Blood lead level

[dodgyrog]

I just had my blood lead level checked - no problem as the result was quite low despite casting many 1000's of boolits per month. All this courtesy of the National Health Service here in the UK so no fee involved. [smilie=w:
Do any of you lot get your blood lead level checked and if so is it an expensive check up?
ATB from the UK

[Bret4207]

Since you chose to bring politics into the discussion I would first congratulate you then note that there most certainly WAS a fee involved. It was just spread out among all your countrymen through taxes. Nothing is free other than sunshine and air.

[Jim]

After four months of handling hundreds of pounds of lead a day, Janet thought it wise to have my level checked. The results came back with a value of 20. Doc says that's a level of concern, but not panic.

I have ordered 6 mil nitrile gloves and will be deligent in wearing them. I bought a ten pack of carbolic hand soap and will also be diligent in washing thoroughly.

Doc says multi-vitamins with minerals will help as the lead adheres to the minerals and will pass through. Doc said high mineral content veggies and milk is also good.

I refuse to live in fear, but I'm smart enough to know when it's time to be concerned. Getting my level down won't be hard to do, ya' just gotta be smarter than a chunk of lead.

[41 mag fan]

Save that Poop!!! You get a kill 2 birds with 1 stone......get a pile, you get free flux and some added lead back in the pot!! :bigsmyl2: :redneck:

[Jim]

I worry about you, Mag, I really do.

[41 mag fan]

Too much coal dust on the brain!!!

Just for an FYI Jim, i've been checking out the courthouse windows here in town....!!!!

[Jim]

:guntootsmiley: :2 drunk buddies: [smilie=w:

[dragonrider]

Jim I hope you are wearing a mask also. Biggest problem is the dust. A particulate mask is important.

[41 mag fan]

I read somewhere, that orange juice helps also. The lead cheleates to the vitamins in orange juice.
I don't care for orange juice, unless it's concentrated and in pulp form, but I wonder if it's true it does that if oranges themselves would serve the same principle?? I would think so.....

[Jim]

Janet says OJ has natural minerals in it, so I guess it would work. A glass in the morning and a coupla' screwdrivers that evening? Hic! Sounds like a plan to me! Hic!

[mdi]

One of the weldors (he insisted this is the correct spelling) where I worked was tested annualy (employer supplied tests). His blood/lead levels were "higher than normal" so he tried French Green Clay as suggested by a health nut fellow employee. It worked and the next test was "below normal range".

[dodgyrog]

Since you chose to bring politics into the discussion I would first congratulate you then note that there most certainly WAS a fee involved. It was just spread out among all your countrymen through taxes. Nothing is free other than sunshine and air.

No intention to bring politics into it - I paid Pay As You Earn tax for near 40 years at 40% rate then another 15% Value Added Tax on everything I bought (except children's clothes and some food) so I reckon I've paid my dues. Incidentally, I pay PAYE on my small pension as well. Death and taxes are the only sure things.
No offense to my American friends meant.

[leadman]

Brocoli is good for lowering the BLL.

[MtGun44]

20 is not a level to worry about. Almost all lead ingesting is through the mouth, eating,
drinking or smoking with lead contaminated hands. As long as it is below 40 OSHA does
not require any action. If you want to get it lower than your current level, focus on washing
up normally after handling lead. Gloves and mask are a waste of time, zero comes thru
the skin, although I suppose the gloves could avoid hand washing. The only likely dust
exposure is from tumbling media or on an indoor range, where there is finely divided lead
dust everywhere from primer smoke and bullet impact debris. If you only shoot on an
outdoor range, these are not issues.

Bill

[303Guy]

Iron and vitamin C is good for lowering BLL. The vitamin C assists with iron absorption which helps remove lead. Broccoli is a source of iron.

[johnho]

Dodgyrog, you make a good point and I don't think anyone can argue much with you. I think what causes the problem is the wording that it was free. We in the U.S. are getting a lesson in "free" now and people get a little sore over it-as we should because a lot of people here collect money or benefits who never paid for them. Now that is free to them but cost me a lot for their "free". I paid the max into SS for all my working life and also Medicare when they started that. Now that I am on both I have no qualms about collecting the benefits I payed for.

What surprises me some is that after all those taxes you can still afford to shoot.

[41 mag fan]

Janet says OJ has natural minerals in it, so I guess it would work. A glass in the morning and a coupla' screwdrivers that evening? Hic! Sounds like a plan to me! Hic!


Where theres a will, theres a way!!!

[Bret4207]

Dodgyrog, you make a good point and I don't think anyone can argue much with you. I think what causes the problem is the wording that it was free. We in the U.S. are getting a lesson in "free" now and people get a little sore over it-as we should because a lot of people here collect money or benefits who never paid for them. Now that is free to them but cost me a lot for their "free". I paid the max into SS for all my working life and also Medicare when they started that. Now that I am on both I have no qualms about collecting the benefits I payed for.

What surprises me some is that after all those taxes you can still afford to shoot.

Exactly.

[Mark]

20 is not a level to worry about. Almost all lead ingesting is through the mouth, eating,
drinking or smoking with lead contaminated hands. As long as it is below 40 OSHA does
not require any action. If you want to get it lower than your current level, focus on washing
up normally after handling lead. Gloves and mask are a waste of time, zero comes thru
the skin, although I suppose the gloves could avoid hand washing. The only likely dust
exposure is from tumbling media or on an indoor range, where there is finely divided lead
dust everywhere from primer smoke and bullet impact debris. If you only shoot on an
outdoor range, these are not issues.

Bill
This is an interesting post (as Bill's posts usually are). To answer the original question, yes, I had my level check about 6 years ago. It was 25 (parts per million maybe?). The doctor was shocked! Initially, I asked for the test to be included with my routine blood test (yearly phisical and I only paid the co-pay). He asked if I had any "exposure" to lead. I didn't want to say too much because I really did not think it was his business. They had a nurse call me within a day or two to say I had to come to office first thing in the morning but she couldn't tell me why. After a nervous night, I made it to the doctor for the first morning appointment so he can lecture me about the high lead level. He said if I was a teenager or younger, I would have to go for a blood clearing process of some kind. When that was done, he said that he needed to report the findings to the state. I asked why he didn't mention that point before the test. He said he forgot. I was hounded by NY state's health department. To make this already long story shorter, I came to the conclusion that I had high lead exposure due to a poorly ventalated indoor range. I don't think I cast enough to worry (and I cast in a well ventalated area). I switched to an outdoor range, found a new doctor, and I will be speaking to him about that number during the next physical.
Mark

[sw282]

l have worked around lead since 1967. My first 20 yrs around a naval shipyard. lt those first 20 l would be bent over a connector or ckt board. Soldering iron in one hand. Dikes in the other. 60/40 solder between my teeth. l was doing a bit of casting too. Since 1998 l have been an industrial painter working mostly nuclear sites that made plutoneum or generated electric power. There is an ABUNDANCE of lead at these sites. l was recently involved in a shielding job where they added 5 tons to a pipeline 70ft long. l painted the welding hangers w/zinc before and after the shielding was added. l am in a lead monitoring program and have been since 2000 w/DOE. My initial b/ll was 7. They took notice but no alarms rang. lt has been as high 10. They know my outside exposure is from shooting and painting. Most painters do a bit of "side" work now and then. 0ld work mostly on older homes. Stripping /sanding. Most people dont know how tough lead paint is. The most effective method for removal from wood is a torch. My work has no OFFICIAL knowledge of my recent casting activities.
My take on lead exposure and OSHA is 99% hype/bs.

except @high velocity