Lead is still everywhere: In fishing ballast, in curtains, in camera stands, ...
I used to love removing those little lead pellets from curtain weight ropes. It wouldn't have crossed my mind to so much as wash my hands afterwards. I've seen children chewing on fishing lead, and nobody seemed to even be aware there's a risk involved.
I mean, people used to ADD LEAD TO THEIR WINE(!!!) by the grams to give it that "heavy sweetness". Still, it took centuries for the population at large to notice that this might be a problem.
Nah, that's not how any of it works, you can stop fearmongering. Even if so, it's not lead but a material composed with lead atoms, just like how lead is used now in many alloys without danger. I don't understand the low key fearmongering.
>> And soon, every single piece of electronics will be lead apatite…
> Nah, that's not how any of it works, you can stop fearmongering. Even if so, it's not lead but a material composed with lead atoms, just like how lead is used now in many alloys without danger. I don't understand the low key fearmongering.
Nah, that's not fearmongering. That is plain reasoning within the context of a valid concerned discussion of lead.
Previous uses of lead, historically incorrectly assumed to be (using your words) "without danger", have been phased out for a long time (e.g. lead additives for car gasoline), or are being actively replaced (e.g. lead-based water pipes in homes). https://www.epa.gov/lead/learn-about-lead
LK-99, the possible superconductor implied in adastra22's lead apatite comment, is 74 percent lead by mass.
I up the ante: imagine lead-based superconductor technology becomes a mass market reality, and therefore lead would be used in everyday appliances such as electrical cables, floating toys etc.
Nobody wants bulk masses of lead landing in trash uncontrollably.
If your only concern is the lead landing in trash uncontrollably, you can solve it by just controlling the trash (we mostly do that already).
Lead has been phased out because of direct contamination and environment contamination. A chemically stable superconductor tape won't be a problem for either of those.
The manufacturing process will probably be much more of a problem, but again, it's a matter of solving that problem.
You are using the same logic as anti-vaxxers who point at the ingredients of vaccines and say "there's mercury in there, it MUST be bad for you!". Lead as part of a bigger molecule behaves differently from lead as a standalone metal.
Lead-containing compounds are toxic. In fact, as far as I'm aware, lead-containing compounds are the only toxic kinds of lead. Metallic lead is only hazardous because corrosion forms lead salts on its surface.
I used to love removing those little lead pellets from curtain weight ropes. It wouldn't have crossed my mind to so much as wash my hands afterwards. I've seen children chewing on fishing lead, and nobody seemed to even be aware there's a risk involved.
I mean, people used to ADD LEAD TO THEIR WINE(!!!) by the grams to give it that "heavy sweetness". Still, it took centuries for the population at large to notice that this might be a problem.