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Thread: Respirator mask for smelting suggestions ?

  1. #21
    Boolit Master
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
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    Las Cruces, NM
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    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.

  2. #22
    Boolit Master

    Join Date
    Feb 2012
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    Foothills, NC
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    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.

  3. #23
    Boolit Master WRideout's Avatar
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    Oct 2009
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    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

  4. #24
    Boolit Grand Master
    rintinglen's Avatar
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    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.

  5. #25
    Boolit Master

    Idz's Avatar
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    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.

  6. #26
    Boolit Buddy fa38's Avatar
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    I wear one when I am starting a new batch of lead usually about 70 pounds.
    M. Stenback

  7. #27
    Boolit Grand Master

    mdi's Avatar
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    Here ya go. Can't ever be too "safe" https://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-heat...281875&sr=8-16
    My Anchor is holding fast!

  8. #28
    Boolit Buddy ReloaderEd's Avatar
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    Oct 2010
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    Washington State
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    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

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

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