Lead and the EPA

[Blue Streak]

I got this notice from Cabela's, I am sure others have also I thought I would share it with all of you.

Take Action Now! Protect your right to fish.

 

 

September 2, 2010

Dear Cabela's Customer:

Occasionally, an issue of such importance arises we feel it necessary to contact our loyal customers. With our fishing rights at stake, this is such an issue.

On August 23, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was petitioned by the Center for Biological Diversity and others to ban lead from ammunition and fishing tackle, including sinkers, jigs, weighted fly lines and components containing lead, such as brass and ballast in lures, spinners, stick baits and other fishing products.

On August 27, the EPA denied the petition regarding ammunition, but let stand the petition to ban lead in fishing tackle and has opened a short period for taking public comment.

Such a ban would cause prices of fishing products to skyrocket. Alternative metals can cost from six to 15 times more than lead, and most do not perform as well. For many, fishing would no longer be the affordable sport it is now.

Please join Cabela's and Keep America Fishing in opposing this ban by submitting your comments to the EPA no later than September 15, 2010. You can easily do so by clicking here.

It is a fast and easy way to assure your opinion is heard.

Cabela's is working in conjunction with the American Sportfishing Association and Keep America Fishing to protect our tradition and heritage of fishing.

Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

Cabela's

 

   

This e-mail was sent to you by: Cabelas.com, One Cabela Dr., Sidney, NE 69160

 

[Blue Streak]

I'll see if I can post the address if you want to participate.

http://capwiz.com/keepamericafishing/issues/alert/?alertid=16355526&cmCat=email&cm_cat=6089&cm_ven=email-nl&cm_pla=HA-0100&cm_ite=16355526&eid=7055149&cmp=I100902A&seg=FI1&cnt=6089&ctb=16355526

[Grey Wolf]

Some people can't see the Forest for the trees.

[iceintheveins]

This would be a horrible regulation and violation of our freedoms. If I were president I would eliminate the EPA and the USFWS. No where in the constitution does it say government can come up with administrative bodies to force laws on us without a vote of congress.

[Hellbenderman]

Sheeeeesh....I just checked the Constitution and right there under the section entitled, "Our Freedoms", just after "Our Stupidity", it clearly states that " Americans are so stupid, they should be allowed to poison the very water they need to drink at their tea parties, and fish in. Cabellas should be ashamed of themselves, and I will certainly question whether to use them in the future. The real question here is why the ammo folks got off the hook. If you think lead is so safe, suck on a sinker for a year and then go check your levels, sprinkle some on your salad, put some in your kids cereal. Thank God the FEDS haven't attacked my freedom to be stoopid, eh?

[bigfruits]

lead is sooooooo 2009

[deaknh03]

give your kids some lead weights to play with, by the time they can fish their brain will be cooked.

[trevor]

Sheeeeesh....I just checked the Constitution and right there under the section entitled, "Our Freedoms", just after "Our Stupidity", it clearly states that " Americans are so stupid, they should be allowed to poison the very water they need to drink at their tea parties, and fish in. Cabellas should be ashamed of themselves, and I will certainly question whether to use them in the future. The real question here is why the ammo folks got off the hook. If you think lead is so safe, suck on a sinker for a year and then go check your levels, sprinkle some on your salad, put some in your kids cereal. Thank God the FEDS haven't attacked my freedom to be stoopid, eh?

[tyrius.]

Sheeeeesh....I just checked the Constitution and right there under the section entitled, "Our Freedoms", just after "Our Stupidity", it clearly states that " Americans are so stupid, they should be allowed to poison the very water they need to drink at their tea parties, and fish in. Cabellas should be ashamed of themselves, and I will certainly question whether to use them in the future. The real question here is why the ammo folks got off the hook. If you think lead is so safe, suck on a sinker for a year and then go check your levels, sprinkle some on your salad, put some in your kids cereal. Thank God the FEDS haven't attacked my freedom to be stoopid, eh?

I'm assuming that you're aware that lead exists in the piping and/or fixtures of your home's, your place of work's, your kid's school's water system, etc, etc.  If you haven't replaced most of your home's water delivery system then you're likely "sucking on a sinker, sprinkling it on your salad or your kid's cerearl".  I'd be a bit more concerned about lead that I'm directly consuming, but then I'm "stoopid" and don't see the big deal of losing tiny sinker in a massive volume of water.

As a thought experiment, 1 acre foot of water equals 325,851 gallons of water.  An acre foot is the amount of water needed to cover 1 acre to a depth of 1 foot.  So, a tiny 2 acre pond that averages just 5 foot in depth holds 3,258,510 gallons of water.  A 1,000 acre lake that averages 10 foot in depth holds just over 3.25 billion gallons of water.  Little bullet sinkers aren't going to have any effect on the dissolved lead levels of that much water.

[Hellbenderman]

Long ago, in my jurisdiction, before my house was built, they stopped using lead in plumbing construction and repairs, as they have done in most of the country. Even Washington, DC recognized the problem! But, I suppose you are right. A little lead here and there won't hurt anything, or a little mercury, or a little radio active waste, or a little PCB, or a little...makes me wonder what "a little of what" is in the Potomac River causing bass to change sex or become androgynous? Poison is poison. I sincerely doubt that not using lead in fishing equipment is going to bring the fishing industry to its knees, and prevent anyone from going fishing. This is just another scare tactic and Cabelas should be ashamed for employing this sort of trash.

[trevor]

Long ago, in my jurisdiction, before my house was built, they stopped using lead in plumbing construction and repairs, as they have done in most of the country. Even Washington, DC recognized the problem! But, I suppose you are right. A little lead here and there won't hurt anything, or a little mercury, or a little radio active waste, or a little PCB, or a little...makes me wonder what "a little of what" is in the Potomac River causing bass to change sex or become androgynous? Poison is poison. I sincerely doubt that not using lead in fishing equipment is going to bring the fishing industry to its knees, and prevent anyone from going fishing. This is just another scare tactic and Cabelas should be ashamed for employing this sort of trash.

You're putting lead on the same level as radioactive waste?!  :-?

[MMan16]

I don't know why everyone gets all worked up about banning lead in fishing. I use tungsten for whatever I can. Its smaller and more sensitive. Plus how can other alternative metals cost 6 to 15 times more. Tungstens already out and I'm not paying 6x the price of lead nevermind 15. More like a couple bucks.

[tyrius.]

Long ago, in my jurisdiction, before my house was built, they stopped using lead in plumbing construction and repairs, as they have done in most of the country.

There is still lead in brass which is used in current fixtures.  And there is likely still lead in your water main somewhere between the treatment plant and your house.

But, I suppose you are right. A little lead here and there won't hurt anything, or a little mercury, or a little radio active waste, or a little PCB, or a little...

You're already exposed to a little of most of that just by touching the dirt on the ground.

[tyrius.]

I don't know why everyone gets all worked up about banning lead in fishing. I use tungsten for whatever I can. Its smaller and more sensitive. Plus how can other alternative metals cost 6 to 15 times more. Tungstens already out and I'm not paying 6x the price of lead nevermind 15. More like a couple bucks.

Well a 15 pack of 1/4 BPS worm weights costs 3.19 or about 21 cents per weight.  A 3 pack of TT 1/4 worm weights costs 6.49 or 2.17 each.  That's right at 10 times the price per weight right there.  The BPS Tungsten weights cost 5.49 for a 3 pack or 1.83 each, which is about 9 times the cost of lead.  Brent at *.com sells 10 1/4 tungsten weights for 9.99 or 99 cents each, which is close to five times the cost of lead.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

I wonder what the price of the rods and reels and lines are of the people that complain about the price of having to use a less toxic form of weight?

Is the person that spends $150-$400 on a reel and has 2,3,4 of them really bothered by a $2 sinker?

[MMan16]

There you go *** CLOSE to 5x not 6. But in my opinion a better product than BPS lead weights. I also think lead chips a lot easier therefore leaving line vulnerable to fraying. Just my opinion though. The other thing is if there is no more lead fishing companies will have to manufacture tungsten and probably have to do it at lower prices to compete.

[llPa1nll]

As I posted in another thread about this, NH has banned certain lead fishing weights in all of NH waters for some time 5 yrs or so. The loons were ingesting the weights thinking they were pebbles to aid in digestion and were dieing of lead poisoning at a pretty alarming rate. Here is the NH lead ban law taken from the NHF&G website.

Loons and other waterbirds can die from lead poisoning after swallowing lead fishing sinkers and jigs lost by anglers. According to the Loon Preservation Committee, poisoning from lead fishing tackle accounts for 52 percent of mortalities among adult and immature loons from 1976 through 2000, by far the largest single cause of adult loon mortality in New Hampshire.

State law prohibits the use of lead sinkers and jigs in all fresh water in New Hampshire, including lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. The ban prohibits the use of lead sinkers weighing 1 ounce or less and lead jigs less than 1 inch long along their longest axis.

The law also prohibits the sale in New Hampshire of lead sinkers weighing 1 ounce or less and lead jigs less than 1 inch long along their longest axis.

What you can do:

* Use non-lead sinkers and jigs. It's the law.

* Ask your local sporting goods store to stock non-lead fishing tackle. It's the law.

* Spread the word. Tell other anglers about the problem with lead.

* Dispose of old lead sinkers and jigs properly. Drop-off locationsinclude all N.H. Fish and Game offices and hatcheries (see list below).

The law is intended to protect loons and other diving waterbirds that can accidentally ingest toxic lead sinkers as they pick pebbles up from lake bottoms. The pebbles grind food in the birds' gizzards to help their digestion. Ingesting lead can kill a bird in a matter of weeks.

Has this crippled the fishing in NH? No, of course not. Granted one 1/4oz sinker you lose isn't going to harm the lake. However if you take all the fishermen that fish a lake over the course of a season you can see those numbers can have the opportunity to greatly increase the amount of lead that could possibly end up on the bottom of the lake.

I think we can all agree that lead isn't the safest thing to be in contact with. I personally don't have a problem doing my part to make sure I don't contribute to the problem and I follow the laws here in NH. I have already switched over to non lead bullet sinkers long ago.

Keep the waters as clean and safe as possible for future generations. I dont really see a problem with that, but just my 2 cents. : : :

[tyrius.]

Keep the waters as clean and safe as possible for future generations. I dont really see a problem with that, but just my 2 cents. : : :

The NH law seems to be a pretty good compromise.  Banning weights that are easily ingested by other animals but allowing lures that contain lead and do not pose the same risk. 

However, there's a big difference between banning just the weight and banning ALL lead.

[llPa1nll]

Keep the waters as clean and safe as possible for future generations. I dont really see a problem with that, but just my 2 cents. : : :

The NH law seems to be a pretty good compromise. Banning weights that are easily ingested by other animals but allowing lures that contain lead and do not pose the same risk.

However, there's a big difference between banning just the weight and banning ALL lead.

True tyrius, maybe some day it will come to banning all lead. I think that NH has a pretty fair law for both sides. Therefor I dont have a problem with it, and I think its pretty reasonable.

:)