Lead in oyster shell?

[the simple life]

Quote:
What I heard was radio, I haven't seen anything online.

If you do a search you will see numerous pages on it. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Unless you ingest a lot of lead, it is not an issue.

If it wasn't for lawyers, we wouldn't be concerned about lead, asbestos, etc.

You have obviously never seen anyone with lead poisoning, its a very serious issue and it does permanent brain damage.
You DO NOT have to ingest ALOT of lead for it to do very serious long term damage and you should not be telling people that.
Lead as in any neurotoxin is not something to take lightly, it would be best to do some research before you make comments like that.
If someone is concerned about ingesting a poison like that its not advisable to tell them not to worry about it, I think its important that they continue to look into it.
As for the asbestos, that stuff gets in your lungs and never leaves.
There was documentation done on that years ago, we had some local ship builders die from asbestos related lung problems a while back.
I cannot imagine anyone being so blase' about these poisons.

 

[CARS]

Quote:
I didn't say to chew on 1920's painted window frames or cook a duck you shot with lead did I. I also wouldn't remove asbestos with a dust mask and a putty knife.

When I did the quick search for the OP, I did not find anything to scare me about traces of lead in oyster shells used for consumption.

If you want to search, go ahead. Lead is in everything naturally. Unless huge amounts of it are added to something (as in the case of paints of yesteryear) I am not going to loose sleep over it.

Here's a link I saved when I quickly read up on the subject: http://www.itmonline.org/arts/lead.htm

BTW: the Twin Towers wouldn't have fallen if asbestos was used when the fire proofing was done

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/907944/posts

 

[silkiechicken]

If lead was still used in latex paint, we would not have the mold issues of today either.

 

[the simple life]

Its a very old falsehood that you have to chew on a windowsill to get lead poisoning, in fact all you have to do is open or close that window and enough lead dust will get in the air to poison a child.
Aesbestos and lead has been removed from and cautioned against putting in materials because it is unsafe for humans to ingest it.
You may like to have it in your building but do you want to be the worker that installs it all day long every day?
Someone has to do it and handle it or otherwise be exposed to it on a regular basis for others to "benefit" from its use, hence its been banished for the most part.
I don't have any mold issues. Lead was used as a paint binder and its not needed anymore.

 

[CARS]

Quote:
Your dodging the original question about trace amounts of lead NATURALLY found in oyster shells.

I agree about it being a poison, but you better never touch dirt, trees, water, etc ever again if you are this worried about lead.

 

[joebryant]

Dang, I love reading these squabbles between obviously intelligent people with different viewpoints.

 

[B'villechicken]

Quote:
Thank you for your insights. Do you have any suggestions on how to go about testing oyster shell? With the Chinese manufacturing scare recently, I realize there are test kits available. Just not sure how to apply such things to a raw item.

I must say that I do not know how to test oyster shell calcium for lead. You might try and contact your closest vet school and ask them if they have the capability to do that since we are talking about animal exposure. I doubt the health department would do it since it is for animals. I am in human medicine & if I find exposure in one of my patients, the health department gets notified & they take it from there. The other thing is, what will you do with the results? Does anyone know what is a safe level of lead? As I stated earlier, while zero lead level is admirable, it is also not realistic. We live in a sea of lead and other substances which are both naturally occuring and of man's own doing. Science cannot agree what is the safe level. I will continue to feed my girls oyster shell calcium. Good luck.

David

 

[djmb74]

I have to agree with this statement. I had an uncle that died from these same type of poison issues such as lead poisoning, he worked in the shipping industry cleaning tankers and shipping containers. It was horrible...

Quote:
If you do a search you will see numerous pages on it. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Unless you ingest a lot of lead, it is not an issue.

If it wasn't for lawyers, we wouldn't be concerned about lead, asbestos, etc.

You have obviously never seen anyone with lead poisoning, its a very serious issue and it does permanent brain damage.
You DO NOT have to ingest ALOT of lead for it to do very serious long term damage and you should not be telling people that.
Lead as in any neurotoxin is not something to take lightly, it would be best to do some research before you make comments like that.
If someone is concerned about ingesting a poison like that its not advisable to tell them not to worry about it, I think its important that they continue to look into it.
As for the asbestos, that stuff gets in your lungs and never leaves.
There was documentation done on that years ago, we had some local ship builders die from asbestos related lung problems a while back.
I cannot imagine anyone being so blase' about these poisons.

 

[Hecate]

Safe lead levels:
Blood - 10 micrograms/deciliter
Soil - uncontaminated if lead level is lower than 15 ppm
Drinking water - 15 micrograms/liter is the EPA actions level
Food (intended for consumption by children, FDA) - 0.5 microgams/mL; other food varies

See the following website for a synopsis and links to governmental regulatory agencies:
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/lead/pb_standards2.html

There are labs that can test for lead levels in products and you may be able to find a local environmental engineering and science firm near you that can direct you to such a lab, but such tests tend to be rather costly to the everyday consumer. There are test kits to determine the presence of lead exposed on surfaces (i.e. windowsills, old glazed pottery), which my husband uses regularly as an environmental scientist. An extension office or health department can most likely do a soil test for you to determine if you have an issue with lead on your property, and they may know of a lab that can test a product such as oyster shell for you.

Best to all,
Ellen

 

[CARS]

Quote:
You're too kind. Keep in mind I am around things that if handled improperly could kill me off. I am an auto body painter. They may have taken the lead out of paint but the rest of the stuff is even scarier.

I do not think that lead poison is to be taken lightly, I just want you people to take it in context. What about the poor oysters? They have to live in a lead-lined shell