Disturbing report about toxic levels of lead exposure to shooters..

Shooting outdoors is better than an indoor range without air filtration, period. I was in a club in Detroit, it had a state of the art air filtration system, it was great.

I blow grey stuff out of my nose when I shoot indoors... not good. Oh well, you have to die of something. Check out the smoke:

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This isn't my club, it's worse, with no filtration system at all.
 
Anyone know if you can buy those lead wipes anywhere in Canada? I found some companies but they are in the states so shipping will be a pretty penny.
 
Your example does not support your position. What you have there is an indoor range with crap ventilation. If it had proper ventilation the smoke and crap would be gone as soon as you shot. There is a reason why major agencies in the USA have been moving to indoor ranges more and more, and one of those is ventilation.

st1264 said:
Shooting outdoors is better than an indoor range without air filtration, period. I was in a club in Detroit, it had a state of the art air filtration system, it was great.

I blow grey stuff out of my nose when I shoot indoors... not good. Oh well, you have to die of something. Check out the smoke:

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l.
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Great info, Slavex. Thanks.

I have always assumed that our covered outdoor range (#7) at POCO was "lead-safe" and I guess it is not really that safe:( Depending on where the wind blows, it is possible to have high lead concentration inside the firing line/shed.

Guess I have to find a safer place to teach my grandson, eh.

I probably will not suffer from serious lead poisoning as I only shoot twice a month on the average, but the ROs may be at great risk.
 
This thread has really opened my eyes, so thank you for all who have posted, especially Slavex.

I will admit, the first couple of times I went to a range, I didn't even think about washing my hands right away because I was oblivious to the fact that there was so much lead.

After subsequent trips, I would wash my hands after with the soap in the range bathroom, which is just regular soap. Now I will wash my hands a lot more thoroughly, especially because I am damn hungry post-range visit and eat a burger with my hands, and value my health greatly.

I am a low volume shooter. I shoot about 400-500 rounds (including .22LR, mind you, which accounts for most of it) every 2 months or so, maybe even 3.

But now I worry about the R.Os who hang around those ranges all day. They're not wearing masks, they're breathing it in, mingling on the firing line...are they made aware of the dangers to their health?
 
there are a number of outdoor ranges that have fans blowing the air behind the shooters, so that it blows smoke away from them, and downrange. but on a windy day, mother nature is a lot more powerful.
if RSO's are paid, then they and WCB will need to know about possible lead issues. Volunteers are totally different. If you volunteer you don't have the compo issues to worry about. The lead issue is still there, but not the government worry.
 
I strongly recommend wearing a hat as well as taking the precautions described above. A lot of particulate can accumulate in your hair and you can easily forget and run your fingers through your hair after you wash your hands. I have a shooting hat dedicated to the purpose and throw it in the wash after every couple range trips. It goes on when I hit the range and back in the range bag when I leave.
 
Anyone remember the Richmond Indoor range (close to airport)... OMG... I bought a membership and shot there only once.

There were only around 6 shooting bays if I remember correctly.

The air was thick with smoke the entire time. It was actually a constant fog/haze. One could taste it and it felt wrong. My throat was sore for days afterwards.

I always wondered about the regulars there... what their levels would have been like.
 
:weird: Blood tests.....Doctors referals.....fans....filters....hats.....soaps.....wipes.....what the he11 are you guys on about? Everyone knows what happens when lead in the pencil levels are above normal......9 months later, I get another mouth to feed.:D :p.....BTW the first guy that shows to the range up in a HAZMAT suit will be berated. Take precautions, but keep some perspective as well.
 
plinker 777 said:
:weird: Blood tests.....Doctors referals.....fans....filters....hats.....soaps.....wipes.....what the he11 are you guys on about? Everyone knows what happens when lead in the pencil levels are above normal......9 months later, I get another mouth to feed.:D :p.....BTW the first guy that shows to the range up in a HAZMAT suit will be berated. Take precautions, but keep some perspective as well.
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To each their own. There are lots of people who don't take their health seriously. There are tons of fat, overweight people who don't care about eating properly or getting enough exercise. To them all the effort it takes to be in top physical condition would probably be considered over board and not keeping things in perspective. Doesn't mean that it is wrong.

I am extremely serious about my health in all other aspects but one thing I didn't pay much attention to was lead. Sure I'll wash my hands after a range session or cleaning but that is just because I didn't want to get everything in my house/car dirty. After reading all of this it has opened up my eyes and I realize I should probably be taking more precautions . I'm serious about health in all other aspects of my life, why not be serious about it when it comes to firearms and lead exposure.

That is just me, someone else who smokes, is overweight, eats tons of unhealthy processed crap food, doesn't workout, drinks too much and maybe does some recreational drugs would not give a damn about lead exposure.

To each their own.
 
Good sanitary and personal hygiene is more than adequate for avoiding all but the most extreme lead exposure issues.

Extremely disgusting the percentage of folks that don't wash their hands after flicking the wick.

Common sense dictates the gunpowder, grease, dirt and myriad of other crap in addition to the lead must be washed off your hand before you do anything.

Eating a burger/sushi with your bare hands is disgusting no matter how you defend it.

Good sanitary and personal hygiene, It's that easy. Now go wash your mouth out with soap :)
 
im more worried about the CLP I always get all over my hands :b


but not that worried, or id wear gloves

I triple wash my hands...good enough for me
 
Wash hands as soon as possible after shooting. Take a shower and change when you get home. Your are covered in lead dust.

Range air should be laminar flow from well behind the shooter and then down range. Air flow should not be too high velocity because that causes turbulence. 50" per min is max.

Sport ranges are not clean enough for a person to be working there full time. The Savage Snail trap makes for a huge reduction in lead production because the bullets are not smashed. They spin in a circle on a film of water until spent.
 
Lead by itself is a very stable metal. It won't react with many substances. In my youth I would carry lead pellets in my mouth and crimp lead wights to the fishing line with my teeth. No side effects to date (heavy metal levels being cumulative).
What's dangerous are lead compounds. Like the lead styphnate in the primers or lead based paints. Also, some cold water arctic bacteria are able to turn lead into lead methylate which is quite poisonous and easy to assimilate. Some kind of fish we eat are full of said methylated lead.
 
legi0n said:
Lead by itself is a very stable metal. It won't react with many substances. In my youth I would carry lead pellets in my mouth and crimp lead wights to the fishing line with my teeth. No side effects to date (heavy metal levels being cumulative).
What's dangerous are lead compounds. Like the lead styphnate in the primers or lead based paints. Also, some cold water arctic bacteria are able to turn lead into lead methylate which is quite poisonous and easy to assimilate. Some kind of fish we eat are full of said methylated lead.
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That makes sense. So as far as shooting goes, since you are saying it is the primers which would pose the most risk, what do we have to be cautious of doing? Would it be actually shooting or cleaning or? What precautions would you suggest we should take.

Currently all I do is wash my hands after I shoot and clean my guns and have a shower before bed if I have done both.

I was thinking about get a respirator, some rubber gloves and eye protection for cleaning my guns. Does that make sense to you?

What about when I'm shooting, should I just continue shooting as normal and washing up after or should I wear a bandanna or something over my mouth?

Thanks
 
First of all, shooting is not such a big contributor to the heavy metal content in the body. I shoot at an open air range and the range offices at said range usually eat behind the firing line. They are checked quite often and no ill effects so far. (as opposed to us, they're there at least 4 days a week)
Re-loading can be a significant source of lead, especially when sifting the tumbling media from the cases.

Gurkha said:
That makes sense. So as far as shooting goes, since you are saying it is the primers which would pose the most risk, what do we have to be cautious of doing? Would it be actually shooting or cleaning or? What precautions would you suggest we should take.

Currently all I do is wash my hands after I shoot and clean my guns and have a shower before bed if I have done both.
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Washing hands and face is always a good idea.
Keep the shooting clothing separate.
Taking C vitamin regularly may help clean the lead out of your body.

I was thinking about get a respirator, some rubber gloves and eye protection for cleaning my guns. Does that make sense to you?
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The respirator is overkill. The residue on your guns doesn't get airborne easy but rather gets into the [chemical] soaked patches you wipe the guns with.
Wash your hands, clean the cleaning site thoroughly and discard the parches/rags.

What about when I'm shooting, should I just continue shooting as normal and washing up after or should I wear a bandanna or something over my mouth?
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Showing up at the range with the face covered might not be such a good idea.
You can ask the range operators about the ventilation and avoid busy times (I for one can't).

Also you may want to get tested yearly and watch the trend. I'm sure this will put your mind at ease.
 
Gurkha said:
I was thinking about get a respirator, some rubber gloves and eye protection for cleaning my guns. Does that make sense to you?
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Imo the kerosene/acetone/etc based cleaner are much more dangerous than the amount of lead you'll be in contact with while cleaning.

Wearing gloves is not a bad idea; I don't know if nitrile gloves resist those chemicals but they could be useful. I personally hate working with gloves, especially when I work with small parts (when you detail strip a pistol).

Eye protection is not a bad idea since you'll be working with brushes; you can easily receive something in your eyes if you're not careful.

Respirator....:rolleyes: Just work in a well ventilated area; I personally do it in my garage and open the windows / put a ventilator over my work table so I don't inhale too much solvent.

Edit: I also work a lot with 99% Isopropyl alcohol; it's an inexpensive and great cleaner/degreaser and also non-toxic. You will need something stronger for lead/copper deposit in your barrel but it's good enough for the rest. Just keep it away from plastic/wood grips :)
 
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