Local bait shops take little interest in toxic-free tackle -- The Timberjay -- 8/11/2007
Another bait shop owner advocates for lead-free tackle -- The Timberjay -- 8/27/2007

LET’S GET THE LEAD OUT !!!
By Kris Wegerson
Board Member, Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness
Board Member, Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness

We’ve known for millennia that lead is toxic. Greek philosophers wrote of lead induced anemia and colic in 250 B.C. Julius Caesar’s engineer wrote that water from lead pipes was harmful to the human body. Scientific studies done on strands of hair from Beethoven’s corpse showed toxic lead levels. His copper wine goblets were lined with lead and each time he drank wine, which is acidic, a small amount of lead was leached and consumed. Beethoven went deaf and then perhaps mad as a result of lead toxicity.

In the U.S. lead is considered to be the number one environmental toxin. Inorganic lead in the environment doesn’t decompose. It’s in our soil, water, paint and pipes. In living systems it displaces biologically important molecules and minerals including calcium, iron, magnesium and zinc. Lead damages many organ systems and most of the toxic effects are irreversible. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has established the toxic blood level in humans at 10 micrograms per deciliter or 100 ppb. Lead is particularly toxic to children who retain 30% of what they inhale or ingest. The Minnesota Legislature has directed the State Health Department to require blood lead level screening on every one and two-year Minnesota child. In 2006 a four year-old boy died in Minneapolis after ingesting a small heart-shaped lead trinket.

We have made some progress in eliminating lead from our environment. It was banned from gasoline and paint in 1978 and lead solder used to connect copper pipes in plumbing and tin in cans in 1988.

Lead poisoning has been documented in 25 species of water birds. A nationwide ban on lead shot for all waterfowl hunting was implemented in the U.S. in 1991 and in Canada in 1999. Six years after the ban took effect, lead poisoning in mallards dropped by 64%. Twenty-five percent of the bald eagles treated at the Uof M Raptor Center have lead poisoning. The Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine has done the most comprehensive studies of lead toxicity in loons. From 1987-200 600 dead and dying loons were tested and 44% had lead poisoning. Studies from Michigan, New York and New Hampshire show 24-52% of loon deaths from lead poisoning. The Tufts study showed most objects ingested weighed less than one ounce and 40% were sinkers, 34% jigs and 16% split shot. A single lead sinker can kill a loon in 2-3 weeks.

Great Britain banned lead sinkers weighing less than one ounce in 1987. Canada has a limited ban in National Wildlife Areas and National Parks. Five northeastern U.S. states now have bans on one-half to one ounce lead sinkers and jigs. Where’s Minnesota?

In 2003 Minnesota State Senator Yvonne Prettner-Solon from Duluth introduced legislation to ban lead sinkers weighing one ounce or less. It met opposition from tackle manufacturers and sport fishing groups. In 2007 she introduced a bill to ban lead sinkers, jigs and lures weighing one-half ounce or less. Environmental groups are working with her to make this a reality. The groups have held discussions with tackle manufacturers who believe that a nationwide phase-out is preferable. Minnesota is one of the top manufacturing/suppliers of lead tackle and singularly banning lead tackle in Minnesota would create an economic disadvantage and be difficult to enforce with surrounding states allowing lead tackle use.

For several years the Minnesota DNR and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) have been educating the public about the hazards of lead tackle thru their “Get the Lead Out” campaign. They and several conservation and environmental groups have sponsored lead tackle exchanges throughout the state. In 2004 and 2005 the Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness conducted lead tackle exchanges in areas surrounding the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

What can we do until lead tackle is phased out? Get involved. Free “Get the Lead Out” kits are available from the MPCA. Present this information to groups in your community and to lake associations. Buy lead-free tackle for your family and pass the word along to your friends. The MPCA website is the most comprehensive website on lead tackle hazards and lead tackle alternatives, plus it lists manufacturers and suppliers who provide lead-free tackle.

This fishing season, let's get the lead out!!!

TAKE ACTION

1. Participate in a planned exchange and only use non-lead tackle.
2. Never empty old tackle into the lake or on the ground.
3. Spread the word to your friends about the dangers of lead tackle.
4. Ask your favorite tackle shops to carry non-lead alternatives and thank those that do.
5. Purchase non-lead alternatives from manufacturers and retailers who supply lead-free tackle.