How to clean out lead contaminated(?) cast iron

OK, here's the deal:

I have a cast iron, round bottom pot, about 1 1/2 to 2 gallon size.

When i first got it (new) cooked pinto beans in it, it didn't work too well for that. Was ok for stews, etc.

Then, in a fit of brilliance i used it to melt some lead. Wheel weight i think. Made a neat round bottom ingot, kind of like a lead frisbee.

So now after a lot more years have gone by, i'm thinking about trying to use it for cooking again, but worried about the lead (don't want to get any crazier than i am already).

My mind says there might be some lead in some of the surface roughness in the cast iron, but then it's not visible. I'm tempted to just turn it upside down over a fire, heat it up plenty hot, and start using it again, after reseasoning with the usual cast iron seasonng procedures.

What do you think? I recognize the health issue possibility. But i don't think the metallurgy is any kind of rocket science, the lead probably didn't combine with the cast iron, just was a surface film if anything, so just get it hot enough to melt and drop out any lead residue.

Now i don't think i'd want to try his on something that had been used as a lead pot for a long time. This was a one time thing.

What do you think?

rayb

I dont think its a risk I would be willing to take...I would probably drill a hole or two in the bottom and make a planter out of it.. buy a new pot and before you get it out of the box.. write 100 times.. I will not melt lead in my pot... :kid:

I wonder if after you burn it out, you could test it somehow, to see if there is any lead still left... like when you test for lead in paint. Just a thought...

Cast Iron is rather reasonable, and I would rather buy another pot. Some levels of lead are ok, but the uncertainty of this meal is enough stop me!

High Power,

Seen your avatar. Little bit of lead would be the least of your worries.

rayb,

I agree with what the others said. Get a new pot.

Do not get rid of the pot, even if you stop cooking in it! There are dozens of PC uses that do not involve cooking and this pot still has a place in your camp.

boiling clothes for washing
boiling dye
boiling soap
rendering tallow
hanging from a tripod and looking cool

After you have used it for some of these activities you will feel assured that the lead has cooked out.

One of my friends has a cast iron curing party every fall. We dump any questionable cast iron into the big fire heat it up cherry red and leave it there overnight. I've eaten out of those pots many times and nothing has hurt me yet..hurt me yet...hurt me yet !!

:front:

Buy a new pot. Give the old one to Ghost. Make sure he puts it in the big fire.

High Power,

Seen your avatar. Little bit of lead would be the least of your worries.

rayb,

I agree with what the others said. Get a new pot.

Click to expand...

I seen your avatar as well! I bet your on the big foot forum like me!

I bet your on the big foot forum like me!

Click to expand...

Didn't know one existed.

Nope, my wife's former co-worker started calling me Yeti and giving me Bumble (remember - Rudolph, Yukon Cornelius) toys for Christmas. A friend told me to check out[url] BFRO.net[/url], and I stole the pic from there.

I bet your on the big foot forum like me!

Click to expand...

Didn't know one existed.

Nope, my wife's former co-worker started calling me Yeti and giving me Bumble (remember - Rudolph, Yukon Cornelius) toys for Christmas. A friend told me to check out[url] BFRO.net[/url], and I stole the pic from there.

Click to expand...

Your in luck!

http://www.bigfootforums.com/index.php?

Some great stuff on their!

FWIW....

When I was a kid...I was raised in a house that the water line to the meter was lead. My mother was raised in that house as was my grandmother. No one ever suffered from any kind of lead poisoning. To each thier own, and while I do not intend this post to mean one should on my say so go ahead with something they have qualms about...I personally think this lead thing today except in some extreme cases is a bunch of hooey. Same with lead paint..Some kid eating the paint off a window sill??? What is wrong with that kids parents?? Really..forget the lead, what parent would allow that kind of behavior?? Oh..yeah, I forgot..today one can't discipline thier kids, and a lot of parents today, even if they could don't have the guts to do so..imo.

The issue with lead paint isn't simply that kids eat the chips, not chewing the molding itself, but putting fallen chips in their mouth (kids put everything in their mouths). That is a major factor, but there is also dust from the paint getting onto their hands and into food prepared around it. Any exposed lead paint is very old, and breaks apart readily. (a friend of mine is in charge of Philly's lead abatement program)
Lead water pipes are also generally not a problem, as long as water flows mor eor less constantly. In Philly, there are schools that have some lead pipework left, and it would be prohibitively expensive to replace (inside masonry walls). So, they run the water fountains and faucets for five minutes each morning, and the lead levels are far below permissible for the rest of the day, it only builds up when the water sits overnight. Most municiple water systems treat the water with zinc sulfate (or similar), which coats lead solder and pipes. (and I work for the Philly Water Dept.)

And that's enough OT for today. Don't use the pot to cook in. Lead bad.

These have been for the most part excellent posts on the dangers of lead ingestion. Before any of you even think about ingesting food cooked in pots or other vessels which have had lead used in them, I would strongly suggest that you go to google and click on "the Franklin expedition and lead poisoning".Franklin and two ships with 134 men sailed from England on May 19,1845 to find the "Northwest Passage".The two ships vanished and were never seen again although various artifacts have been found over the succeding years. The initial web site has an excellent essay on the subject along with the additional suggestion that botulism was also a possible factor in the demise of the personnel on board Franklin's ship.Of particular interest to this thread were the bodies of two men who died early on and whose bodies were located recently on Beechey Island and their graves opened.Chemical analysis showed a substantial amount of lead in their bodies which were basically intact having been frozen since the mid 19th century.See "Frozen in Time:Unlocking the Secrets of the Franklin Expedition" by Owen Beatie and John Geiger.This is a fascinating book which is the culmination of work done by Beatie,a forensic anthropologist at the University of Alberta in Canada.I have read it and recommend it very highly.The disappearance of the Franklin Expedition was one of the great mysteries of the 19th century and it is only recently that the mystery has been solved.
Tom Patton

Back to the original question. Is there any way to decontaminate it? I suppose heating it to burn off the lead and lots of scrubbing with soapy water followed by rinsing. But seriously, anyone know a medically approved method of using a once abused cast iron for cooking again?

Take it to Rondys and use it in the "Pot Throwing
Contest". The extra weight of the lead may really
make it a winner.
This pot could be your path to fame.

Redwing

:redthumb:

Maybe it is just me, but why risk it at all? Cast iron pots and pans are not that expensive, especially when compared to the risks. If it were me, I would just either throw it out, or continue to use it to melt lead, but in either case I would buy a new one and not have to worry about it. :m2c:

Lets see this problem from the materials point of view. The cast iron pot would not have combined with the lead in any way. Heating the iron up caused the surface pores to open up and allow molten lead to enter, and upon cooling the pores in the pot closed up containing trace amounts of lead.

The pores on the surface of the cast iron part are only a few microns to at most (if badly rusted/corroded) of say .0001 inches in depth.
THeoretically you could go to a machine shop and have them machine a few thousands of an inch off the interior surface and not have any lead left at all in the pot.

Again, why bother? Is the risk really worth the trouble and expense, when a new one isn't that expensive? And even if you are willing to take that risk for yourself, are you willing to do so for every person that might eat from that pot?

how hard is it to sandblast? :what:

Grinding, polishing, heating and blasting are not reliable as they still push the dust back into the opened surface. You may lessen the exposure, but...

Also be aware that cooking reopens the pores and exposes the lead. Then acids in the food combine with the lead to carry it right into your bloodstream.

Scratch L E A D into the pot and then use it for non cooking purposes from now on.

Buy a new pot for cooking.

It just is not worth the effort.

CS

mercury has an affinity for lead and can be used for removal. then you just have to worry about toxic mercury. the epa will be knocking at my door just for this post. i agree with the others, its not worth the risk. ditch the pot.