lead exposure

[Teacher]

Do any of you have health concerns about reloading with lead bullets during the reloading process or when firing the round? Does anyone have any real data or articles on this topic? I have always heard that lead is bad for the head.

[GeneticJoe]

As long as you dont chew on it you'll be alright but seriously just wash ya hands good and if casting use ventalation

[Cumminsman76]

A friend is a range instructor for a PD and he gets blood taken for testing. He had to stay out of the range for a while. But he's around one alot.

[RustyFN]

Originally Posted by Teacher

Do any of you have health concerns about reloading with lead bullets during the reloading process or when firing the round? Does anyone have any real data or articles on this topic? I have always heard that lead is bad for the head.

No. I have been reloading almost six years and casting close to five. I have the lead levels checked every years when I have blood work done for other problems. Lead level have always been good. Don't eat drink or smoke while reloading or casting unless you wash your hands first.

[Scotgolf2003]

It's not a worry you can't afford to shoot enough to get lead poisoning!

[tarheelxd]

I had my lead level checked about two months ago when I saw my doctor for a sinus infection.It came back as "slightly elevated".I told my doc that I shoot indoors at least twice a month and that I loaded my own ammo.He told me to lay off the reloading and have it checked again in 3 months.I've reloaded once since the results came back;I wore blue nitrile exam gloves and used a cheap dust mask.I'm interested to see what the results will be next time.

[Nick A]

Reloading:
The lead on your hands is relatively harmless unless you smoke.
When it gets on the cigarette and becomes vaporized,
your lung tissues take it up like a sponge. Don't smoke.
Elemental lead (the pure metal) uptakes very slowly
through the skin, and very slowly through ingestion.
Elemental lead can stay in the body a lifetime with virtually no harm.
We all know of soldiers with bullets still in their bodies,
but they live full lives with no lead poisoning.
The big problem is not elemental lead, but lead compounds. Like primers.
Lead from spent primers can accumulate in your tumbler medium.
You really need to be aware of airborne tumbler dust.
Keep tumbler dust under control, or outside. And wash your hands.
That pretty much eliminates nearly all reloading hazards.
That's why guys can reload for a lifetime with no health problems.

Shooting indoors:
Products of combustion from the lead styphnate priming compound
absorb rapidly through the entire respiratory system.
That's the truly hazardous stuff. That's where full time range officers get it.
Limit your exposure by insisting on ventilation that pushes combustion
products down range, away from the line.
Find a properly ventilated indoor range with 100% air change.
Bullet lead: Very, very little lead from the bullet becomes airborne. Almost none.
Yes, I know. Many indoor ranges require plated or jacketed bullets
due to the health hazards. Well, the bullet really isn't the problem.
But it's hard to convince people of that. The primer is the big problem.
Either way, ventilation is the key.

Shooting outdoors:
Same hazards exist, but get diluted in the vast volume of Mother Nature.
Thanks, Mom. We can breathe easier outside.

Getting shot:
The biggest lead hazard is being on the wrong end of the trajectory.
You should do your best to avoid that.



Funny that tarheelxd's doctor recommended against reloading.
He should have recommended against indoor ranges.
He probably doesn't know much about either.

[snow]

Excellent post Nick!!!! I agree 100 %.


I cannot add much to it, but it is worth reiterating, make sure you are shooting in a well ventilated area. I did some testing on used media, the results are on this thread; http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=332004

[smallie9]

Originally Posted by Nick A

Reloading:
The lead on your hands is relatively harmless unless you smoke.
When it gets on the cigarette and becomes vaporized,
your lung tissues take it up like a sponge. Don't smoke.
Elemental lead (the pure metal) uptakes very slowly
through the skin, and very slowly through ingestion.
Elemental lead can stay in the body a lifetime with virtually no harm.
We all know of soldiers with bullets still in their bodies,
but they live full lives with no lead poisoning.
The big problem is not elemental lead, but lead compounds. Like primers.
Lead from spent primers can accumulate in your tumbler medium.
You really need to be aware of airborne tumbler dust.
Keep tumbler dust under control, or outside. And wash your hands.
That pretty much eliminates nearly all reloading hazards.
That's why guys can reload for a lifetime with no health problems.

Shooting indoors:
Products of combustion from the lead styphnate priming compound
absorb rapidly through the entire respiratory system.
That's the truly hazardous stuff. That's where full time range officers get it.
Limit your exposure by insisting on ventilation that pushes combustion
products down range, away from the line.
Find a properly ventilated indoor range with 100% air change.
Bullet lead: Very, very little lead from the bullet becomes airborne. Almost none.
Yes, I know. Many indoor ranges require plated or jacketed bullets
due to the health hazards. Well, the bullet really isn't the problem.
But it's hard to convince people of that. The primer is the big problem.
Either way, ventilation is the key.

Shooting outdoors:
Same hazards exist, but get diluted in the vast volume of Mother Nature.
Thanks, Mom. We can breathe easier outside.

Getting shot:
The biggest lead hazard is being on the wrong end of the trajectory.
You should do your best to avoid that.



Funny that tarheelxd's doctor recommended against reloading.
He should have recommended against indoor ranges.
He probably doesn't know much about either.

BRAVO!! Very well done and stated, sound information. By the way, I have some "sparse" lead floating in my body...........I think I'm OK

[Teacher]

Nick A and Sno, thanks for the informed answers. If anyone is reading this thread, don't skip the link posted by Sno. Tarheel XD, keep me posted on the followup lead test. I've got a little tar on my heels in Concord NC myself.

[Emerson]

Nick nailed it spot on.

[mikeg1005]

Like I tell everyone...

Don't eat the boolits.

Also consider making sure that your calcium intake is sufficiant... your body recognizes lead as calcium, and stores it in its bones... this is especially important to growing children(hense why they always freak out about kids gnawing on lead covered stuff.

Mike.

[dickttx]

Very interesting and informative thread. I am not a sky is falling type but do try to take normal precautions. I don't check my gas tank with a match either.
Snow, were you cleaning the brass (in your other thread) with the primers removed or with them still in? Would it make a difference?

[mikeg1005]

Originally Posted by dickttx

Very interesting and informative thread. I am not a sky is falling type but do try to take normal precautions. I don't check my gas tank with a match either.
Snow, were you cleaning the brass (in your other thread) with the primers removed or with them still in? Would it make a difference?

Inhaling ANY dust, whether its contaminated with lead or not is not healthy... obviously with lead is worse for you, but one should always take precautions not to inhale it/get it everywhere.

Best solution I have found, is change out your media... new media almost NEVER produces airborne dust, where as old stuff is BAD... clean media+cleaning in an open/vented area is the best solution.

MIke.

[BillD]

Originally Posted by mikeg1005

Inhaling ANY dust, whether its contaminated with lead or not is not healthy... obviously with lead is worse for you, but one should always take precautions not to inhale it/get it everywhere.

Best solution I have found, is change out your media... new media almost NEVER produces airborne dust, where as old stuff is BAD... clean media+cleaning in an open/vented area is the best solution.

MIke.

When it gets dirty, I take my corncob (which has a LOT of dust when new) outside and pour it back and forth between two buckets and let the breeze carry away the dust.

As with PortaPotties, stand upwind.

I've started using a dust mask when emptying the tumbler.

[snow]

Originally Posted by dickttx

Very interesting and informative thread. I am not a sky is falling type but do try to take normal precautions. I don't check my gas tank with a match either.
Snow, were you cleaning the brass (in your other thread) with the primers removed or with them still in? Would it make a difference?

The primers were still in the case. I think it reasonable to assume, it would make a difference if the cases were de-capped first, as the primers do contain residual lead compounds. However, I did not make that distinction in the test.


My test was a total number only, and did not distinguish source. I may do some more testing in the future out of curiosity. Since you read the thread, then you know that it is of little/no concern to most of the members I post actual numbers, and they give me the "sky is falling" routine


It is a simple problem to avoid, tumble and (at the very least, sift) outdoors, particularly with an open top tumbler, to avoid spreading the dusts throughout the home via the Heat/AC system.

[Griz44]

He told me to lay off the reloading and have it checked again in 3 months.

Your Doc had it bass ackwards. he should have told get out of the indoor range instead. The reloading has pretty close to zero risk. Indoor shooting is pretty much the only thing I have heard of in 40 years of shooting that anyone ever had any lead issues with. NEVER from reloading. To keep my wife happy (you know that routine) I get my lead checked with my physical every year. No issues - ever. shoot (a lot) and cast 30k rounds a year. Lead is not an issue unless you shoot indoors.

[CherokeeT]

Been casting and reloading indoors for 50+ years and have had my blood levels checked with normal results. Until last couple of years, 100% outdoor shooting. Winters now I am shooting indoors, the range has good circulation that draws the air away from the line. Just be careful about breathing the primer dust and wash your hands.

[gnystrom]

I am a part time RSO at a local indoor range. Yesterday I was given a 30 page notebook on lead hazards and how to avoid them. All broken down, Nick hit it on the head. Wash face, forearms, and hands before eating or drinking. Change clothes when you get home. We have a state of the art range and it passed OSHA testing but we constantly are chasing our tail to keep it that way. Fans and new filters really make a difference. Dust is the enemy.

[drinkypoo]

Just picked up a respirator good for dust as well as metal vapors at harbor freight for fifteen bucks. Typical price for such a disposable is twenty. They have nitrile gloves on sale just now too, $6.99/50. Some pretty great fold-up ears for $10 too.

Typical cost for respirator with replaceable filters is $30 with filters for $18 or $20 for disposable and you get a new mask and straps every time.

[hattrick]

I took a old box fan and taped on a furnace filter. Turn the fan on and sift right in front of the fan. All the nasty stuff gets sucked into the filter.

[bsmotril]

Originally Posted by hattrick

I took a old box fan and taped on a furnace filter. Turn the fan on and sift right in front of the fan. All the nasty stuff gets sucked into the filter.

A furnace filter is not going to catch vapor.

[Nick A]

I think Hattrick means filtering the airborne solids (dust) from sifting his tumbler medium.

The big question is micron size. Furnace filters come in different grades.
One looks up the micron filtration of that particular filter,
then determines the size of dust being captured.
Match the two together.
Filter too fine, impedes air flow.
Filter too large, won't trap particles.

[bjeffv]

here is a little background on lead. I can e-mail a full powerpoint of a presentation on some of the lesser known effects of lead. I conduct research on heavy metals as carcinogens, and am a member of the society of toxicology.

Known link in renal carcinoma.
Studies from the 1970s to early 1990s demonstrated that Pb2+ impaired cognitive function at increasingly lower doses.
CDC then lowered the definition of intoxication from 25 µg/dL to 10 µg/dL.
Even more recent studies show that lower exposure amounts lead to cognitive deficits


There is a strong association between lead exposure all kinds of behavioral problems.
ADHD
Anti-social behavior
Lower test scores
Violent behavior as adults
Reduced brain volume as adults
Exposure is irreversible.
Chelation therapy works for acute doses, but does not improve cognitive function.

I load lead bullets myself, and shoot indoors. The range has a ventilation system that costs 6k a month for filters. Even exposure via skin will accumulate. I wear gloves at all times well handling bullets, and loading clips.

Heavy metals including cadmium, lead, and arsenic all accumulate in your kidneys, there it has a half life of 20-25 years. Blood tests show current levels of metal in your blood low level exposure accumulates in other organs. So a decreased blood level just means your current exposure is lower, but the metal is still "somewhere" in your body.

Although a person may live with a bullet lodge in their body for a long time, I completely disagree that it has no effect. Cognitive tests for before and after would be needed to prove that either way.

[The Shootist]

I had lead poisoning from a combination of shooting indoors and reloading. Terrible head aches, in ability to sleep, blured vision, hand shakes, etc. The long term effects are even worse.

1. never clean brass cases indoors
2. wear laytex gloves if you reload with cast bullets or handle dirty brass
3. never eat or drink while shooting indoors or reloading
4. Brownells and others sell hand soap and wet wipes that will eliminate lead use them after you pick up a lot of range brass or handle lead bullets
5. never repeatedly go down range (indoors) to score targets (that's where the lead dust is) I know a range officer who had to be put in the hospital on I Vs who did that for shooting matches every week
6. If you shoot indoors have your lead tested at your annual physical
7. never sweep up an indoor range with a dry broom. Wear breathing protection or use a wet mop.
8. separate clothing worn at an indoor range and wash them alone
9. Neer take your street coat into and indoor range


An earlier post said you can't shoot enough for lead to be a problem. That is pure bull. I know a half dozen IDPA shooters and another half dozen instructors who have had serious lead problems.