I did my research on this and didn't think there was enough actual information to say. To me, it mostly looked like speculation/opinion on both sides. If I did overlook decisive evidence, please let me know. It's not much fun trying to build a playable set and excluding a gigantic portion of the chip pool over something like this.
My chain of reasoning goes something like this:
- We know lead is toxic and absorbed almost entirely through ingestion.
- We know that compression clay chips lose volume with handling over time, which must mean they are grinding off fragments, particles, fine dust etc. Presumably this is ending up on tables, in racks, cases, and on other nearby surfaces.
- Not everyone will exercise the same degree of diligence in cleaning their hands (or use the proper soap) after touching a contaminated surface. People eat at my game and afterwards, and this is a clear, possible ingestion route.
My overall assessment is
not that I know for fact that this is dangerous. It's that I don't know the risk I am exposing players (or my family) to, and am taking a measured precaution because at the end of the day the risk/reward is very asymmetric. Especially for non-chipper friends, this is more easily avoided than explained.
If anyone who is a long time leaded chip enthusiast/player (and especially if they have milled leaded chips) has ever shared their own heavy metal bloodwork I would be extremely interested in seeing that post. I'd also be interested in reading about what lead Paulson/GPI to change the formula.
Again, apologies if I overlooked something that clearly settled this in the old posts/threads on the topic.
