do you wear a mask

[bxchef29]

how many people wear a mask while casting? why and why not?

[btroj]

Nope. I don't feel a need and it would get hot too fast. Fumes are not an issue. I worry more about lead dust on the floor and around the pot than I do any fumes from the melt.
A mask when cleaning the area around the pot would make more sense to me.

[bxchef29]

thanks for sharing yeah i get hot wearing a mask too

[mooman76]

I don't feel I need it either and that most lead is ingested through skin absorbtion.

[montana_charlie]

I think the Lone Ranger did, but he was using silver ...

[imashooter2]

No need, so no usage.

[MT Gianni]

imashooter said it all. My lead gets nowhere near the temperature of oxidizing.

[bxchef29]

lol good info guys

[Echo]

Nope, neither for casting nor smelting.

[kbzeroqvn]

Nope, just a faceshield or safety glasses good leather gloves, and long sleeve cotton shirt. I got splashed with hot lead once when some one was pouring ingots and decided to cool the mold down with water. He thought the mould was dry enough. I thought someone had let a round go in the workroom when that hot lead hit the trace of moisture still in the mould and turned it into steam!! Still have scars on my back from that one

[swheeler]

No mask while casting here either, but the cashier at the gas station has been lately!

[HeavyMetal]

I wear a mask when using my brass cleaner.

A little blurb in the 2nd edition of Lee's reloading manual convinced me it was needed. Seems a close friend of Lee's was diagnosed with higher than his doctor would like lead content.

A search of the casting area with lead detecting swipes showed no contamination, going into the area where the brass cleaner was pretty much set the wipes on fire!

My cleaner gets used outside and I wear a mask when getting the brass out. I also put in one of those dryer cloths which grab a ot of the dust the thing makes.

As for the casting area? Not when casting but with any clean up yes. Once again it's the dust that gets you.

[mdi]

Me neither. I think the "lead poisoning" scare tactics are way overblown. I have had contact with only one person in my entire life (62 years in smoggy LA) that had elevated lead levels in his blood. A welder where I worked occationally worked on old vehicles/equipment that used school bus yellow paint which had some lead in it (I'm not a chemist nor paint expert, just what the welder told me). Annual blood tests for all repair personel were mandatory. When welding on/near the paint he would breathe some fumes w/lead involved. BTW, he said he had been burning rod for 30+ years before anything showed up in blood tests. Otherwise I don't know, nor have I met, nor have I met anyone that had met, any reloader/shooter that could claim they had elevated lead levels as a result of shooting/casting/reloading!

[bxchef29]

great info makes me feel better thanks guys

[fredj338]

how many people wear a mask while casting? why and why not?
When I use my MagmaCaster I wear a particulate mask only because it has a fan that blows down on the mold & that is where an small lead particles will be from breaking the spru off. When using the Lee BP pot, no. When smelting, sometimes, but mostly for the caustic **** on the ww.

[quilbilly]

Not necessary. I have been casting lead fishing jigs commercially for over 30 years and blood tests show no problem. I have always cast in an area open to the outdoors (currently in a barn) for safety reasons anyway.

[Papa smurf]

I make it a point never , never, ever to cast on Halloween ! DAH !

[bxchef29]

should there be a casting holiday

[462]

There is more potential harm in the outside air than there is in my garage, where I cast. I don't wear a mask when I venture out-of-doors, nor when I cast.

[Tom W.]

It wouldn't help. My wife knows what I look like..:bigsmyl2:

[Charley]

Volatization temperature of lead is well above melting point...keep your temperature where it should be, and any exposure will come from dermal exposure, if you are unlucky enough to spill/splash some on you. If you DO run your temperature high enough for volatization, a fiber mask isn't going to be much help...you will need a NIOSH/MSA respirator instead.

[Tatume]

how many people wear a mask while casting? why and why not?

I've moved all my casting outdoors. By positioning myself so the wind is on my shoulder I stay clear of fumes and lead vapors. Sitting with my back to the wind seems to cause undesirable eddies.

[Defcon-One]

.... a fiber mask isn't going to be much help...you will need a NIOSH/MSA respirator instead.

These are hard to find. I do not use one, never have!

FYI: I am told that the normal, if there is such a thing, lead content in the blood is between Zero and 20 ug/dL (micrograms/decileter). Anything over that is a health issue, especially in young children.

The test is only capable of measuring plus or minus 1 ug/dL and cannot detect any blood content of lead under 1. Over 20 is a warning sign of excessive exposure. Somewhere around 60 is where the toxic levels start and treatment is required. Obviously, less is better!

I just had a routine physical and asked my doctor to run a Lead test just to see and to set a baseline so that I would know if I was getting more exposure as I upped my casting volume. Bullets are getting more expensive and I plan to cast more rather than buy them from now on! (I have been casting bullets and fishing weights casually for 30 years)

My test came back at 2 ug/dL. The doctor said that with the plus or minus 1 ug/dL accuracy, I could be as low as 1 in reality or as high as 3. This is good for an adult my age (50 yrs. old) and much lower than a lot of people in New York City where the old pipes are still lead or lead sealed iron.

So, I have been exposing myself to lead thru my hobby for 30 years and have not managed to pick up much at all. In fact, the lead that I do have in my blood may be from another source like automobile exhaust, since Gasoline had lead added as a lubricant until the 80's when it was removed because it was polluting the air (with lead), or water pipes, etc.

I don't eat lead paint, I smelt only outside, I cast in the garage with the bay doors and windows open and I clean up the area carefully from time to time.

I do not eat or drink while casting and I wash up well after casting. Also, I do drink a lot of Orange Juice and other juices that are high in vitamin C which is a natural chelating agent that binds with the lead and allows your kidneys to remove it from your body. I do that because I like OJ, not to reduce my lead numbers, but I assume that it might have helped.

Bottom line is be smart and keep clean and your gonna be OK. I have less lead in my blood than a lot of people who don't handle lead or cast at all and I have been around it all of my adult life!

[MtGun44]

There is no such thing as "lead vapors" at anywhere NEAR casting temperatures. The partial
pressure of molten lead at those temps is something like 1 millionth of 1 mm a "mm of
mercury" (which is based on the column of mercury used in a real barometer) where a normal
sea level pressure is 760 mm of mercury. Basically, zero lead is vaporizing at casting
temperatures - so the worry, constantly reported by folks, is total baloney.

Smells? Yes. Smoke from various additives for cleaning your melt? YES! but not lead
vapor. Stinky, but harmless. You want ventilation to keep the wife happy, not for health
reasons.

One - OSHA limit is 40 mg/decaliter not 20. The child limit is 10,
I don't know of anything that uses 20. And I am pretty sure the units are mg/decaliter, definitely
not ppm. I know that this is picky, but we have been fighting lots of misinformation on this
subject for years and I am getting very picky about it.

CORRECTION: it is microgram per deciliter for blood lead testing units, not
milligrams as I said above. Micro is one millionth, milli is one thousandth. As long as you are under 40,
OSHA says you are good to go in the workplace, long term daily exposure. If you wash up after casting and
reloading, don't smoke or drink around lead you will most likely run in the low end of the 5-15 range. Mine
runs higher because I shoot indoors regularly, but is about 23 or so in years gone by when I was shooting
indoors 3 of 4 weekends. Less now, so should be even lower.

Bill

[Jim]

CHART (http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/melting-boiling-temperatures-d_392.html)

LEAD, LINE #9

[Defcon-One]

....Sorry Charley, two errors. One - OSHA limit is 40 mg/decaliter not 20. The child limit is 10, I don't know of anything that uses 20. And I am pretty sure the units are mg/decaliter, definitely not ppm. I know that this is picky, but we have been fighting lots of misinformation on this subject for years and I am getting very picky about it.

Bill

First of all, since we are being picky here, I am not Charley!

Second, If you want to be "accurate", why not check your information, before you correct me. I'm pretty sure that most of your information is in complete agreement with what I said above. I know that mg/deciliter is wrong (by a factor of 1000) and I never mentioned OSHA above, so why correct me on that. The kids are 10, but I just said that they are at higher risk, I never said their limit was not 10.

It was actually ug/dL (micrograms/decileter), not PPM, so I was also wrong and I have edited that. The expected test range is 0-19 on my test report, that's the safe exposure amount! Under 20 is OK, or as they say "expected". So, they do use 20 as the warning level! That would be my Hospital and I assume the entire medical community.

For those who care, the whole report reads as follows:

Lead, Blood (Adult): 2 ug/dL, (Expected: 0-19)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states blood lead levels less than 10 ug/dL in children have been associated with numerous adverse health effects.

Eviromental Exposure: WHO = <20
Occupational Exposure: OSHA Lead Standard = 40
Detection Limit = 1

Also, I got the 60 ug/dL off of the internet as the point where Chelation treatment is required, which is exactly what I stated!

The above is now correct. Thanks for pointing out the one error that I made, it is not PPM!

Updated to add: WHO is "World Health Organization" and they use 20!

[1Shirt]

No, but I do have a fan blowing from behind for what it is worth!
1Shirt!:coffeecom

[GaryN]

Not me. But when I melt down acid core solder it is outside and upwind. That stuff is nasty.

[GaryN]

I meant to say I'm upwind.

[Leadmelter]

Wearing a mask has its own issues. I read an article in JAMA once where they tested surgeon's mask for bacteria. They determined that after about five minute the mask is a culture of bacteria. It makes me laugh when you see people running around with a used mask around their neck. You might as well carry a Petri dish with you.
A good fan from Walmart will take care of the problem. Mine was $10.
Gerry

[bxchef29]

lol yeah went there picked up a box fan for 15 bucks works well

[Bill Torzsok]

I prefer the missus to wear the mask!

[stubshaft]

Never wore one while casting.

[firefly1957]

No and most mask will stop nothing but dust! If you are worried about fumes you would need filter and fresh air to a mask/respirator.

I use air flow to not get any fumes set up with wind from back in well ventilated area.

[leadman]

I had an issue with my BLL going up when I was making shot and casting alot. I bought some lead detection vials from Home Depot to check my work area.

The vials showed lead on the wood cabinet above my shotmaker and pot. The temperatures never got above 800'. So how did the lead get there?? I think it rode along with the smoke created when fluxing and stirring. There was a 20" box fan mounted in the cabinet behind the pots pulling the fumes away from me.

My BLL never got to 20 but I could feel the effects from it. Had a metallic taste in my mouth and the base of my fingernails had a purple tint to them. My teeth even felt different, and my blood pressure had risen.
I'm down to .5 now and all is good!

[skeet1]

bxchef29
I think I know where you got the idea for the mask, Mike V. is wearing a face shield in a photo of him casting in the newest Lyman manual if that is what you are talking about. No I have never worn one and don't have any plans on one.

Ken

[bxchef29]

No and most mask will stop nothing but dust! If you are worried about fumes you would need filter and fresh air to a mask/respirator.

I use air flow to not get any fumes set up with wind from back in well ventilated area.

actually thats what i have, sorry should of made that clear i purchased a resperator for paint fumes made by 3m i believe

[bxchef29]

I had an issue with my BLL going up when I was making shot and casting alot. I bought some lead detection vials from Home Depot to check my work area.

The vials showed lead on the wood cabinet above my shotmaker and pot. The temperatures never got above 800'. So how did the lead get there?? I think it rode along with the smoke created when fluxing and stirring. There was a 20" box fan mounted in the cabinet behind the pots pulling the fumes away from me.

My BLL never got to 20 but I could feel the effects from it. Had a metallic taste in my mouth and the base of my fingernails had a purple tint to them. My teeth even felt different, and my blood pressure had risen.
I'm down to .5 now and all is good!
funny you say that, i swore i also had a metalic taste in my mouth

[Potsy]

I never wear a mask while casting. I do wear safety glasses. A face sheild would be better.
Buut...I smelt wheeweights on my truck tailgate outside. There can't be anything good in all that black smoke.
Might not be a bad idea to move my casting operations outside. I'm pretty sloppy and I've got little lead pieces all over that end of my bench.

[soldierbilly1]

I don't wear a mask, but I do use a plastic face shield. this will provide some help against lead splashes, etc. cost about $13, seems like cheap protection to me.
I no longer look like Robert Redford, but, let's not make it worse.

billy boy
pour more and think less.

[casterofboolits]

I never wear a mask while casting, but do wear one when smelting indoor range scrap as it generates large amounts of dust. I also wear a mask when sweeping up the casting shop. Again, due to the dust generated.

[MtGun44]

Dust is a good reason to wear a mask, lead vapor is not - for two reasons - one there
is no appreciable lead vapor and two - a mask doesn't stop vapor, only dust.

Bill

[XWrench3]

no. i do not wear a mask while casting. i do not see any reason to wear a mask when casting, the lead is never hot enough to spew forth nasty vapors, and i am careful to either cast with the pot downwind, or to set up a fan to pull any fumes away from me. or both. most of any fumes i get are from fluxing. and using sawdust, it lingers for a while. smelting, is a different story. smelting has many nasty fumes and chemicals, that i would really rather not enter my body via the lungs. however, today was a perfect day, with a nice steady 2-5 mph breeze, and i did not wear a mask while smelting. that breeze is a rarity here, and i did have the mask handy in case something changed. but i got done in plenty of time and did not need it. to be honest, todays smelting session, was actually better than most . i inhaled less fumes not wearing the mask than i normally would even wearing it.

[Charley]

Dust is a good reason to wear a mask, lead vapor is not - for two reasons - one there
is no appreciable lead vapor and two - a mask doesn't stop vapor, only dust.

Bill

Not sure how I got involved with the numbers part, I simply said that volitization isn't a problem. If it WAS, a fiber mask is no help. FWIW.

[Hurricane]

I don't ware a mask for breathing but I do wear a full face clear plastic face shield (from woodworking) to protect my face and eyes in case of a hot lead splash.

[Bill*]

No mask here. And in this state (NJ) even if I thought it helped, I still wouldn't because if someone saw it they would probably call the EPA or some such to report me for poisoning the environment. "It's for the children" don't ya know :veryconfu
As an aside: My last blood/lead test came back a 2

[Lizard333]

Nope. 3182 degrees Fahrenheit is not achievable with my pot. 40$ lee pots just don't make this mark achievable.