fumes

[joshmb1982]

just a thought. id assume most everyone does there smelting outside. do any of you ever get bloodwork done to check for lead levels? i was stupid at work and cut up a steel bullet stop at an indoor range with a torch, that had lead paint on it.(without my respirator on) i get a physical every year through work and when they took a blood sample my boss flipped the hell out on me. i think an acceptable level is 10 or 15 parts per whatever the measure is. my level was around 45.

[mpmarty]

I don't get my blood checked ever, at all. I don't know what my cholesterol levels are and sure as heck don't have a clue about lead. I don't care. I feel fine and as long as I can stay away from the practitioners of the medical profession I probably will continue to do so. The lead alloy I smelt and cast is never at more than 800 degrees f. and so I don't worry much about airborne lead, tin or antimony.

[high standard 40]

I have repaired silhouette targets by grinding, sandblasting, and welding since 1980. Targets always had a good coat of lead. I never wore a filter mask.
This year alone I've smelted over a ton of wheel weights and cast several thousand bulllets. Never wore a mask then either. I had my blood lead levels checked recently and my level was 7. I can't help but think some people are more susceptible than others to high levels. Why you and not me? I can't explain it.
Similar exposure, different result.

[joshmb1982]

im in construction. so i deal with a lot of stuff. grinding it isnt quite so bad. what is the boiling point of lead? does just melting it make it put off fumes? i know when i was cutting the steel it got cloudy as all get out, plus i was heating it to over 2200 degrees in cutting the steel. plus i was in a tunnel and there was little ventelation. i didnt notice any effects it had on me and i was able to drop it down fairlly rapidly. only reason i knew it was high in my blood is my boss called me screaming bloody murder. i guess up where my levels were it has to be reported to osha.

[303Guy]

... airborne lead, tin or antimony.I'm not sure those are the real problem. Think arsenic.

I mension this because today I learned of a boolit caster who became ill with arsenic poisening. Apparently he 'aged 15yrs' in just three!


Acute high-dose exposure to arsenic can cause severe systemic toxicity and death. Lower dose chronic arsenic exposure can result in sub-acute toxicity that can include peripheral sensorimotor neuropathy, skin eruptions, and hepatotoxicity. Long-term effects of arsenic exposure include an increased risk of cancers, even after exposure has ceased.

[frankmako]

i cast in the basement with the windows open and a large, a very large fan to pull the fumes out. i get a physical every year at work and my blood work is allways normal.

[mold maker]

Most of the danger we face smelting and casting, involves the dusty dross which contains lots of powdered oxides. These we breath as airborne particulates.
That is what we must avoid along with washing before we eat, smoke, or touch our face.
All the info I have seen shows the vaporizing point of lead and alloys is well above the those we use. I think it is above 1200 degrees.
I've melted lead in most every form over the last 45 yr. My lead level has never been above normal limits. In 2007 I reclaimed over a ton of range lead. This stuff was up to 40 years old, in NC red clay. Most of it was white with oxides.
I processed it outside and tried to stay upwind. I was very careful of the dusty oxides as I fluxed and removed them from on top of the melt. When I finished that and several buckets of WW, my lead levels were up to 9. Three months later, it was back to 8. With that exception the levels are always 7-8.
I have lived my entire adult life, living in a frame house with many layers of chipping white lead paint. (I don't lick the weather boarding or snack on the paint chips)
Just knowing where the danger comes from, makes it easy to avoid.

[rwt101]

My sperm count is down, it must be the lead? :veryconfu
Bob T

[lwknight]

Literally , do not snort or eat the grey dust and you will not be in danger of exposure.
There are no invisible fumes from the pot of molten lead. And you cannot obsorb lead through your hands. Like the quit smoking patch, it has to be placed on thin tender skin. Your palms and fingers are poor conductord for obsorbtion.
My blood test was lower than some co-workers that had not knowingly been exposed to lead.

[Shiloh]

Common sense is called for.

Heavy metals are poisonous and cumulative. Arsenic, lead, antimony, and possibly cadmium are the toxic metals we casters are exposed too.

Arsenic is particularly nasty. Used in in insecticides. The most poisonous element we boolit casters will come in contact with.

Shiloh

[454PB]

i know when i was cutting the steel it got cloudy as all get out, plus i was heating it to over 2200 degrees in cutting the steel. plus i was in a tunnel and there was little ventelation. i didnt notice any effects it had on me and i was able to drop it down fairlly rapidly. only reason i knew it was high in my blood is my boss called me screaming bloody murder. i guess up where my levels were it has to be reported to osha.

And your boss is screaming bloody murder?????

It's his responsibility to ensure you use safe work procedures. Working in a "tunnel" is considered working in a "confined space", and there is a long list of OSHA required safeguards that should have been in place, including atmosphere monitoring and proper ventilation and/or respiratory protection.

[303Guy]

And your boss is screaming bloody murder?????Yup. He's responsible and he's been caught!

[joshmb1982]

where does the arsenic come into play?

i was what i think is fairly cautious when i was making my first melt. it was a fairly windy day and i tried to stay up wind of the smoke and everything else. though that wasnt always possible. washed when i was done and again befor eating. ive done lead abatement so im at least familiar with the dangers of lead, if i dont always practice the safest of handeling.

i know what most of the osha requirments are and its as much my fault for being willing to do the work as his. this was the owner of the company that was screaming. not the foreman who had me come in early to do the work. either way call me stupid i didnt and dont much care. ive been putting lead sinkers on my fishing line by biting them since i was 5 years old and im perfectly normal:smile:

[lylejb]

where does the arsenic come into play?

Wheel weights contain about 1/4 of 1% arsenic in the alloy.

magnum shotgun shot can be up to 1% arsenic.

some sources of info will list these amounts as higher or lower, and might vary depending on manufacturer.

to us, arsenic helps in water drop / heat treat hardening

see:
http://www.lasc.us/CastBulletNotes.htm

for more info.

[454PB]

Antimony is poisonous too.

Just about everything included in boolit alloys and the act of casting is bad for the body.

Learning to mitigate exposure is required, but there's no reason to get paranoid about it.

Read through the stickies and posts here, you can get a handle on protecting yourself without over reacting.

My worst injury in nearly 40 years of doing this is a few minor burns.

[Nazgul]

I have been casting using normal precautions, ventilation, no eating/drinking, etc. for 35 years. Have been tested several times over the last 6 years. Just a month ago my blood lead level was 8.

Cholesteral was 88, good cholesterol was 51, resting heart rate was 49, not bad for a 55 year old fat boy. I do get exercise - jumping through hoops, running away with my imagination, flying off the handle, putting my foot down, I have three daughters.

Don