Is some of our fishing lead deadlier then we may think it is?

For years now I have always wonder about using "contaminated" lead for sinkers. I know that many years ago when I was buying tackle in the bulk at a wholesaler's suite, I was asking them where they had gotten all of their lead that they were using to make their sinkers from.

They told me (and I also saw it with my own eyes) that they were melting down lead containers that were used to carry medical radioactive Isotopes in. Just today a friend of mine bought about 650 lbs of flat looking sheets of lead from a garage sale. He asked the guy were he had got it from and the guy said that is came out of some kind of shielding that were used in hospitals to protect from radiation exposer.

Again, these leads have been exposed to different degrees of radiations and are now being melted down for sinkers or whatever. My question is; once lead has been exposed to radiation, does it carry that radiation with it, and if so, for how long?

I know that lead stops radiation, but does it also "hold" some of the same radiation that it was used to shield from escaping? It seems the older we get, the more we need to get the answers!


Cowlitzfisherman