The end of the lead weight era

[2airishuman]

I have never heard of any other hunting that requires no using lead shot. Do you have an example, or is this smoke?

Here's a list. Generally it's dual-use areas that combine waterfowl production with other types of hunting. The list is going to grow, because regulators are increasingly coming to the conclusion that there are effective, reasonably priced alternative products and so there is no public policy reason not to broaden the regulations. There is also overreach going on with enforcement, so if you're e.g. out shooting grouse in an area where there are also woodcock, you may get ticketed, because woodcock are waterfowl and it is impossible to prove that you weren't hunting them, even though no rational person would ever shoot a woodcock because they are bony and taste terrible.

State Information

Again, pick a real problem, like plastic, industrial release of hazardous chemicals, CO2, oil release, invasive remediation etc. See above.

I think the overall societal effects from the cumulative exposure of thousands of people to lead -- occupationally or during dives -- is perhaps greater than the hazards to bodies of water being dived. There is also a disposal problem, because things like weight pouches are unlikely to be recycled at the end of someone's period of activity in the hobby, due to the lack of convenient means of getting small amounts of lead into the recycling chain.

 

[tursiops]

I think the overall societal effects from the cumulative exposure of thousands of people to lead -- occupationally or during dives -- is perhaps greater than the hazards to bodies of water being dived.

Two things: one should not conflate occupational-caused hazards of lead to diving-caused hazards of lead, since they are magnitudes different. How many millions of divers are exposed to lead annually without one reported problem? Secondly, societal effects includes effects on the ecology and environment, and THAT is where the plastics problem is.

 

[Kharon]

How many effing weights do you think are lost to divers total and how much corrrosion does it actually release over what time period??? Get real. Get a real problem.

 

[Kharon]

Thanks for the thoughful response. I'm curious as to what would happen to lead shot in anaerobic, high organic content mud. Would that tend to make it more or less soluble?

Or more inert. Without O2 there is almost no chemical interaction - unless there is (really??) an undescovered organism that lives off of Pb with no oxidative posibility.

 

[NAM001]

We all have our opinions and here is one more. It is harmful if ingested beyond that it is moot. the rivers of tears regarding tire weights because of a what if. You can not stop all hazzards. I read that water is harmful and it can be proven by pumping 1 quart of greater of water up the backside of a field mouse. lead banned in tire weights because they fall off and the rain washes them into the ocean. or water ways. I have never lost a tire weight...... I dare anyone to try to wash a tire weight to a new location with a garden hose let alone a rain. Or for that matter the grindings from tire weights that slide on the pavements. I have never had a bag of softlead come apart. do i believe that lead shot is bad for hunting YES, I have eaten meals and had to spit out the shot from squirels and foul. short of that I view it as equal to the california ban on straws to save the environent. Reports say the US contribute .2 or .02% of plastics in the worlds waters. Makes you have to ask who the other 99.8% are AND WHERE are the videos of the oceans of plastic filled waters located at? Is the level of US problems warrent gong down that path. Yet look at the legal complications that are invoked in cali on wait staff. Anyone notice how the Ozone has grown again since we have not had volcano eruptions like in the 80-90s. But we were told it was from cars.?????? Told by who, THE STRAW PEOPLE??????

 

[NAM001]

How many effing weights do you think are lost to divers total and how much corrrosion does it actually release over what time period??? Get real. Get a real problem.

Well put. I wonder what the enviromental exposure half life on lead. 500 years maybe??????. so it takes 6 1/2 lifes to be consumed. 3000 years ???

 

[NAM001]

I don't know how wide the affects are, so I'll leave that to the chemists, etc. BUT, I will say that after rinsing and drying our shot bags, when I lift them off of whatever drying surface I used, a majority of the time there is a white residue left in the shape of the weight. I've assumed that it was/is lead. We are slowly migrating to more solid weights but realistically, we'll probably have the soft weights for a while. At time of purchase I thought that the soft weights would be more comfortable. In practice I've never had one of our hard weights be any discomfort. If I were to start from scratch again, they'd be solid weights.

The situation you speak of may be salt water induced and not fresh water. I see a reasonable question as to using hard over soft as far as exposable surface area available to corrosion would be. Yet on the other hand the earth heals itself the white run off may just be from interactions with other chemicals with the lead or the ocean reclaiming the lead over a long long time. the ocean can digest oil and just about anything if it can not there is some creature that can. Even the bald eagle is a scavenger bird like a vulture. Now we need a new national bird. a much friendlier less agressive creature.

 

[NAM001]

The surface area of the soft shot weights is huge. I think they should be banned.

I only have plastic coated lead weights. They cost just a little bit more than uncoated lead weights.

And what is the cost of that in bulk per pound? Then what is the deteriation rate of the coating. most often the fix (coating ) is worse than the problem. or the cure is worse than the desease.

 

[Manatee Diver]

On shooting ranges it isn't uncommon to line the range with an alkaline substance to raise the PH so lead doesn't leach into the groundwater due to acidic soil. Saltwater itself is slightly alkaline.

 

[NAM001]

waiting for my depleted uranium order from leisure pro to arrive.

funny and well times post. you comment reminds me of the series YOUNG SHELDON at perhaps 10 yo trying to make a nuclear reactor attempting to extract nuc material from smoke detectors. That in its self was not so funny but he social reaction was outragous when the feds showed up to take his nuclear material