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Even more widespread and arguably of greater risk is the widespread use of lead. I'd assumed that anything produced in the last twenty years or so would be lead

by dhosek 6y ago

Even more widespread and arguably of greater risk is the widespread use of lead. I'd assumed that anything produced in the last twenty years or so would be lead-free and it turns out I'd assumed wrong. Garden hose fixtures often contain lead [1], and there are recalls of popular toys with red or yellow paint [2]. And this is just going through what's still in my browser history. [1] https://ideas.time.com/2012/08/02/is-your-garden-hose-toxic/ https://ideas.time.com/2012/08/02/is-your-garden-hose-toxic/ [2] https://tamararubin.com/2018/09/reminder-june-2007-thomas-the-tank-engine-wooden-toy-recall/ https://tamararubin.com/2018/09/reminder-june-2007-thomas-th...

chrisseaton 6y ago
> I'd assumed that anything produced in the last twenty years or so would be lead-free Lead is still used in huge quantities to make domestic roofs. You may have many kg of lead over your head right now!
- dhosek 6y ago
  I'm not completely paranoid about lead exposure. I used to hand-set lead type and donated my last case of type to the program where I learned letterpress about ten years ago. But it seems ridiculous that things like toys, artificial Christmas trees and conveyances for food and drink would still have lead in the twenty-first century.
throwaway0a5e 6y ago
Lead that is alloyed to other metals for ease of machining isn't going to get into anyone in meaningful quantity since it's alloyed into something strong and wear resistant. Even lead in potable water plumbing is a non-issue so long as you don't pull a Flint and let it dissolve. Paint is a far bigger issue since it wears much faster releasing much more lead. But as long as you weren't raised in house full of it you're probably fine. Modern plastics of various varieties contain far more suspicious molecules IMO.
- dhosek 6y ago
  From the linked article: "One in three hoses tested had levels of lead that exceeded drinking water standards — one as high as 18 times the level."
  - throwaway0a5e 6y ago
    The standard for lead in drinking water is set where it is so a kid can drink the tap water from day 1 and not suffer any ill effects. There are municipalities all over the country delivering water that meets these standards through some amount of lead or leaded fittings. In light of that it seems disingenuous to complain that a hose (as opposed to the water coming out of the hose) has 18x that much lead. If the lead has no reasonably means by which it will get into someone then what's the big deal? I'm not saying I want more lead but you gotta pick your battles when it comes to chemically. Anything is bad if you have enough exposure. If the amount of lead people are exposed to is not gonna have any effect in their lifetime then lets check that box and move on to the next chemical.
    - thatcat 6y ago
      Any amount of lead is harmful, just because you don’t notice the effects doesn’t mean there are none.
      - throwaway0a5e 6y ago
        How is something harmful if the effects are below a measurable threshold? And before you say "well if you construct a study and have a control group, etc, etc", yes, ok, fine, you can measure really small changes that way. What happens when the harm is below the noise threshold of that too? There's a million things in our world that are gonna give us cancer or whatever in 50yr. Having some lead painted antique trinket that sits on a shelf or leaded brass in your hose nozzle isn't going to harmfully affect anyone if it's practically your only voluntary exposure. It's like smoking one cigarette once. Sure it's not good for you but it's also not going to be what kills you.
dx87 6y ago
Older Crockpots usually have lead in the interior coating as well. Found that out on Reddit when someone was told they should test their new Goodwill purchase.
perl4ever 6y ago
I don't know exactly what time period it applies to, but I think the bearings in an auto engine sometimes contain lead, which is a (maybe not the only) reason that used engine oil may be considered hazardous. I am aware of an example from the late 80s that seems to have lead and one from the early 2010s that doesn't.
throwaway189262 6y ago
A lot of stuff with lead in it comes out of China and third world countries. It's been found in children's toys from China. For adults it's not as big a deal, you pretty much have to eat it to be harmed

by dhosek 6y ago

chrisseaton 6y ago

> I'd assumed that anything produced in the last twenty years or so would be lead-free Lead is still used in huge quantities to make domestic roofs. You may have many kg of lead over your head right now!

dhosek 6y ago
I'm not completely paranoid about lead exposure. I used to hand-set lead type and donated my last case of type to the program where I learned letterpress about ten years ago. But it seems ridiculous that things like toys, artificial Christmas trees and conveyances for food and drink would still have lead in the twenty-first century.

throwaway0a5e 6y ago

Lead that is alloyed to other metals for ease of machining isn't going to get into anyone in meaningful quantity since it's alloyed into something strong and wear resistant. Even lead in potable water plumbing is a non-issue so long as you don't pull a Flint and let it dissolve. Paint is a far bigger issue since it wears much faster releasing much more lead. But as long as you weren't raised in house full of it you're probably fine. Modern plastics of various varieties contain far more suspicious molecules IMO.

dhosek 6y ago
From the linked article: "One in three hoses tested had levels of lead that exceeded drinking water standards — one as high as 18 times the level."
- throwaway0a5e 6y ago
  The standard for lead in drinking water is set where it is so a kid can drink the tap water from day 1 and not suffer any ill effects. There are municipalities all over the country delivering water that meets these standards through some amount of lead or leaded fittings. In light of that it seems disingenuous to complain that a hose (as opposed to the water coming out of the hose) has 18x that much lead. If the lead has no reasonably means by which it will get into someone then what's the big deal? I'm not saying I want more lead but you gotta pick your battles when it comes to chemically. Anything is bad if you have enough exposure. If the amount of lead people are exposed to is not gonna have any effect in their lifetime then lets check that box and move on to the next chemical.
  - thatcat 6y ago
    Any amount of lead is harmful, just because you don’t notice the effects doesn’t mean there are none.
    - throwaway0a5e 6y ago
      How is something harmful if the effects are below a measurable threshold? And before you say "well if you construct a study and have a control group, etc, etc", yes, ok, fine, you can measure really small changes that way. What happens when the harm is below the noise threshold of that too? There's a million things in our world that are gonna give us cancer or whatever in 50yr. Having some lead painted antique trinket that sits on a shelf or leaded brass in your hose nozzle isn't going to harmfully affect anyone if it's practically your only voluntary exposure. It's like smoking one cigarette once. Sure it's not good for you but it's also not going to be what kills you.

dx87 6y ago

Older Crockpots usually have lead in the interior coating as well. Found that out on Reddit when someone was told they should test their new Goodwill purchase.

perl4ever 6y ago

I don't know exactly what time period it applies to, but I think the bearings in an auto engine sometimes contain lead, which is a (maybe not the only) reason that used engine oil may be considered hazardous. I am aware of an example from the late 80s that seems to have lead and one from the early 2010s that doesn't.

throwaway189262 6y ago

A lot of stuff with lead in it comes out of China and third world countries. It's been found in children's toys from China. For adults it's not as big a deal, you pretty much have to eat it to be harmed