Subject: Re: Lead shot
Date: Jul 18 17:46:11 1995
From: Jon Anderson - anderjda at dfw.wa.gov


On Tue, 18 Jul 1995, Burton Guttman wrote:

>Peaty waters, containing organic acids, act
> rapidly on lead or zinc, unless neutralized by lime." Now "peaty waters
> containing organic acids" sounds like a good description of the gunk at
> the bottom of a pond or marsh, where a lot of microbial activity is going
> on, creating organic acids around the little lead pellets. So doesn't this
> imply that _all_ this water is contaminated with lead hydroxide, and that
> everything that lives in the pond or marsh or drinks its water is in
> danger of getting lead poisoning?

Burt,

It would seem that this would be true IF the pond or marsh etc were
constantly stirred up whereby the suspended lead salts were brought into
solution with the rest of the water. Also, many of the ponds/marshes in
question are not closed systems - the toxins are flushed along with the
organics and other materials with each rainfall event and end up
downstream or in the aquifers.

If lead (or heavy metals or whatever) are NOT relatively stable when
buried by silts/clays/organic materials (relative to Exposed toxins) then
we are all in jeopardy every time we get splashed with water waiting for
a Ferry in Elliott Bay or Commencement Bay.... The fishes should be
turning belly-up and the birds kicking their little feets into the air...

I'd be interested in hearing from an Ecology Dept or EPA person
in-the-know on the merits of disturbing or leaving alone buried lead.

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, WA
anderjda at dfw.wa.gov