Tumbler dust: How toxic is it?

evolture

evolture

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Hi All,

Newbie reloader here. I just got a face full of dirty media dust and I guess (as usual) I learned something the hard way..

My question is: How much lead did I just breath in?

much appreciated.

:ninja:
 
If you were putting used media in a garbage bag and sticking your head in there for hours at a time, you might have a problem. Inhaled a little bit of a puff of dust out of the tumbler when dumping? I think you'll be just fine :)
 
There won't be much lead residue in fired brass. The powder and primer residue is more likely to be present than lead. I'd say most of your dust comes from the media itself. You sould avoid breathing the dust but it's likely less toxic than walking in the dowtown core of a large city and breathing the smog.
 
jethunter said:
There won't be much lead residue in fired brass. The powder and primer residue is more likely to be present than lead. I'd say most of your dust comes from the media itself. You sould avoid breathing the dust but it's likely less toxic than walking in the dowtown core of a large city and breathing the smog.
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And this is where ignorance can actually hurt you.

Primer residue IS lead salts which are the most dangerous form of lead because they are absorbed more readily into tissues.

As to the OP. the amount of lead you may or may not have inhaled is irrelevant because there is not a thing you can do about it now. Just learn from your mistake and don't do that again.
 
When you begin tumbling add a dryer sheet like bounce to the walnut or whatever media, rip it into four or six pieces and put it in with the media, it will pick up most of the dust.
 
jaydeee said:
When you begin tumbling add a dryer sheet like bounce to the walnut or whatever media, rip it into four or six pieces and put it in with the media, it will pick up most of the dust.
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Ditto, my wife saves all of the used sheets for me and I always put two in the tumbler. Next to no dust. Sheets come out black! I also make a point of not touching my face/mouth etc. and always wash my hands when I'm done.
 
jaydeee said:
When you begin tumbling add a dryer sheet like bounce to the walnut or whatever media, rip it into four or six pieces and put it in with the media, it will pick up most of the dust.
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x2.

I also add a capfull or 2 of NuFinish car polish(not wax).

It seems to help keep the dust down and makes the brass sparkle.
 
I use 5 or 6 Bounce sheets every time. It may be over kill but there is no dust with the corn cob media. I think the stuff on the sheets might polish the brass a bit but am not sure about that. I have found the Bounce sheets work the best.
 
Good advice on the dryer sheets guys. I've finally started using my tumbler I got for Christmas, and was a little concerned about the dust as well. I'll give the sheets a try with the next batch of brass.
 
I know someone who had high levels of lead show up in a blood test.

It was from tumbling with inadequate inhalation and handling various things during the reloading process without adequate hand washing.
 
electricjesus said:
Primer is lead styphnate. primer residue is mostly lead.:HR: ;)
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Suputin said:
And this is where ignorance can actually hurt you.

Primer residue IS lead salts which are the most dangerous form of lead because they are absorbed more readily into tissues.

As to the OP. the amount of lead you may or may not have inhaled is irrelevant because there is not a thing you can do about it now. Just learn from your mistake and don't do that again.
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Gosh. Primer residue is most certainly not good for you, but the amount of primer residue in a fired case is almost negligible. I could be wrong but I was not aware that spent brass is classed as a toxic substance under Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regs. If it is we might need to start using Dangerous Goods placards on return trips from the shooting range. ;) The federally mandated safe maximum level of lead oxides in a shooting range is 50 mg per m3. I don't see this level being reached with tumbler residue from spent casings as the only source.

The amount of primer residue in your tumbler dust is very very low, especially in vibratory tumblers because they don't really remove much of combustion residue from the inside of the brass. Almost all the dust in regular tumbler media is from the media itself. The biggest hazard from primer salts is inhaling it at the time of shooting, not from spent casings.There is no need to overly alarm the OP.

Most importantly - Avoid poorly ventilated indoor shooting ranges. Common sense says we should avoid exposure and i will not argue that point. Wash your hands after reloading or handling spent cartridges.
 
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gushulak said:
I have my lead levels checked during my yearly physical, nothing has changed in over over 25 years of heavy shooting and lots of tumbler dust and reloading probably in excess of a hundred thousand rounds. Always wash my hands and try to avoid exposure as much as I can.
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^Exactly.
 
I've been using Nev-R-Dull polish for the last 2 years based on another members recommendation. It's basically cotton soaked in brass-o, available at most hardware stores.

A few chunks in each batch does a good job of capturing dust and adding an extra shine to the brass. One tin lasted me about 18 months, maybe 15,000+ pieces of brass tumbled. Not sure of the cost comparisons to Bounce, but we don't use dryer sheets so its a good alternative for me.
 
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I have seen reports of people using lead test kits to check for lead on surfaces in and around their ammo handling and storage areas and the area immediately around the tumbler generally had by far the highest levels. There is nothing to be done about the original poster's incident, but people should definitely treat tumbler dust as something to avoid.
 
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