Poisoning

Led is metal, handling it during reloading pose no threat if.
Particles of led can enter blood stream through ingestion, raspiration or absorbtion. Nose , mouth and eyes are only channels that led can enter the body and thus the blood stream.
Apart from being shot by led slug there is no other way body can absorb led.
Therefore wear good respirator rated for led particles and don't eat and suck on your fingers when handling led components. Don't rub your eyes with led covered fingers and don't breathe the fumes when casting or shooting led bullets.
Remember, prevention is better than treatment, thus if one can block these three ways for led to entrer the body they going to be safe.
On ligter note
For those that sucked on pellets in their youth, the sweet taste of them was the wax they covered led pellets for better loading. And if pellet was not chewed upon and not disintegrated in your mouth then you did not get any led in your diet, just wax.
 
Ceska said:
A lot of half truths in this thread. This topic comes up every year or so, here is the coles notes;

Most Doctor's are not well trained on heavy metal poisoning.

If you have a concern seek out a Doc who is trained in Chelation therapy.

After acute exposure to heavy metals, the metals will be deposited in other tissues and not freely circulating in the blood.

A "challenge test" (using a chelating agent to pull heavy metals out of tissues) is the best way to test for chronic heavy metal toxicity.

Personally, I worry about welders more then shooters, but after a few decades it never hurts to get checked.
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^^ this
 
We used to have a guy who'd hand cast fishing jigs for us, really nice ones too. He passed away from lead poisoning, bottom line if you're dealing with hazardous materials make sure you have appropriate ventilation.

Simple things like washing your hands after shooting can go a long way too.
 
Al Flaherty's said:
We used to have a guy who'd hand cast fishing jigs for us, really nice ones too. He passed away from lead poisoning, bottom line if you're dealing with hazardous materials make sure you have appropriate ventilation.

Simple things like washing your hands after shooting can go a long way too.
Click to expand...

and quoted for truth, I have been advocating around my friends the importance of simple hand washing and a good respirator for years, mostly fallen on deaf ears because washing your hands before eating is apparently sissy..
and I'm more worried about if you are casting in a house with young children, if the children are exposed to lead, you almost never see obvious symptoms...
quoted from national institute of health,
"Lead is much more harmful to children than adults because it can affect children's developing nerves and brains. The younger the child, the more harmful lead can be. Unborn children are the most vulnerable.

Possible complications include:
Behavior or attention problems
Failure at school
Reduced IQ
Slowed body growth"

non of these symptoms are obvious, and lead blood level does not have to go above normal for it to cause said damages...no amount of lead exposure is safe for children.
 
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My last yearly physicals blood work came back with above normal lead levels....... Still not in the "worry" zone, but still elevated.

I shoot indoors. I cast in the garage, with admittedly poor ventilation.

Before I started casting (in the last 2yrs) my lead levels were never beyond normal levels.

It's just a box the doc checks on the blood work form, it's easy to get checked..... Better safe than sorry.
 
I'm a welder working with heavy metals for last 20+ years ,i shoot and cast lead outdoors as well.I have blood tests done on regular bases and all come clear.

Wash your hands,don't crank heat on lead too far and have decent ventilation-that's all I can say.

I'm more concerned with fumes from smelting WW.I think that stuff burning out is far worse than hot lead.
 
I shoot indoors about once a week. I checked my lead level about 2 years ago and it was 4 times the upper limit of normal.

I made minor changes to my habits, and it went UP when I checked it next.

When I started getting really serious about reducing my exposure, cleaning properly, changing clothes, and wearing an N100 mask while shooting indoors, it gradually improved.

Mind you, "upper limit of normal" does not necessarily mean anything above that is toxic. It simply means that this is the upper limit of normal for a regular population. From what I recall, about 5 x the "upper limit of normal" is where occupational exposure is felt to be excessive.

It's mostly about ventilation and fumes, I believe, as well as what goes from your hands into your mouth. Just touching lead is not a problem.
 
I have been shooting indoors and out for 40 years. Last year I cast 40,000+ bullets by hand with a ladle.
I shoot a lot, I don't actually count.

I thought I was fine but something happened last summer that has me wondering if i might have lead poisoning. I was taking a dump and something felt very...... different.

Low and behold: after all those years of lead exposure my body has finally reacted, but my lead poisoning has taken a different manifestation than most. Apparently I have so much lead in me that I now crap pure lead 230 gr 45acp bullets. About 150 per day since that day.

I sought medical advice immediately. My doctor has recommended oral application of 3% supplemental antimony tablets, because in his opinion pure lead is too soft for a 45acp bullet.
 
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jethunter said:
I have been shooting indoors and out for 40 years. Last year I cast 40,000+ bullets by hand with a ladle.
I shoot a lot, I don't actually count.

I thought I was fine but something happened last summer that has me wondering if i might have lead poisoning. I was taking a dump and something felt very...... different.

Low and behold: after all those years of lead exposure my body has finally reacted, but my lead poisoning has taken a different manifestation than most. Apparently I have so much lead in me that I now crap pure lead 230 gr 45acp bullets. About 150 per day since that day.

I sought medical advice immediately. My doctor has recommended oral application of 3% supplemental antimony tablets, because in his opinion pure lead is too soft for a 45acp bullet.
Click to expand...

You are actually the only man on this planet that I would allow to live with me and my family... Ill supply the antimony...and the pail ;P
The goose that lays the golden egg....
 
Al Flaherty's said:
We used to have a guy who'd hand cast fishing jigs for us, really nice ones too. He passed away from lead poisoning, bottom line if you're dealing with hazardous materials make sure you have appropriate ventilation.

Simple things like washing your hands after shooting can go a long way too.
Click to expand...

Ventilation is the top issue to be checked out at indoor ranges..

two of my fellow range buddies have tested positive for higher levels but they are RO's and spend a lot of time there.
 
jethunter said:
I have been shooting indoors and out for 40 years. Last year I cast 40,000+ bullets by hand with a ladle.
I shoot a lot, I don't actually count.

I thought I was fine but something happened last summer that has me wondering if i might have lead poisoning. I was taking a dump and something felt very...... different.

Low and behold: after all those years of lead exposure my body has finally reacted, but my lead poisoning has taken a different manifestation than most. Apparently I have so much lead in me that I now crap pure lead 230 gr 45acp bullets. About 150 per day since that day.

I sought medical advice immediately. My doctor has recommended oral application of 3% supplemental antimony tablets, because in his opinion pure lead is too soft for a 45acp bullet.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the laugh......
 
So licking the dross off one's melt is a bad idea? Way to take the fun out of things guys!

I think how you do something is more important than what you do. Don't inhale lead dust & wash your hands! If you are welding & the fumes are coming off the bead & straight into your snout, change position or increase ventilation. I melt my wheel weights in my wood stove cause those fume are super nasty.
 
macds said:
You are actually the only man on this planet that I would allow to live with me and my family... Ill supply the antimony...and the pail ;P
The goose that lays the golden egg....
Click to expand...

Maybe not golden eggs, but they come pre-lubed if you can stand the smell.
They are crappy bullets...
 
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