It makes you wonder ?

I've just heard that someone who I've known since he was a Saturday maggot grader and who has worked in one of my local tackle shops all his life has passed away. He was 52.

That's the 5th person from the local tackle shops to pass away that I know of. None of them were youngsters but the oldest was only in his early 60's. Statically that seems a bit of a worrying trend though it may just be coincidence. To put that in context I've done 41 years in my job and I don't know a single person who passed away " in service" .

I'm shocked by this latest sad news and its got me wondering. All of these guys must have been exposed to chrysodine at some point.....or am I just being daft ?

Not daft at all, the amount of bronze maggots sold during the chrysodine dye period must have been staggering, not your end I know but Trent anglers used gallons of them and were covered in the stuff with permanently orange hands.

The bronze during those days was probably equivalent to reds today.

Just heard this myself last night, no age to go. Only used the shop occasionally but last time I was in there a about a year ago he didn't look in the best of health then.
From what I heard of the cause of death it wasn't something that I can recall being linked obviously with Chrysodine, but agree that there does seem to be a worrying trend somehow.

RIP, another good bloke gone.

thecrow said:

Not daft at all, the amount of bronze maggots sold during the chrysodine dye period must have been staggering, not your end I know but Trent anglers used gallons of them and were covered in the stuff with permanently orange hands.

The bronze during those days was probably equivalent to reds today.

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We were even like it as kids, Monday mornings back at school were usually met with interrogation by teachers who thought it was the remnants of nicotine from fags.

Sorry to hear you've had sad news Skip.

Firstly, my sympathies on the loss of your friend S-Kippy.

Regarding chrysodine dyes, which have not been used now for decades;

The dye was cited as a possible cause of bladder cancer but there appears to be no empirical evidence to support the claim from the medical community.

I believe that this chemical was cited as the cause for the death of Benny Ashurst to bladder cancer, although, again, no firm evidence was published, or at least none that I can find.

There appears to be no evidence to suggest that those exposed to chrysodine dye were more susceptible to any other life-threatening illnesses, not only in the fishing tackle business but also in the cloth dying industry where it was used in far higher solutions and quantities and over a far more protracted periods of time.

The problem with chrysodine was that, unlike most other maggot dyes, it was applied to the maggots externally whereas other dyes were added to the maggot food and thereby absorbed internally.

I think that death in service is far more common is some professions than in others. Personally in the oil and gas business I have experienced literality dozens of workers dying of heart and other stress related illnesses. In the late 80's and early 90' there was a very worrying increase in suicide in the business as well.

I'm not sure about the chrysodine link. As has been said there's no evidence to suggest this latest demise is linked in any way. It's me that's making the link as it seems very odd that my 2 local shops should have such a high mortality rate.....you wouldn't think tackle dealing was a high risk occupation.

I think it must be something else. Lifestyle I guess or just plain bad luck and coincidence. It's sad nonetheless .....52 is no age nowadays.

Hey ho......I'd better get me gear out and go fishing while I still can !

Sad news Skippy.

It's strange as one of the lads who worked in Johnson Ross died also, not sure of his age, but i understand he was in his late 40's.

He wasn't working at the shop at his time of death, he left due to his illness.

In the building trade there are many deaths year in, year out. Not sure there is a link, thats just how life is.

On other sports deaths, golfers have died from the spray used to keep the greens in good order. This was found to be a direct link to the chemical used, I understand that green keepers use something else now.

Sad news what ever may have been the cause.

Peter Jacobs said:

I believe that this chemical was cited as the cause for the death of Benny Ashurst to bladder cancer, although, again, no firm evidence was published, or at least none that I can find.

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The Shakespeare angler Clive Smith also died of bladder cancer which, iirc, was when alarm bells really started ringing back in the 80's.

The oil and building industries I can understand....but tackle dealing ????

I'm trying to get my head round this and clearly failing.

The link between aniline dyes and bladder cancer was known about in the dye industry a very long time ago, long before Clive Smith's death. I've had one or two interesting chats with Dave Downes about this (he's a dyes supplier). He discover one seller of hamburger sausages mixing in an aniline dye back in the 70s! Of course, another risk factor is smoking.

Another risk is not getting out enough. Most tackle dealers I know, and any shopkeeper for that fact work long hours indoors. Being stuck inside all day isn't good for your health and running a business is about as stressful as you can get.

The only time I've had anything vaguely work related affect my health was whilst working in retail, in my case selling musical instruments (mainly guitars and amplifiers).

The reality is that you can end up spending long periods of time slouched across a counter - bad posture - and then short amounts of time lifting heavy gear in and out of customers cars or when stock got delivered.

After a couple of years of that my back started playing up really badly, at it's worst I literally couldn't get out of bed un-assisted. After a while, a customer at the shop recommended an osteopath that he'd used and thankfully he put me well on the road to recovery, relatively quickly.

Added to that, and with the benefit of hindsight - it was a very unhealthy way of life. No exercise, terrible diet (always grabbed on the run, and usually sugary or fried!), loads of tea and coffee all day. I gave up having sugar in my coffee, because I couldn't believe just how quickly four of us in the shop would get through a kilo in our drinks. And more stress than you'd imagine, because at the end of the day, you genuinely care about the gear that you supply because the only reason you ended up working there in the first place is because you're passionate about it. And then stuff goes wrong and as we all know, the customer is always right.

The only thing I miss about it is the camaraderie... both of the guys I worked with, and the customers. I think in a way that's the danger of retail jobs like that in a relatively specialised field. You're one of the boys, recognised far and wide for your expertise in a particular niche, tried and trusted by a regular clientele... However, I can't imagine what would have become of me physically if I'd done any more than the four years I gave it! Its funny, I was so very happy to get the job in the first place, but happier still to leave......

And I can't help noticing a similar thing in most tackle shops I visit.... the regulars at the counter, the tea cups and the sugar jar, the banter and so on.. its all very similar.

So, back on track - Skip, really sorry to hear this sad news, but I do wonder if the answer to this is just one of lifestyle as opposed to chrysodine?

On reflection,almost certainly lifestyle in this case, Jim.

I just threw chrysodine in because when I first heard I couldn't think of anything else that might have even gone half way to explaining the risks involved in selling me a bit of bait !