Are lead sinkers doing us harm?

[leonardgid]

Hello chaps, most of us are aware of lead poisoning , through the environment , lead paint, lead fumes ,etc. But i cant find any articles on handling lead sinkers, can anyone give me any information on what if any danger there is when handling dry or wet lead ? eg. sometimes when you take a new sinker out of a plastic bag there's a small amount of dust , i hope you will find this interesting and or useful , thank you all.

[fishmaniac]

If you do not ingest the lead you are not in harms way. Don't inhale lead fumes/dust and do not eat lead (wash hands thoroughly prior to handling food after using your sinkers) and you will be right.

The environmental issues associated with the incorrect disposal of lead and other havy metals is that it enters the food chain at its lowest points and affects people through bio-accumulation (the term used to describe the increase in lead concentration in predators higher up the food chain).

Edited September 27, 2011 by fishmaniac

[Howdoweplaythis]

Been giving this some thought myself, actually.

Whenever i cleaned my tackle box after a trip i found that i was getting lightheaded. My first thought was that it was due to the lead 'dust' that builds up from used sinkers in my box. But the more i thought about it the less feasible it seemed that the dust would accumulate in the air when the box was opened. However, it was still rather disconcerting. So much so that i trialled wearing disposable gloves and a respirator when cleaning the box to stop getting the headaches being caused by lead, or whatever else.

Besides that, i guess common sense rules apply. Wash hands after handling, don't touch your mouth and eyes after handling the sinkers, don't touch the sinkers with open wounds etc.

I don't think there's any evidence that recreational fishers have higher than average levels of lead in their body. However, if anybody here (particularly long-time fishos) have had a blood test for lead, the scientist in me is actually quite curious to know the results.

[nath_reptile]

Having had a work accident 9 years ago and suffering from severe lead poisoning(mad hatters) i feel the risks are minimal if you wash your hands after you have handled lead sinkers, and it would be the dust that would get into your system, You would have to handle alot of sinkers for this to have any affect on you, Lead wont make you dizzy though and does dissipate out of your system with time but in cases like mine actually soaks into your soft tissues and bone marrow...If you get alot in your system you will actually turn blue grey for quite some time as i did. Inhaling and eating it are the common ways people get affected by lead....