As a kid I did a lot of lead-based soldering. Could this be an issue?
Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
171–180 of 276 posts
Re: Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
#172It would be nice if they had some more data in here. Instead of statements like, “For lead there’s no too low. We want zero.”.
Like what is the sensitivity of the test? If we get more sensitive tests, does that mean out target changes? Where are the limits that we see issues?
Re: Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
#173Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not only that, but it's really difficult to get the service line replaced even if you're willing to pay for it. We went through the exercise a few years ago. It can be difficult to find a plumbing service willing to do this kind of work because not only do they need a special certification (makes sense) but the company has to put up something like a $5000 bond on their work with the city. On top of that replacing the…
That's incredible. What sort of levels do you have to put up with? Is there any kind of monitor you can install to detect a spike?
The OP mentioned that this was a few years ago. Things are different now. Literally one month ago Illinois became the second state to legally require all lead pipes to be replaced [1]. I do believe that the Chicago city ordinance of last year waives all permitting fees now. I am not sure how it is going to be paid for: public money? homeowner pays?
[1] https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=3739&...
Re: Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
#174I wonder what percentage have detectable levels of PFTE/PET/etc? At least we know the long-term effects of lead: https://particleandfibretoxicology.biomedcentral.com/article...
"Although these combined studies highlight the possibility of uptake and translocation of micro- and nanoplastics into the human body following oral and inhalation exposure, there is an overall scarcity of studies that conscientiously and systematically investigated the extent of particle translocation to different organs in relation to particle dose and particle size. Moreover, the potential health risks resulting from micro- and nanoplastics exposure, uptake and translocation is poorly investigated and is an important matter of ongoing debate."
Re: Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
#175Earlier quoted context omitted.
My understanding is that all detectable amounts currently have known negative effects when studied. The Action levels are set based on what is possible to address in an individual child. Lead exists in the environment. It would be impractical to impossible to eliminate it entirely from the blood streams of most people. However certain areas have extremely dangerous concentrations such as dirt near major roads/old bui…
That statement has the exact same problem. With sufficiently sensitive tests you might in theory be able to detect the negative effects of a single lead atom. What we really want to know is: how big of a deal is this really?
Does a single atom have known negative effects?
Re: Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
#176I was diagnosed w/ ADHD in 2019. When doing research and seeing what the causes could be -- I noticed that lead paint was among possible contributors. I decided to google what lead paint looked like, and realized the apartment I was raised in was covered in it.
Re: Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
I might be mistaken here, but from what I've read on lead, we already know relatively well what amount of lead is safe, according to body weight etc. We also know that our bodies can deal with these small amounts, by actually getting rid of some of it. Maybe someone with more knowledge on the matter can chime in?
My understanding is that all detectable amounts currently have known negative effects when studied. The Action levels are set based on what is possible to address in an individual child. Lead exists in the environment. It would be impractical to impossible to eliminate it entirely from the blood streams of most people. However certain areas have extremely dangerous concentrations such as dirt near major roads/old bui…
Actually, you dont need to replace the pipes. They can actually line them in place. Of course then people might have concerns about the chemical makeup of the liners (basically plastic), but it's hard to say what other alternatives are out there.
Re: Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
#178My kid took a routine test and was found to have 5.0 μg/dL, which is elevated but not alarming. The source is most likely paint chips or dust. I'm in an old building which has lead paint that was painted over. It's totally legal to just paint over the lead paint, but since the building is settling the paint on the door frames often chips off. My landlord has been good about offering to strip in repaint the frames, bu…
I wonder if it's preferable to just replace the door frames in that situation. It's not particularly difficult or time-consuming in most cases.
Re: Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
Remember that avgas still uses leaded fuel (though that will hopefully improve soon).
Leaded avgas is only used in small, propeller-driven aircraft like Cessnas. Jet fuel does not contain lead.
Exactly. And to think it used to be in all passenger car gasoline!
Re: Half of American kids have lead in their blood, doctors say
#180Earlier quoted context omitted.
And most pilot will have touched this fuel quite a bit - for example when checking a single engine propeller plane during preflight we sump the fuel tanks. There is always some fuel that sprays onto my hands then. I wonder how much lead this exposes me to. (I'm working on a private pilot license in a Cessna 172)
If you are particularly concerned (could be justified) you could get a small aircraft with a diesel engine, don't seem super common but might be increasing.
And that'd have the benefit of accelerating the industry's transition a little, by boosting demand.