Coating soft weights

[Hatul]

So I decided to take the self-help route and do some research. According to some articles on wikipedia and scubadivingpro.org it seems that there is a very low risk associated with both handling weights or having uncoated lead in the water while diving.

Basically, in order to be a hazard, the lead has to be ingested either as a powder or has to be introduced to the blood through a wound. So solid weights only present a hazard to people that are exposed to them on a long term basis (dive professionals) IF they make a habit of handling the weights and then putting their hands in their mouth without washing them.

Even the scary cloud of lead discharge that someone mentioned when rinsing their soft weights is apparently not all that big of a problem due to some sort of chemical process that occurs when the discharge bonds with the water around it. As long as you make a habit of rinsing your soft lead weights with fresh water after you dive, even that is not really a big deal.

So I'm going to stand by my theory (note that I said "theory") that the potential for harm is increased by using paint or some other untested coating product.

As one article stated, "It appears that the greatest danger one faces when handling lead dive weights occurs when wearing flip-flops."

I welcome any opposing views based on research results. Not against changing if it is warranted.

The problem with lead is, exposure to low levels over prolonged period of time, and the symptoms are very non specific

Lead Poisoning-Symptoms

Irritability
Unexplained changes in mood or personality
Changes in sleep patterns
Inability to concentrate
Memory loss

How do you sort these out.

The lead can leach out of soft weights onto the BC and into the rinse tanks and regulator mouthpiece. In some cases with larger rinse tanks some people immerse themselves in the rinse tanks so the lead can coat their suits and skin.

Do I have evidence of toxicity from this? No. Do you have evidence that this has been thoroughly studied and found to be safe? I doubt it.

Adam

 

[SailNaked]

there are at least two parts to this, one does lead weights on a diver leave any lead in the water, and a quick google search seems to indicate not much. the second part of it is, is the lead in salt water dangerous to the animals, and again a simple google search says not really. lead is poisonous when it is inhaled as a dust or ingested as a salt. lots of studies on lead and animals but the ones I read all said that it had to be long term exposure since the solubility was so low. I am sure someone has counter evidence, but I will not be introducing rubber or any other toxic substance like paint into the water, the lead is relatively safe.

 

[CompuDude]

Can you explain why not?

Common sense should make that pretty clear, but I'll take a stab at it.

Coating a fairly flat, smooth hard weight is very simple. The Tool Dip does a decent job.

Coating soft weights causes other issues, however.

First, are you coating just the lead spheres (opening the bag, removing them, coating them, and putting them back in the bag) or are you coating the outside of the fabric bag?

Coating the outside of the fabric bag won't work well because tool dip is not designed to flex that much. It's a soft-ish plastic compound meant to coat hard tools, not a soft flexible bag. It's going to break and peel from the bending, if the fabric is coated. Not to mention trap a bunch of air, which will make an impact on the buoyancy (weight) of the resulting weights.

Option 2, coating the lead balls: The coating should work beautifully, as they are smooth and should take the coating well. (although, from a practical standpoint you're you going to end up with a thin spot on the bottom and a weird ring from the surface of whereever the balls dry, as the plastic hardens) However, now you have a bunch of plastic-looking balls that are noticeably larger than they were before... will they all fit back in the same bag? And even if they do, similar to the above issue, each of those balls now displaces more water and will thus offer less negative buoyancy. I'd guess off the top of my head nearly a 10% reduction in weight.... maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less.

The thin layer coating the exterior surface of a solid lead weight should have negligible effect on the weight, since there's a lot less material.

All in all, as I said, coating a soft weight with a plastic dip simply isn't going to work out as well as it does with hard weights.

Aside from the loss of buoyancy brought in by sealing air spaces into the bag, the OP's idea of vacuum sealing the soft weights is the best I've seen yet. Still, I just don't see the advantage of going through all the hassle when coated hard weights work so well and are so readily available.

As for another post's asking about lead in the environment, very little lead is transferred to your skin (or the environment) as you handle a large, smooth solid lead weight. As noted, wash your hands and you're fine. Compare that the large amount of fine lead dust generated by hundreds of small soft lead balls continuously rubbing up against each other, and you have a very different situation.

 

[Herk_Man]

The problem with lead is, exposure to low levels over prolonged period of time, and the symptoms are very non specific

Lead Poisoning-Symptoms

Irritability
Unexplained changes in mood or personality
Changes in sleep patterns
Inability to concentrate
Memory loss

How do you sort these out.

The lead can leach out of soft weights onto the BC and into the rinse tanks and regulator mouthpiece. In some cases with larger rinse tanks some people immerse themselves in the rinse tanks so the lead can coat their suits and skin.

Do I have evidence of toxicity from this? No. Do you have evidence that this has been thoroughly studied and found to be safe? I doubt it.

Adam

Do we have a population of scuba divers that are popping up lead positive? No. I can only surmise, after years and years of uncoated lead use in the sport, that lead is not getting in our systems. And that is with zero cautions being issued to exercise any care when handling the stuff.

Not trying to be argumentative. But too many times we hear "lead bad" and turn it into "the sky is falling."

 

[Belmont]

It's a poison, banned from paint and toys and gas. Why it's still allowed in scuba diving? I guess it's a sport followed by relatively few people so the rules for dealing with lead have not been applied yet.

Everything is a poison, calm down.

Lead in paint, gasoline and plastics in not in it's natural form and there it's highly toxic.
Lead in it's native state is a different thing, it's stable and when handled, if you wash your hands after, there is no problem. So your frears are not founded. You can sleep well tonight.