Lead Level in Blood- 42!

[sabrecross03]

Last week I asked my doctor to check my lead level. She called me yesterday and told me that it is 42, which is moderately high. I was pretty surprised because I had a check six months ago and it was normal. She also said that if it gets to 100 then I will need to take medicine to bring it down.

Of course, she asked me to stop casting for a month- that is the real dilemma! I've been doing a bunch of shooting and that could be a contributing factor... So, where are those funny nose/ mouth masks that prevent the inhalation of lead?

[lunicy]

Are you washing your hands regularly.
Most lead gets into your system from handling it, then eating, drinking, picking boogers etc.

A small amount is airborne when you shoot as well. (oddly enough, mostly from primers, not the lead boolit).

I would think a dust mask should do.

Be diligent, lead can cause a load of health problems. And, in my experience, it takes a while to get back out of your system.

[JRR]

My level is 2.5! I have been casting and handloading for decades. The number one source of contamination is the case cleaner and sifting cases out of the medium. Always do this outdoors and wear a dust mask when getting the cases out.
Jeff

[BD]

If you've been shooting indoors, it's time to stop. Wash your brass in soap and water before tumbling it as well. The lead styphenate from the primers is much more likely the cause than casting. Unless you've been smoking or lickin' your fingers while you cast.
Back around 2000 I tested at 40 which got me a letter from the state of Maine, and caused me to stop shooting indoors and start paying attention. Within two years I was back under 20, three years and I was testing under 10.
BD

[MtGun44]

That is high enough that you are definitely doing something significantly wrong. The most
common sources are shooting at an indoor range a lot, especially failing to carefully wash
hands after being on an indoor range. Most lead comes in via the mouth, eating, drinking
or smoking during or immediately after working with lead would be a real bad thing.

Your Dr. is much more on top of adult blood levels than most. Under 40 (39 for example)
is OK under OSHA regs, but over requires something to be done to correct the exposure.

As far as 100 being the treatment limit, I have had friends get treatment at 60-65, so I think
that may be a bit on the high side.

Many docs fail to note that 10 is the recommended max level for children, not for adults and
have freaked out many members here with their ignorance by telling them they had "high
lead" when it is 9 or something.

Bill

[white eagle]

mine was at 29 and with a few more precautions on my part
I came out with a lower b/l
like the others have said watch they way you do things helps a great deal

[Ronbo256]

I have heard that drinking orange juice has a chelating effect (don't know if I spelled that right) and can lower lead levels faster than not drinking it. Too bad it's like swallowing battery acid to me, I love the taste, my stomach hates the acid.

[Southern Son]

I had mine tested a few years back and I cannot remember the exact number, but I think it was 3.5, the Doctor asked my why I had asked to get it tested and I told him that I was casting lead and he said by rights, my lead levels should have been a great deal higher. I think that what Bill said is right, many Doctors hear the word lead and err on the side of caution. My docotr also said that 7.5 was normal for persons living in an urban environment.

[Lloyd Smale]

i was treated twice with chelting pills. My doctor said he gets conserned if its over 30. Mine was as high as 89. He told me medical problems can start at about 50.

[John Guedry]

Back 50 yrs. or so I was studying plumbing. (before PVC pipe) One safety precaution the instructor pounded into our heads was at the end of the day drink a lot of milk. Supposed to get the lead out of your system. Don't know if it works or not but I've never tested high. Still do it after casting.

[leadman]

When my BLL climbed I followed the Minnesota diet for children. It lowered my BLL, along with changes to my casting area.

Despite what others have said lead does get out of the pot at normal casting temperatures. I proved this by checking my casting area with a lead test kit. The lead test kits and respirators are available at Home Depot. You will want a respirator with replaceable cartridges, the dust masks will not stop lead. You will need to be clean shaven to make this effective.

Personal hygiene goes a long way towards preventing lead ingestion. After casting change clothes and shower. During casting do not eat or drink unless you have washed hands and face.

Cast in the open with a large fan sucking the fumes away from you. I found a fan at my back causes the fumes to swirl around in front of me.

[Aunegl]

Dude, ya gotta stop eating them paint chips.

All kidding aside. In a previous lifetime, I worked at a copper smelter in AZ. I could see the dust of heavy metals floating all around me. I was washing my face and hands more often than a surgeon. During that time was when I started casting boolits with 6 percent antimonal lead, I bought from the lead shop for 10 cent/pound. Go figure.

[Recluse]

Few years ago, I had lead levels above 30.

I'd been doing a LOT of shooting at a local indoor range, plus scrounging brass then tumbling and cleaning it.

My doc's husband is an avid reloader and shooter, so I was/am fortunate that I didn't get the "stop playing with guns before you die" hysteria.

Instead, I did a six-month plan which consisted of the following:

1. No indoor shooting.

2. No tumbling/cleaning brass without wearing vinyl gloves and one of those little surgical looking masks.

3. Added 2 more litres of water consumption per day.

4. Took approximately 1000mg of Vitamin C every day.

I continued to cast and reload and made sure to wash my hands, etc.

Six months later, my lead levels were down to 11.

I have no doubt it was the excessive indoor shooting and handling of dirty brass that hiked my levels up there.

:coffee:

[41 mag fan]

Friend of mine told me 3 weeks ago his level was 49. Sad thing is theres no way of getting around it, unless he switches job positions.
He's in our battery maint. underground. Wherre the coal hauler batterries are is in our nuetrals. Not intake air, not return air. Air flow in neutral is slow, and him working and leading in batteries all day....surprised it's not worse than 49.

[Wayne Smith]

Do you have a tumbler? Vibratory or Thumblers? Have you tumbled brass with the spent primers in place? Do you grab the brass out of the tumbler bare handed?

If you have these habits (I did!) it is a common way we get lead into our system. We work hard to control the lead when casting but ignore it when cleaning brass. The lead in the primers contaminates the media and we breath it in and get it on our skin when we get the brass out of the tumbler. We seldom think of washing hands after getting clean brass out of the media, do we?

Now I decap with a universal decapper and rely on the decapping pin on the sizing die to clear the vent hole.

[MtGun44]

The respirator is totally unnecessary. Hundreds of us do not use them and have very low
lead levels. Use it if you think it helps, it is a free world, but the lead spatters around a
pot and loading area are what make your test show up lead. Wash your hands, do not
shoot at indoor ranges very often, do not eat and drink with contaminated hands and you
will be below 20. I shoot much less often now at an indoor range, so I should be pretty
low. For decades I shot 40-50 times per year for 2-3 hrs at an indoor range, and we were
running IPSC, so was downrange setting steel, taping, etc a lot of the time. Then I ran in
the mid 20s. Should be much lower now, only shot on 8 Friday nights this whole year - sad
to say.

Bill

[sabrecross03]

Thanks all for a lot of great advise! Up until now I've been carefree when working with and handling lead and spent casings. I will begin to use latex disposable gloves and probably purchase a respirator just to be safe. I do need to bring my lead level down.

This morning, my doctor called me back. She consulted with another doctor/ occupational therapist and they have gone to the extreme- She told me to "stop all activity with lead at once!"

My level is not high enough for medical intervention. She said that I also need to get my kids and wife tested since I work with it in the garage and on the back patio.

I will get my kids tested just to be safe but I can tell you that I will not stop all activity! I've finally found a hobby that I love and challenges me mentally and physically. (not to mention the large sum of money invested in it!)

I will take extra precautions as mentioned above- gloves, respirator when casting/ handling lead/ and cleaning cases. I'll try washing the spent cases before tumbling. I'll also be sure to not drink or eat anything when casting is involved. I've already been washing my hands consistently.

I shoot indoors about once a week and I will continue (practice and IDPA). Any more than that and I will go to an outdoor range that is a little further away from my house. We will see...

[ghh3rd]

Mine was 25 about two years, when I was shooting indoors. I am very conscientious about washing hands frequently, showering after casting, no smoking or eating etc. I have an Rx to get tested again so hopefully it will be much lower.

Randy

[fredj338]

I shoot indoors about once a week and I will continue (practice and IDPA). Any more than that and I will go to an outdoor range that is a little further away from my house. We will see...
Your problem is the indoor shooting, not the reloading or casting. The vast majority of indoor shooting places do NOT keep their ventilation updated, it's the fastest way to get lead poisoning short of eating paint chips. Even if you do not shoot lead bullets, the priming compound is vaporized during firing & you are inhaling that. I shoot outdoors, mostly lead bullets. I cast my own, my lead levels are in single digits. I limit my indoor shooting to 3-4 a year max. So you are getting 10x the exposure I get. Also, everyone's motabalisim is diff & your body will ract to foreign bodies diff than mine. Diet & Hygene are your best friends. If I were forced to shoot indoors for my trigger time, I would wear at least a N95 filter.

[snuffy]

mETALIC LEAD, (LIKE WHAT WE HANDLE WHILE PICKING UP INGOTS AND BULLETS), IS NOT ABSORBED THROUGH INTACT/UNBROKEn skin.) Damn caplock! Wasn't shouting, just too lazy to re-type---:mrgreen: So gloves are not necessary. They might be useful for handling brass and at the range. Lead styphonate is much easier to absorb, so keeping it off your hands is a good idea. Same goes for the respirator, use it when unloading/separating the tumbler media.

[sabrecross03]

Perhaps I will buy the 3m 6291 respirator with the pink filters for the range and for working with lead. It might be difficult to color coordinate though!


Your problem is the indoor shooting, not the reloading or casting. The vast majority of indoor shooting places do NOT keep their ventilation updated, it's the fastest way to get lead poisoning short of eating paint chips. Even if you do not shoot lead bullets, the priming compound is vaporized during firing & you are inhaling that. I shoot outdoors, mostly lead bullets. I cast my own, my lead levels are in single digits. I limit my indoor shooting to 3-4 a year max. So you are getting 10x the exposure I get. Also, everyone's motabalisim is diff & your body will ract to foreign bodies diff than mine. Diet & Hygene are your best friends. If I were forced to shoot indoors for my trigger time, I would wear at least a N95 filter.

[ghh3rd]

Mine was 25 about two years, when I was shooting indoors. I am very conscientious about washing hands frequently, showering after casting, no smoking or eating etc. I have an Rx to get tested again so hopefully it will be much lower.

Ok - finally got my results - my level is now at 4. I really think that shooting indoors, even with their ventallation system, was the cause. I used to go home and blow black gunk out of my nose.

Randy

[zomby woof]

Another thing that helped me was putting in a utility tub in my basement. I'm able to wash up at "point of use". I also got Hepa filters for my basement vacuum cleaner. Proper clean up after touching any firearm related use is key. Our indoor range also updated the ventilation system. All this has kept my levels well under 20.