how to avoid poisoning with lead

[vrh]

What steps does everyone take to avoid lead poisoning ?
I know about proper air ventilation? Try to have that present every time I cast bullets.
How about when you are just handling bullets to lube or to powder coat etc ?
Would a protective mask help when working with lead ?

[waco]

I think a lot of people overthink this. Use common sense. After handling lead, tumbling media, casting supplies, don't eat, smoke, put in a dip, without washing your hands first. Decapping brass is another good one. People forget that there is lead to some degree in primers. I've been doing this for almost 20 years. For the last five years every time I'm at the doctor (once a year) I have him check my blood results for lead. He tells me the same thing every year. The numbers are so low they don't even register. Keep doing what your doing he tells me.....

[lightman]

When I'm smelting I do it in the shop. I have an exhaust fan in the gable end of the shop and set up my 48inch shop fan near the door. The two of these move enough air that you can see the smoke being moved out. I try to stay upwind of my smelting pot and any smoke that is produced. Whether casting or smelting, I avoid eating, drinking or rubbing my eyes and lips. And wash your hands before taking a bath room break! Unless the lead is oxidized, good hygiene is enough to keep you safe.

[jsizemore]

If you have a habit of licking ingots or your fingers after handling lead and a mask will keep you from doing so, then please wear one. If not, then your probably going to be fine without one. Oh yeah, don't snort the drips. Finally, please wash your hands after handling and it will save you from the flu too.

[buckshotshoey]

All of the above. It's not like you are handling Anthrax..... no matter what they say in the Soviet State of California. Common sense is all that is required. Good ventilation is good, but lead vapors don't form until it gets WAY above the melting point. Maybe someone will chime in on that temp. But I never let it get much hotter then melting.

[Livin_cincy]

Shoot from a position up range not down range...

If you salvage lead from a burm there is a good chance of inhalation of dust and getting the dust all over you to contaminate your vehicle. So consider a mask for breathing and cover alls you can remove to drive home in.

[trapper9260]

I say all the above. After you done doing reloading is just wash your hands. Also do not drink or eat or smoke or dip while you do any of it.Also wash your hand before and after you go to the bathroom.

[bangerjim]

No eating or drinking. Do not inhale dust from loading, cleaning, coating, casting lead.

Most people over-think this.....except in Commifornia. MoonBeam and his gaggle of government goofies are always after ways to get rid of Pb boolits and hunters. And citizens!

[quail4jake]

All of the above and I use D-lead brand hand soap to wash up, it has EDTA to chelate Pb on the skin. I don't know if it helps but I like using it...makes me feel good!:razz:

[LIMPINGJ]

Don’t suck your thumb without washing after playing with lead and stay out of the wrong part of town. The first is as others posted above the second avoids the high velocity kind of poisoning.

[brewer12345]

Looks like I am a little more cautious than most. I have chosen not to smelt, I only cast outdoors, and I generally wear nitrile gloves when I handle lead or reload. Mostly, you need to watch for dust, don't get solid lead or residue in your mouth and wash your hands. The gloves make it a lot easier because if I am messing with lead and the phone rings, the dogs squabble, the kids insist I deal with something, etc. I can just peel the gloves off and immediately be able to do stuff without a lengthy hand washing session.

The bigger deal is having a welder's apron, welder's gloves, and a face mask while smelting/casting to protect you from lead spatters.

[poppy42]

Don’t eat what you cast.

[mold maker]

The dust from vibrator tumblers and the primer smoke at an indoor range is a far worse contributor than casting. The dust removed from a smelting pot is the same. In each case, it is inhaled in a form that will be absorbed by the moist lungs. Finding a range with better ventilation and avoiding the dross and tumbler dust will keep your sanitation habits effective.

[farmerjim]

Do not eat off of lead plates. Do not sweeten your oxidized wine with lead acetate. Do not remove the lead based paint from your house with your teeth. Do not solder your alcoholic distillation equipment together with lead based solder. Run the water from the tap for a short while in the morning if your house has lead water pipes. This will remove the water that has been in the lead pipes overnight. The water after that will be perfectly safe. Do not close your lead fishing sinkers by biting them with your teeth like I have done for 65 years. Elemental lead is fairly benign, it is all the soluble lead compounds that cause most of the trouble. They often leave the lead projectiles in people that have been shot. One of my friends was shot with birdshot many years ago. She still has it working its way to the surface.

[nagantguy]

All the above, one thing in addition I've always been taught and was taught at NRA instructors courses,wash your hands with cold water first than hot water and more soap,as the cold water will not open your pours like the hot until most of any contaminates are rinsed off. Also waterless hand cream and a roll of paper towel works well at the casting bench and and range until running water is a available.

[bbogue1]

Lawerance Berkley National Laboratory says at the temperature of solder melting (620-700 degrees) and with the boiling point of lead at 3,164 degrees the vaporization point is significantly higher. Simply avoiding the odor (ventilation - stay up wind) and washing your hands before eating will prevent lead poisoning. They go on to say do not ingest any lead it will affect your nervous system. See http://www2.lbl.gov/ehs/ih/pdf/safeSolderingFinal.pdf

[MT Gianni]

Lead as we use it is rarely pure and vaporizes as an alloy at much lower temps. In general keep smelting and casting temps under 1100 F. That is very difficult to reach with a modern thermostatically controlled pot. When smelting watch your melt and don't over cook things. Don't prepare food with casting tools.

[Larry Gibson]

What steps does everyone take to avoid lead poisoning ........?

Only one sure way.....PM me for my address, send all your lead and alloy to me.........might as well throw in your moulds to remove further temptation........always glad to save someone, I'll even pay shipping..........:drinks:

[Drifty4]

Guess I should quit biting my fishing sinkers then. Been biting them for 40 years.

[wistlepig1]

Wash your hands when casting or holding Pb. Keep your hand away from face and mouth. No food, smokes, chew, or any thing else by mouth. And enjoying casting.

[Geezer in NH]

Wash your hands when casting or holding Pb. Keep your hand away from face and mouth. No food, smokes, chew, or any thing else by mouth. And enjoying casting.
:goodpost:

[koehlerrk]

I cast outside, lots of fresh air there. I wear leather gloves and a full face shield when working with hot lead. When cold, ie, lubing, sizing, or loading, I wear the rubber gloves like a doctor would use. When done I take them off, and wash my hands. I'm probably a bit over the top in all this, but when I get a lead test done the results don't even register. My doc tells me to keep doing it that way since itseems working.

[dbosman]

One more bit. If you store lead like most of us, some surfaces will oxidize. That is typically whitish, but can be any of several other colors of different lead oxides. Those oxides are much more dangerous than eating a chunk of lead. Dross can also oxidize and fairly quickly as we pull it while it's hot.

[mdi]

I just use common sense. I don't know of any bullet caster that has had any increase in lead in their blood. I don't stand over my lead pot doing deep breathing exercises and I don't chew on a freshly cast bullet while casting. My lead pot doesn't get hot enough to vaporize lead so I'm not threatened by toxic vapors.

Any time you mention lead poisoning you'll get the opinions by fellers frightened by the thought of a slow death by lead poisoning. I believe folks have gotten terrified by the politicians' BS about lead poisoning and go overboard (in CA the politicians argued against lead wheel weights because they will fly off cars/truck wheels and get ground up on the road. Then the rain comes and washes the pulverized lead off the road and into the surrounding dirt to then seep down into the water reservoirs/water tables and poison everyone within 2 miles of any highway. Just use common sense and you can cast bullets or many years without worrying about poisoning...

[brewer12345]

FWIW my lead levels tested at 3 a couple years ago. I am relatively new to hunting and shooting, pretty new to reloading and casting. Where did the lead in my body come from? Much of my childhood was in the era of leaded gasoline and paint and I grew up in a giant city. If you take sensible precautions, adults have basically nothing to fear from shooting, reloading, casting, etc.

[Livin_cincy]

You can google about a Vitamin C tablet and lead. It has a positive history in reducing lead levels in Blood.

[fredj338]

I've been casting & shooting lead for about 40y now. My lead levels are a tiny bit higher than someone with no shooting time. Stay out of indoor ranges is #1. When casting & handling lead, don't smoke or eat & wash your hands, done.

[MT Gianni]

In the early 00's, EPA determined that lead needed to be removed to a 5 parts per billion ration for effective clean up. After that proposal, it was determined that no where in the US met that qualification. In other words, no amount of clean up after a site would satisfy EPS, or as they declined to state, no where in the US was it safe to live or eat garden vegetables per these idiots. They left the standard @ 5 parts per million without determining how that may effect humans. The whole agenda driven process is flawed and presumes all born before 1940 and in all other lands are idiots incapable of action.

[azrednek]

Don’t eat what you cast.

... but how will we compete and gain followers with the You Tubers eating Tide pods if we don't eat multi colored powder coated boolits??