LEAD HAZARDS

[Gary_F_Boothe@rl.gov]

     And so now I must worry about lead?  It was bad enough to worry about 
     my cholesterol every time I ate a chocolate-covered doughnut (my 
     nemesis).  I worried so much about cholesterol that I stopped 
     buttering my bacon.  I can hardy choke down an egg anymore, for fear 
     of expiring on the spot.  I also religiously wear a dusk mask 
     everytime I paint, varnish, lacquer or spray anything.  This is 
     because if you read the warning notices on the cans of these things, 
     only a fool would allow them in the house, let alone actually use 
     them. I no longer smoke. I no longer eat red meat, cheese, chinese 
     food, Starbuck's scones, nuts, avocados, and a host of other things 
     for health reasons and mainly because I'm scared stiff.  A hot dog has 
     not slipped past my lips for over a decade.  And now lead.  But the 
     fear of lead is encroaching upon the sacrosanct!  I am a fisherman.  I 
     go fishing at every opportunity, and I use a lot of lead sinkers.  
     Some of the sinkers are even made for biting when you put them on or 
     remove them from the line.  I must have twice-biten at least a 
     thousand sinkers in my day.  If I knew the symptoms of lead poisoning, 
     I'm sure I'd feel them.  But I refuse to hamper my fishing in any way 
     whatsoever.  
     
     Seriously, I never have had a good perspective on the real hazards of 
     lead.  I know chronic inhalation of lead compounds (from lead 
     smelters, air pollution, etc. can raise blood levels of lead and have 
     some deleterious effects on developing children and also horses).  But 
     really, do fisherman like myself have a real concern about lead?  Any 
     experts out there?