Sailors ate that crap for months or years on end. Lead poisoning was the least of their concerns.

So, your avatar pic is not what happened to you from all that lead exposure? :laughing7:

BosnMate · Oct 22, 2014

Dave Rishar said:
Close. The Latin term for it was plumbum. That's where the "Pb" for lead on the periodic table came from, in case anyone was curious about it.

As for the chewing on lead sinkers and such, elemental lead has a hard time crossing the blood-brain barrier, and lead poisoning is much more of an issue for children than for adults. I'm not about to go and eat lead, and I wash my hands after handling lead, but I reload, I cast my own bullets, I'm exposed to lead occupationally, yadda yadda yadda, and my lead levels are checked annually as part of my job. If it's not a problem for me, it's probably not a problem for most other people either. I don't have a source to cite, but I live with this stuff and I'm no longer concerned about it. YMMV.

Hell, they used to can food in lead-soldered tins. Sailors ate that crap for months or years on end. Lead poisoning was the least of their concerns.

Shucks, I thought I had a reason for being so forgetful and computer illiterate. You have managed to blow all that away, and now I'm back to just being a dummy.

lookindown · Oct 23, 2014

BosnMate said:
Shucks, I thought I had a reason for being so forgetful and computer illiterate. You have managed to blow all that away, and now I'm back to just being a dummy.

Im with you...I need to blame it on something.