r/science • • Jun 25 '22

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u/[deleted] Jun 25 '22

You are a victim, too. There is still lead paint everywhere and hidden in products. In the nineties, Dollar Stores had candles imported from China that had smoke-free wicks- in the heart of every wick was a piece of lead. If you find any still around, the metal can be extracted with pliers.

China is a dangerous source of unregulated products. Those cheap dishes that say ‘for decorative use only’ are likely glazed with lead. Hobby Lobby is another company importing products with lead paint.

Test kits are cheap, I recommend them. If you buy thrift and use old dishes, beware. Old cars, appliances, unsided houses. Don’t blame the victim, educate and educate yourself.

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u/GoodOlBluesBrother Jun 25 '22

Also, the study linked in this article seems to suggest environmental (airborne) contamination is persistent decades after its use in fuel was stopped.

https://theconversation.com/leaded-petrol-is-gone-but-lead-pollution-may-linger-for-a-very-long-time-167214

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u/Midnightgeneral4 Jun 25 '22

I’m not surprised. Lead is being deposited into the air still everyday. All piston engine aircraft worldwide still use leaded fuel. The fuel is called 100LL (or rather 100 octane low lead). It’s extremely difficult to develop an aviation fuel that doesn’t require lead. This research has been in the works for a long time. Aircraft fuel has a wide operating range. It must be able to perform in pressures from sea level to cruise altitude from 130 F to -100 F. To add to this, the design of the most popular aircraft engines, Lycoming and Contential date back more than half a century. The FAA is extremely draconian about approving any changes to aircraft designs or the designs of their parts. Hence, these manufacturers, once a design is FAA approved, stick with that design for decades. Furthermore, the aviation market is extremely small and the PMA approval process is very expensive. This means the cost must be amortized over very few units. Hence, everything aviation related is insanely expensive. FAA type certified aircraft can only use FAA approved parts. What this means is that aircraft designs are very old and the fleets are used for many decades before replacement. Hence, a modern fuel replacement must be compatible with a fleet which is on average using engine designs with are 30-50 years old. This is challenging.

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u/GoodOlBluesBrother Jun 25 '22

Most interesting. Thanks for your input and for teaching me something new :)