I agree, there is no danger from lead fumes as the vapor pressure is so high. I use a P100 respirator but mainly for dust and fumes from the flux. When casting I don't wear it.
I agree, there is no danger from lead fumes as the vapor pressure is so high. I use a P100 respirator but mainly for dust and fumes from the flux. When casting I don't wear it.
I sort out all the valve stems and sickons then use a weed burner on top of the lead and turkey fryer below. I get very little smoke or stink. Mostly from the clips as they cool. After I skim them, I drag them well away before pouring my ingots. Had my biggest smelting/casting/loading/shooting year ever last year and my lead level was fine.
In my tenure as a company safety officer, I learned a few things about respirators.
1. Engineering controls are the first line of defense. This includes things like adequate ventilation.
2. Regular masks, like the ones sold in paint stores, are not effective for toxic dusts.
3. A true respirator needs to be fitted to the wearer, and tested for effectiveness. Different brands work for different people. A good safety supply company can walk you through the process.
4. The filter cartridge needs to be suitable for the contaminant(s) involved. Again, the safety supply company can advise. There are multi-use cartridges, but there is no universal cartridge.
Hope this helps.
Wayne
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger - or else it gives you a bad rash.
Venison is free-range, organic, non-GMO and gluten-free
To second what Wayne said, (I, too, was a safety officer.) I had 172 employees to annually fit test and issue appropriate masks. Almost every one was well served with a 3M mask. They come in three sizes and several styles and require fitting for correct wear. There were a couple of people whom we had to provide with Positive-pressure masks and one guy who needed a North Small. For lead dust, we issued half masks with N-95 filters. For Sodium Hypochlorite and Ammonia, we issued either Orange, or green tagged cartridges, black was for organo-poisons, IIRC.
However, I recommend doing your casting/smelting outdoors and avoiding the use of a mask when possible. We had a couple of guys come down with some pretty bad rashes working in hot environments. Whenever possible, we tried to use maximum artificial ventilation to avoid their use. I seem to recall reading somewhere that wearing a mask increased fatigue by up to 20%, but I can't remember where I saw that. In any event, there are drawbacks to masks as well as advantages.
_________________________________________________It's not that I can't spell: it is that I can't type.
One thing to remember is any mask will provide some protection. When I was in school in the 1960s the chemicals with a death-head were the bad ones to avoid. Now environmental rules have everything labelled toxic so people ignore the 10 pages of lawyer-eze and get in trouble.
I wear one when I am starting a new batch of lead usually about 70 pounds.
M. Stenback
Here ya go. Can't ever be too "safe" https://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-heat...281875&sr=8-16
My Anchor is holding fast!
You need a hood over the lead smelter to suck the smoke out of your work area... I wouldn't trust a mask of any kind
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |