Hi Lauren: When I first read your post I thought maybe the pins contained lead because they were poorly made in a third-world factory, but after a quick trip to Wikipedia I see that probably all of our brass pins contain lead. I did not know that!
I don't usually worry all that much about lead, but in this case I am concerned because according to the Wiki article ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass ), even though leaded brass is usually only about 2% lead, the lead tends to migrate to the outside, so the effect in terms of how much lead comes off the brass is much higher than the 2% figure. Worse, since the brass is in pins that we pick up by grasping firmly with our fingers, it looks to me like the chance of us actually ingesting the lead is higher than if the brass article were something we rarely touched. And of course during long hours of lacemaking it's pretty normal to stop for a bite to eat, and while we'd certainly wash our hands after the snack and before touching our lace again, we might not wash our hands before taking that cookie or eating that sandwich. I have been wondering lately, how to clean some old brass pins that I have. Now I'm thinking I'll just throw them out. Adele North Vancouver BC (west coast of Canada) On 2012-06-08, at 9:29 AM, L.Snyder wrote: > I am in need of opinions, please :-) > I make divider pins for use in Bobbin lace. Mainly they are brass pins and > some of them are silver plated. In the past I have bought piuns in large > numbers and used them freely. Yesterday I received a shipment, and this time > they are labeled with a warning that the pins contain lead and therefore are > not recommended for use by children. So my question... > How do you feel about pins with lead in them? Do you only pick up and move > the pins by holding to the decorative beds or turnings on them, or do you7 > lift and reposition your pins by holding the metal pin itself? > I am getting ready to return the pins, but I thought I would ask first! > Thank you. > Lauren Snyder - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003/albums/most-recent
