Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/03/29/throw-out-metal-grill-brushes.html
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I actually remember reading this story from a few years ago. Its definitely good to have a reminder that those brushes can be potentially harmful. I don’t grill myself but i know a fair number of people that do and i know they use these types of brushes.
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I have two of them. I clean them regularly and ensure they are in tact and not rusting or breaking apart. I replace them as needed.
I am willing to bet this guy was either 1) using something old that should have been replaced already and/or 2) was brushing way too hard and the grates to cause it to break apart.
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damn, that’s f’d up but just so you know, every single restaurant that has a grill uses these. Not just the obvious ones, either. I worked in a pizzeria prep kitchen and we roasted our peppers and grilled our chicken wings on one because it came with the kitchen and it was a cooking surface we could use while the flat-top and the oven were also being used. A brush is cheap and it cleans the gunk off quickly. They’re not going to buy a stone because it’s probably not as fast or cheap, nor a fancy copper thing because that’s too expensive.
The only statistic on prevalence was one doctor saying that a Halifax hospital was seeing a case twice a week, which is pretty awful, but if we’re throwing out everyday tools because of unintended consequences, get rid of all your power tools and your automobiles. The prevalence of injury and death is higher with those, I would expect.
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I don’t grill at all so i’ll leave proper brush care to those that know better 
if i’m recalling correctly though my parents grill brush looked pretty old though.
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I like the wooden grill paddle’s
The stone I don’t know what is made out of , and “recycled materials” makes me thing plastic.
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Oh good.
One weird trick.
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Have any of them ever had wire bristles show up in the GI tract? If not, they are as good an anecdotal “sample” as is presented in this article.
I think my dinner guests are safer from brush bristles than they would be if I used something not as effective to clean the grill, and they wound up with some of June’s pork shoulder drippings on their September hamburger.
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As far as i know no, no one i know has swallowed shards of metal from a grill 
but i’ll likely pester a few of them to replace their brushes
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Not saying one shouldn’t clean their grill, but wouldn’t the heat kill anything harmful?
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Likely not, if you cook with indirect heat as I do. The temp at the grill surface does not get over 250, usually more like 225.
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I was listening to this last night.
Wooden BBQ brush
When it comes to getting the gunk off your barbecue, would-be inventor Jason Janes decides wood would be better than brushes with dangerous wire bristles — and now he’s cleaning up.
It’s near the end of the Part One (19:24)
Archaeologists discover mysterious geoglyphs and 81 lost settlements in the Amazon.
Probably aliens, lost tribes of Israel or ancient white people, right? /s
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You’d almost think you were talking about firearms.
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How about passing a magnet over your grilled meat before serving?
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But then you get wood splinters? 
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Screw brushes and scrapers. Just use half an onion.
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Three comments:
I have a wooden scraper and it just doesn’t work as well as my wire brush.
I’ve seen bristles break off and it’s not hard to see them on the grill.
I’ve never seen a bristle on our food.
That said, I will be more careful.
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The advantage of the metal brush is that you can dip it in water before brushing the grille while it’s hot, and the steam will clean all around the grille bars, not just the top surface. I don’t see how you could do that with “stones” or wood scrapers.
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