Get tested for lead

[Psilocybe]

Hey guys,

I'm starting to feel realllly bad about the lead filler I used to have in my bags. I remember working on my bags getting lead dust on my hands and everywhere. I remember leaks in my bags spreading lead pellets everywhere I used to play. I used to fill my bags with shotgun pellets when they would run low, is that lead? Why did we do this to ourselves?

[F[uns]tylin' Eclectic]

It takes a substantial amount of lead to actually get poisoning. Ducks can apparently INGEST a good amount of it without any side effects. It starts having negative effects when they actually accumulate a lot of it in their gizzards. I don't remember the exact numbers, but lead is basically good for you

[Cass]

We all know that lead is toxic. So are a multitude of other things that we may expose ourselves to in our day to day lives (processed food, many personal care products, etc.).

I don't think this is cause for serious concern if it is something you are aware of. I'm not a stitcher myself (and probably would avoid handling lead if I was) but I do take care to thoroughly clean my hands after washing footbags with lead in them.

The body is remarkably good at processing toxic compounds in low concentrations. Avoid eating lead and rubbing it all over your body and it's probably going to be fine.

[Cass]

Sorry double post. I did a quick search about this out of curiosity.

This is a pretty useful review article:

http://www.medscimonit.com/abstract/index/idArt/430340

things to note:

There is little transcutaneous absorption of lead when inorganic lead compounds, such as those found in paint, are applied to the skin.

headaches, poor attention span, irritability, loss of memory, and dullness are the early symptoms of the effects of lead exposure on the central nervous system."

Signs of chronic lead toxicity, including tiredness, sleeplessness, irritability, headaches, joint pain, and gastrointestinal symptoms, may appear in adults at blood lead levels of 50–80 µg/dl. After 1–2 years of exposure, muscle weakness, gastrointestinal symptoms, lower scores on sychometric tests, mood disturbances, and symptoms of peripheral neuropathy were observed in occupationally exposed populations at blood lead levels of 40–60 µg/dl.

[Psilocybe]

I'm sure playing footbag is safer than, say, eating game shot by lead-containing ammunition, but the thing is that its hard to know if one is poisoned because its so subtle except for extreme cases. I'm gonna be honest, I would be really surprised if popular stitchers weren't poisoned to some degree. Frankly there's no way they couldn't be - the lead dust produced by the filler breaking down gets everywhere. At the very least it would absorb through the skin slowly over time and repeated exposures. The sweat on our hands when we grabbed the bag may have assisted absorption, who knows. Although data from Cass' article looks promising.

I feel bad for any older footbaggers who had children because lead dust can definitely be fatal to them.

We can try to assure ourselves all day long that's its OK, but it seems being tested is the only way. I'm really glad we moved to tungsten.

[F[uns]tylin' Eclectic]

I still fill my bags with lead. I prefer lead over tungsten or steel, because it has a nicer texture when chewing on it.