[pianotech] Lead contamination abatement protocol

[Tom Rhea, Jr.]

Hi Andrew,

After you sand off the leads and clean up the dust, you might want to seal
the leads with some clear fingernail polish.  I used to use colored
fingernail polish when I worked in the electronic calibration industry and
it sealed the adjustment screws quite well.  A clear fingernail polish would
allow anyone to see the leads but would seal them from the environment
without adding significant weight.

Regards,
Tom Rhea
Rhea Piano Service
Norfolk, VA

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Andrew Anderson
Sent: Friday, March 25, 2011 8:08 AM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Lead contamination abatement protocol

I hear you Les, but my experience with officious hysteria leaves me  
stepping cautiously.  I have been forced in one of my side businesses  
to register with the EPA in order to continue doing business because  
of this lead hysteria.

Yes kids are vulnerable, especially the ones with an obsessive  
compulsive disorder who like to chew on things like painted window  
sills etc.  A baby crawling around a house made dusty by poor work  
practices might end up ingesting significant quanities of lead dust.   
For the most part it is overkill, but in our litigious society we do  
have to be prepared to defend ourselves with a basic practice that  
acknowledges the risks and manages them.

In my case it is a piano in a library which will most likely be played  
by kids.  There is dust under every key lead.  Vacuuming without a  
certified HEPA machine is just going to get it in the air you breath,  
not good.  I'm planning to take some sandpaper and moist wipes to sand- 
off and wipe it up.  The wipes can be disposed off in the regular way  
under current regulations (preferably in a sealed bag until collected.)

I'm not sure what I can seal the weights themselves with, but will  
look for a primer and cut a little hole out of the bottom of a plastic  
cup and spray into the cup over the keyleads (after preparing with a  
little sanding).

There is room between the leads and the side of the key, so they have  
not expanded yet...  Sealing might slow the process, but I will  
recommend eventual replacement.

If anyone has more to add, please do so.

Thanks,
Andrew Anderson
On Mar 23, 2011, at 8:12 PM, Leslie Bartlett wrote:

> When does one go "too far" with this stuff.   I'm old, and spent my  
> life
> messing with stuff that now I think will kill if you're within a  
> thousand
> miles- and the worst they've done to me is a bad heart valve- which  
> might
> have been because my mother was exposed to something toxic when she  
> was a
> kid.   I'm not trying to be too flip, but when I see anti bacterial  
> stuff at
> the grocery door, and realize I'm one of the "bad people" who don't  
> use such
> stuff, it just seems a little much.
> Les Bartlett
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org]  
> On Behalf
> Of Andrew Anderson
> Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 3:09 PM
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Subject: [pianotech] Lead contamination abatement protocol
>
> There has been some disparate discussion of this in the past.  Perhaps
> we could pull together our best procedures on this matter.
>
> The subject is a Wurlitzer from Korea.  Silver dust under the weights
> in the keys on the keybed and keyframe.  Leads are not protruding out
> of the key (yet).
>
> Do you moist wipe off the loose stuff, bag the towels, and than seal
> the lead from the air with some sort of paint/sealer?
>
> Is replacement necessary?
>
> Ideas?
>
> Andrew Anderson
>