The end of the lead weight era

[michael-fisch]

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

Are those the bullet shaped weights weighing just under 400grams?

Michael

 

[hammet]

Lead has many advantages over iron.
Its denser.
It's melts at low temps.
It's very easy to cast into various shapes.
it doesnt rust.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

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.

Could it be salt?

 

[txgoose]

Could it be salt?

We're diving 80+% fresh. One of our lakes is alkaline. It may be causing a reaction of some sort?

edit: Lake, in this case is a quarry.

 

[Kharon]

...Lead birdshot was outlawed for hunting of migratory waterfowl in the 1970s, with restrictions gradually affecting other types of hunting also.

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

The entire reason lead shot was banned for waterfowl had nothing to do with release into the environment. It was entirely due to the shot load (huge amount of lead deposited on the bottom due to huge numbers of shots being fired in a small area). That shot, sitting in/on the bottom was injested by waterfowl and due to the sand & gravel in their gizzard, was ground down, adsorbed, and caused poisoning & in some small number of cases, death. Sitting on the bottom in silt, muck, on rocks, etc it is essentially inert.

Lead has three useful properties for diving:
1) It is dense, at 11 grams/cc, so that weights need not be large.
2) It has good compatibility with salt water.
3) It is relatively inexpensive.

There are other alternatives.

None of them much good. Either a lot bulkier or a lot more expensive. Especially for a solution looking for a problem that doesn't exist. The amount of lead released into the environment from the miniscule number of divers world wide is stupendously low. If you want to go after a real problem, try plastic.

... A couple thoughts, though I'm not a chemist so take it with a grain of salt.

... 2. I think with lead shot in lakes is an issue because of the quantity added. It's not really very soluble, but eventually you get enough lead in the sediments it becomes an issue. It'l end up reacting with something and form the nasty compounds like you might see in paint....

Like you said, you are not a chemist, what you said is simple imagining on your part. On the other hand I did study chemistry (was my minor) and my brother worked for NYSDEC in hazardous chemical remediation as a supervising deputy comissioner. Pretty sure he knows what he's talking about.

And, exactly how much lead, in any form, do you imagine is released into any body of water by divers?

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

 

[JackD342]

Could it be salt?

Apparently it is corrosion. Here is one manufacturer's video and website page that at least partially describes some issues.
Sounds like the catalyst coating solution is an innovative good start, but is still just kicking the issue down the road. If it wears off after ten years then any possible harm is delayed, not eliminated. (I know, there are some other current Seasoft threads on environmental issues, but I'm just trying to source some added expertise here not start another pile-on.)


Website:
SEABAGS

 

[gcarter]

This as interesting thread; thanks for starting it. A couple thoughts, though I'm not a chemist so take it with a grain of salt.

1. Lead paint has specific hazards you won't find in lead weights. You get lead compunds that are more easily absorbed into blood.
2. I think with lead shot in lakes is an issue because of the quantity added. It's not really very soluble, but eventually you get enough lead in the sediments it becomes an issue. It'll end up reacting with something and form the nasty compounds like you might see in paint....
3. Solder is interesting. Not sure itsi a concern for workers or just the sheer quantity of electronics going to landfills.

I suspect lead will be around for awhile in diving. That said, the less surface area exposed the better. My old 11.5 pound waist weights have low surface area relative to the mass. New shot weights have high surface area. Coating could limit the surface area.

Soldering creates fumes. That is the biggest issue.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

I am.

Lead shot is extremely durable, since it's quickly covered with a dense layer of oxides. Unless it's ground down in the bird's gizzard, it's basically harmless. The scientific reason for banning lead shot for waterfowl hunting is that the waterfowl don't have an ample supply of gravel for their gizzard, so they'll pick and swallow any gravel-like thing they find. So the shot is lodged in their gizzard and is slowly ground to small, more-easily-dissolved particles. And the hunter(shots fired)/area ratio is noticeably smaller in waterfowl hunting areas, so the lead shot load on the environment is rather noticeable.

Bottom line: unless there are special circumstances, lead weights and lead shot are mostly harmless.

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?

 

[Landau]

Durable, non-toxic, easily molded, soft, very high density: I use platinum. I was thinking gold but it is less dense and more expensive. Platinum is quite economical, about the same price per pound as a Shearwater Teric.

 

[Centrals]

The amount of lead released into the environment from the miniscule number of divers world wide is stupendously low. If you want to go after a real problem, try plastic.

Should have banned eg. plastic straw yrs ago!

To coat the lead weight with "vinyl"! Where is the vinyl comes from and what happened to the residue after the manufacturing process? This is a viscous circle.