Lead safety... Can someone teach me a bit?

[Lavid2002]

Aside from heat, and other physical damage can someone tech me how to be safe when dealing with the lead?

Do I need a respirator? Does the lead enter the air when I am casting and smelting?

Can the lead sit on my workbench in my room with no ill effects?


I wash my hands when im done handling the lead, and wipe down my equipment when I'm done. What else should I do. Im pretty young and plan to do this for a while. Also plan on staying around for a while...:violin:

Lmao : D

Thanks guys!

-Dave

[missionary5155]

Greetings
If casting in a well ventalated location you will have no problem just so the fumes are vented away from you.
More important is handling the dross carefully so as not to be breathing the dust.. that is real BAD ! Wear long sleves shirts.. long pants ... good shoes.. leather gloves .. some sort of eye protection and you will be OK. A leather apron can be a big asset IF you ever have a steam explosion. But I do not wear mine in real hot weather.
If using a wet cloth to cool mold or cutoff be careful of water drops.
I have been around casting since 1955. Just think, pay attention, and always remember you can get hurt real bad. If you have a refresment about keep it covered so dust cannot enter.
IF I was casting indoors I would vacume the area after. Lead particles are not a hazard unless you eat them. The dust from the dross is again the real enemy.
I probably forgot something.. but someone will remember..

[another gsxr 1k]

Here's a couple basics.
1. Don't eat it.
2. Don't drop it on your feet, head, fingers, or those of others, except on purpose.
3. Don't shoot yourself with it.

On a serious note...
Casting and smelting, smelting is best done outdoors, preferably with a light breeze, so you can stay up wind. Mainly because of all the junk that comes with / on wheel weights, grease, oil, stickers, and who knows what else. Casting would most likely be best outdoors too. (That's where I do both) I'd say it's most likely safe to cast indoors with some kind of ventilation, fan and open window or something similar to a stove vent. (bad idea to cast in the kitchen) (safety issues, odd chance of tinsel fairy showing up, plus the wife would most likely get highly annoyed becuase it stinks and smokes. long shot that lead could get airborne and settle on food prep surfaces)
Unless you cast at over 900 degrees F, I don't think there is much of any danger of getting lead into the air.
As for the lead ingots, cast boolits on the work bench, I'd say that is fine as long as you follow items #1 and #2 above.

So long as you wash well, cool / cold water and soap You should be fine.

[Marlin Junky]

In terms of longevity, you need to worry much more about what you eat than handling lead assuming you do the following:

1) Don't ingest lead.

2) Don't pick your nose while handling lead.

2) Cast in a well ventilated area; e.g., the garage with the door open a bit to exhaust fluxing fumes.

3) Render dirty scrap metals, such as WW metal, into ingot form outside to avoid breathing the exhaust.

Lead has no vapor pressure at casting temp's so don't worry about breathing lead unless you put it into the atmosphere by sanding it or getting it very hot with a cutting torch, for example.

MJ

[zuke]

keep water away!!!

[high standard 40]

If you recycle lead from an indoor range, sort through it carefully before smelting.
I just went through about 700 lbs of this stuff and found 4 live cartridges mixed in.
You don't want that in your melt.

[Hickory]

I agree with all the above, and its very good advice.
But, what is not mentioned is after.
I wash my hands throughly at least twice, sometimes
three times just to make sure there is none remaining
on my hands. You can absorb a lot of lead through your skin.

[wills]

When you flux it will flame up. We usually forget to mention this. You might want to keep a fire extinguisher or a metal lid to cover your pot, should things get out of hand.

[mdi]

All good info. Lead isn't a problem when melted and used at bullet casting temps. When it starts to vaporize is when the fumes become toxic, I believe it's around 1,000 degrees. Lead isn't as bad as some make it out to be, not to be taken lightly but not to be feared.

[MtGun44]

Lead absolutely does not vaporize to any significant amount at casting temperatures.
Ventilation is not needed for lead reasons, but just for the smell and smoke of the
odd lubricated boolit or flux etc. which will stink up the house.

Do not eat, drink or smoke in your reloading area - assume it is all contaminated with
lead. Wash your hands well after casting or reloading or shooting.

Shooting indoors puts out lead into the air from the lead styphanate in the primers
and possibly some from the base of the boolit, definitely from when the boolit hits the
steel plate backstop or target.

Bill

[DLCTEX]

I think there is more danger from the dust from a case tumbler than from casting boolits. The tumbler can put some nasty stuff in the air and on the floor and nearby objects.

[Lavid2002]

Why is the dross so bad?


I do smelt and cast outside, however the lead and and boolits are stored indoors. I do all my sizing and other boolit work indoors as well, however, I wipe down my reloading area after dealing with the lead.



Thanks for all the replies :lovebooli:

[cbrick]

Lavid2002, I think you are taking the fear of lead a little too seriously. As was mentioned, it's not to be taken lightly (or eat it) but it's not radioactive and it doesn't emit rays that will reach out and grab you. A few common sense precautions and you'll die of old age as a little white haired bent over boolit caster. The single biggest danger of lead (assuming you don't eat it) is to children about 5 or 6 years old and younger.

Here is what you need to know about lead as a boolit caster/loader/shooter.

Lead Safety (http://www.lasc.us/LeadSafety.htm)

Safe Handling Of Lead When Casting And Tumbling Brass (http://www.lasc.us/FryxellSafeHandlingLead.htm)

Hope this helps put your mind at ease.

Rick

[Bret4207]

Why is the dross so bad?


I do smelt and cast outside, however the lead and and boolits are stored indoors. I do all my sizing and other boolit work indoors as well, however, I wipe down my reloading area after dealing with the lead.



Thanks for all the replies :lovebooli:

Dross tends to be dusty stuff, it gets in the air, on your skin, etc. Just don;t snort it or lick it and you'll be fine using common sense precautions. As far as the boolits themselves, other than chewing on them I can think of no way for you to be harmed. Again, common sense goes a long way in this game.

[ExcIsAc]

So long as you wash well, cool / cold water and soap You should be fine.

Why would cool/cold water be preferable to warm/hot water for lead removal?

[qajaq59]

Just treat it as you would fertilizer. Don't eat or drink it, keep it away from food, and wash your hands when you are done.

[Wayne Smith]

I agree with all the above, and its very good advice.
But, what is not mentioned is after.
I wash my hands throughly at least twice, sometimes
three times just to make sure there is none remaining
on my hands. You can absorb a lot of lead through your skin.

Actually, Hickory, you can't. Lead in it's solid form dosn't move very much. Lead oxides, on the other had, are absorbed through the skin, that's in part why they are so dangerous. This is the dross on the top of the melt, oxides of lead and tin. That is why you flux, to return the oxides to the melt.

Lavid, you will be exposed to much more lead by tumbling your cartridges with the primer still in them and by shooting at a poorly ventilated indoor range than you ever will casting. Keep the oxides fluxed in, take reasonable and common precautions such as not eating and hand washing and don't worry.

[mdi]

Lavid2002, I think you are taking the fear of lead a little too seriously. As was mentioned, it's not to be taken lightly (or eat it) but it's not radioactive and it doesn't emit rays that will reach out and grab you. A few common sense precautions and you'll die of old age as a little white haired bent over boolit caster. The single biggest danger of lead (assuming you don't eat it) is to children about 5 or 6 years old and younger.

Here is what you need to know about lead as a boolit caster/loader/shooter.

Lead Safety (http://www.lasc.us/LeadSafety.htm)

Safe Handling Of Lead When Casting And Tumbling Brass (http://www.lasc.us/FryxellSafeHandlingLead.htm)

Hope this helps put your mind at ease.

Rick
Thanks for that info. The general public has been given so much misinformation about lead it has become something to be feared. Did you know that in Calif. wheel weights fly off wheels and land beside the road where they are ground up and rain carries the lead down to the water table, poisoning everyone within 20 miles of a highway? Evil little buggers, eh?

[Lavid2002]

Very cool, thanks guys. I would much rather know what I can and can not do around the melt and things like that than not know, and be paranoid about it.


A lot of good links and information given out.


Thanks again!
-Dave

[BD]

As I've posted before, I've been dealing with lead exposure since I was a teenager, and I've studied it a bit. I've had various types and levels of exposure and my lead levels have ranged between lows of 8-9 and highs in the low 40s at different times my life. The real dangers are the oxides and salts of lead and lead compounds, not the metal alloys in solid form, (or molten below 1,000 deg or so).

A few simple rules:

Try to never make lead dust, do not sand lead or lead compounds, and be very careful of the lead dust that does get produced; steel targets make lead dust; most primers make lead styphanate dust; smelting down wheel weights can make dust in the dross; indoor ranges are filthy with it, both from primers and particles off the backstop. Sanding lead based paint and coachwork was the initial cause of my lead exposure in life.

Don't shoot at an indoor range.

Don't eat, drink, smoke or pick your nose when handling lead, casting, cleaning brass or shooting.

Wash up and change clothing after casting and range sessions.

Lead oxide is toxic if ingested, but if you don't breath it or eat it you will be fine. Remember that anything capable of dissolving lead to clean your barrel, is also very likely capable of carrying that lead solution into your body through your skin.

At one point in my life I shot a year of indoor Bull's Eye league in northern Maine. I was in the range for an hour twice a week, for about 40 weeks. My lead levels went from the teens to the low 40's so I decided to pay attention. The only real changes I made were: I quit shooting indoors and I started washing and rinsing all of my brass before tumbling it. Within two years my level was back down in the single numbers, the lowest it'd been since I was 14. So when I moved to the stinkin' hot low country I shot one year twice a week in a brand new local air-conditioned indoor range, "Five Star" rated, with all the modern air-handling equipment, filters and a place to wash up. Being careful, but still not wearing a respirator, my level went from the single digits to the mid twenties. As a result I just don't shoot indoors anymore. I believe that there is no real way to do it safely on any regular long term basis.

BD

[another gsxr 1k]

Why would cool/cold water be preferable to warm/hot water for lead removal?

I read somewhere, something about hot water opening the pores in the skin more giving some remote chance of increased possibility of absorbing lead or other chemicals (oils, grease, solvents)

Seemed sound to me, and it can't hurt (unless one counts the scrubbing factor) to use room temp water. I'm a gearhead garage / driveway race motorcycle mechanic (crotch rocket) and loader / caster / shooter by passion and a Geek by trade.

[cbrick]

Lead oxides, on the other had, are absorbed through the skin, that's in part why they are so dangerous.

Actually lead does not absorb through the skin very well at all but once on your hands it can get into your eyes, mouth, nose etc.


This is the dross on the top of the melt, oxides of lead and tin. That is why you flux, to return the oxides to the melt.

Actually you flux to reduce these metals back to the alloy where they can do you some good and they are not wasted by skimming off as dross.


Lavid, you will be exposed to much more lead by tumbling your cartridges with the primer still in them

Primer still in or not, lead styphnate from the primer firing is still inside the cartridge case and thus in the tumbler media, the longer you use the same media the more lead there is in it. You should wash your hands immediately after handling your tumbler.



by shooting at a poorly ventilated indoor range than you ever will casting. Keep the oxides fluxed in, take reasonable and common precautions such as not eating and hand washing and don't worry.

Now this is true. An indoor range, even if you have never loaded, handled or fired a boolit can raise your lead levels dramatically. When a jacketed bullet or a boolit hits the steel backstop lead particles get in the air and you breath it. Not good.

Rick

[TDC]

Just curious.... What are the obvious symptoms of lead poisoning and is it advisable to be tested occasionally. If we were to have a high level what is the remedy for lowering the level......

[cbrick]

Just curious.... What are the obvious symptoms of lead poisoning and is it advisable to be tested occasionally. If we were to have a high level what is the remedy for lowering the level......

Read the articles linked in post 13 of this thread. Your question is discussed there.

Rick

[qajaq59]

Lavid 2002, it is always better to ask then to wonder or end up with a problem. Obviously there are plenty of people willing to answer.

[dougwilliams]

I have been casting for over 20 years and getting tested for lead during physical about every 3 years. I get a physical every year but only tested every 3rd UNTIL LAST YEAR. Normal range on lead test is 0 to 10 being OK for average folks but after melting and cleaning a 500+lb batch of tire weights my test showed 18. I was outdoors and had breeze and box fan going so close to pot that the fan screen melted but still got a dose. Stayed away from lead for 3 months or so and got another test, 13 this time. So now with all the other precautions others mentioned I still wear a respirator even outdoors. I'm a grandpa and am done making babies but maybe you should check on lead issues and reproduction. I know children ingesting lead paint chips can be neurogically affected but not sure if real lead in your pencil will affect children. Probably different answer for father and mother. Good luck and be SAFE

[Marlin Junky]

I have been casting for over 20 years and getting tested for lead during physical about every 3 years. I get a physical every year but only tested every 3rd UNTIL LAST YEAR. Normal range on lead test is 0 to 10 being OK for average folks but after melting and cleaning a 500+lb batch of tire weights my test showed 18. I was outdoors and had breeze and box fan going so close to pot that the fan screen melted but still got a dose. Stayed away from lead for 3 months or so and got another test, 13 this time. So now with all the other precautions others mentioned I still wear a respirator even outdoors. I'm a grandpa and am done making babies but maybe you should check on lead issues and reproduction. I know children ingesting lead paint chips can be neurogically affected but not sure if real lead in your pencil will affect children. Probably different answer for father and mother. Good luck and be SAFE

Did you wear gloves while working with the WW's? Did you have any open sores on your hands?

MJ

[WallyM3]

Having read all of the above, it seems to me that decapping might be more of a hazard than casting operations. I don't want to :hijack: , but precautions that folks take around and with spent primers might be germane.

One thing I did before I got involved in casting was to have my lead level checked. I'll monitor from time to time.

[Bkid]

I wear gloves when reloading the lead bullets and resizing. I think wearing gloves when handling the lead help to stop absorbtion through the skin. I wash my hands very thourougly with a nail brush also. Getting the lead from under the nails is a good thing. The dross is not good to breath the dust. I stay the heck away from that ****.

[cbrick]

I think wearing gloves when handling the lead help to stop absorbtion through the skin.

Lead does not absorb through skin. It gets in you from your hands by eating, smoking, rubbing your eyes, picking your nose etc.

It does not absorb through the skin on your hands. It has to get into you to cause harm. Having it on your hands means nothing more than you have dirty hands unless of course you suck your thumb.

Rick