Elevated lead levels in my blood

[FISH4BUGS]

In my annual physical just ended, I had the normal blood work done.
One of the things I make sure they check is lead levels in my blood.
My doc always it was kind of cool that I cast all my own bullets, for I was his only patient (apparently) that did that.
This time my lead levels (which were always normal) came up high. 21 was the number.
He was concerned because it was approaching toxic levels.
I am always very careful. I wear gloves when casting and have an exhaust fan.
I don't smoke or eat while casting/sizing/lubing, and I always wash my hands when I take a break.
The only thing I can think of was that a couple of weeks ago I went shooting and burned up a couple of hundred rounds.
The wind was in my face and the smoke drifted back into me. WW231 is not the cleanest powder on the planet
The other thing was last winter, I cast (with gloves and fan) but sized and lubed (on a Star Sizer) some 4000 44 and 38/357 bullets without gloves and reloaded them....but I DID wash my hands when I took a break.
Are there latex gloves made that can hold up to sizing/lubing a few thousand bullets at a time? The ones I use for cleaning guns don't hold up worth beans.
The only other thing I guess is to not shoot when the wind is in your face?
I am really confounded.
Your thoughts and ideas are welcomed.

[Cast_outlaw]

Well I don’t know what caused it it may have been from the primers as they are lead based as for gloves I’d look into the nitrile grease monkey gloves they are quite a bit tougher than latex and should stand up as long as they are not catching on things constantly

[Greg S]

Any indoor range shooting?

[FISH4BUGS]

Any indoor range shooting?

It was outdoors. Our indoor range does not allow cast lead bullets.

[farmbif]

I would look for advice from medical expert who is a shooter and or caster, you may have figured it out yourself, wind in your face. ive often wondered how much lead gets atomized when I'm blasting away with 44 mag and 45 colt when I can clearly see fire blasting out of the end of the gun and there is no gas check.
Did your doctor have any recommendations to bring lead level down?

[JoeG52]

You might want to have your lead level re-tested. Labs do make mistakes on occasion.

[NSB]

I once supervised a very large department where copper/brass radiators were made for OE automotive use. I had thirty-seven tube mills where each mill had a 3600 lb solder pot to coat the brass tubes. The operators had to keep the pot full and that required pretty constant handling of thirty pound ingots to be put in the pot. All the mill operators had to be tested twice a year for blood lead levels. The only time any of them had high levels was when they ran the mill with the pot door open (it was required to be kept closed so the exhaust fan could do its job), or when they smoked or ate without washing their hands. If you’re not smoking while casting, not eating while casting, and keeping your hands clean, your problem is your exhaust. It’s simply not adequate for the job at hand. You need an exhaust duct above your pot, and you need more air flow going outside. If you’re running other fans in the house like fans or AC units, you can create a somewhat negative air flow/pressure which will work against your pot exhaust. My money is on your exhaust fan. Shooting a couple hundred bullets outside on one day will not raise your levels to a caution level.

[BigAlofPa.]

My lead was high when i started getting it tested. Last test it was real good. Im hoping it's better yet since i started using the APP press for decapping.
10/12/18 1/11/19 9/27/19 2/27/20
17.9 H 9.4 11.1 H 4.6

[FISH4BUGS]

Did your doctor have any recommendations to bring lead level down?

Nothing yet. We will do another test in 3 months.
He said to just be careful and wear gloves, which I did except for sizing/lubing.
I'll get some mechanic's gloves as suggested.
Retesting is another good idea. I have a followup test schedule shortly to retest the B12 levels, so I will ask him.
Just called the doc and they will a retest to make sure the level is what they think it is.
Then I guess we will have to do something about it!

[mattw]

I have been using Microflex Diamond Grip gloves, they hold up very well! I used them when sorting fresh cast, my daughter uses them when doing PC. Once PC is applied, I am not overly concerned about lead. If using normal lube, I use them through the lube process. They hold up very well, when I remove them I do so with them inside out and reuse them several times by reversing them before the next wearing.

[kaiser]

It sounds like you have a very reasonable and competent doctor, which is probably as important as the test you took. I used to work at an indoor pistol range and toxic lead levels can be a big problem if you ignore the safety precautions. Had a co-worker who tested high and his wife hit the "panic button" (they did come back down after he quit). My sister-in-law has had the treatments for lead poison to see if it would cure another disease she had - it didn't. Her description of the "scrubbing process" was not anything I would want to be subjected to. The treatment, as I understand it (not being a doctor), is usually only done in extreme cases. Staying out of the environment for a few months usually lowers the levels into the "comfort zone". Stay healthy!

[Neverhome]

I'm admittedly pretty ignorant. Dumb as a stump for the most part.
But in what way do gloves help? Lead doesn't absorb through the skin does it? I thought the the biggest risks were ingestion and inhalation. Not so?
Seems to me that if you are religiously washing your hands prior to putting anything in your mouth that the only thing left is inhalation. Seems like, as mentioned, ventilation improvement might be key here. Of course I might be missing something...

[Neverhome]

I got real curious because my biggest exposure to lead was long term living on ships with uncoated lead ballast.

I just pulled this from the OSHA website...

Lead can be absorbed into your body by inhalation (breathing) and ingestion (eating). Lead (except for certain organic lead compounds not covered by the standard, such as tetraethyl lead) is not absorbed through your skin. When lead is scattered in the air as a dust, fume or mist it can be inhaled and absorbed through you lungs and upper respiratory tract. Inhalation of airborne lead is generally the most important source of occupational lead absorption. You can also absorb lead through your digestive system if lead gets into your mouth and is swallowed. If you handle food, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, or make-up which have lead on them or handle them with hands contaminated with lead, this will contribute to ingestion.

and...

Once your blood lead level climbs above 40 ug/100g, your risk of disease increases. There is a wide variability of individual response to lead, thus it is difficult to say that a particular PbB in a given person will cause a particular effect. Studies have associated fatal encephalopathy with PbBs as low as 150 ug/100g. Other studies have shown other forms of diseases in some workers with PbBs well below 80 ug/100g. Your PbB is a crucial indicator of the risks to your health, but one other factor is also extremely important. This factor is the length of time you have had elevated PbBs. The longer you have an elevated PbB, the greater the risk that large quantities of lead are being gradually stored in your organs and tissues (body burden). The greater your overall body burden, the greater the chances of substantial permanent damage.

I don't even know if I've been tested for it. The military is funny that way!

[quilbilly]

You might want to have your lead level re-tested. Labs do make mistakes on occasion.

I definitely agree with this but when you do a retest, make sure you haven't handled lead boolits or done any shooting for about a week to ten days. If you are in an older house or have changed water supplies, check piping for lead pipes which could be suddenly leaching lead. If the test wasn't a false positive, the next step is isolating the source.

[mattw]

It keeps the lead out from under things like fingernails and out of cuts, my hands are always in rough shape. Also allows me to remove them and get a fresh chew from time to time, no running water in my shop. Also keeps skin oils off of the virgin cast bullets for a better PC coat.

[Neverhome]

Oh good points. Yeah. Also now that I think about it, I'm MUCH less likely to touch my face or forget to wash up if I have gloves on.
And while MY skin isn't that thin yet, I know my grandfather could cut himself walking down the hall.

[mattw]

Mine is not thin... just abused! I tend to snag calluses on things and tear them from time to time and seems that I am always working on something sharp and greasy. Where I fail often around lead is case cleaning... I still dry tumble and always will, that dust gets everywhere. I should move the tumblers out to the main shop, many more cubic feet of air and not insulated.

[gwpercle]

You might want to have your lead level re-tested. Labs do make mistakes on occasion.

This ... I've had more False Positive test results than you can shake a stick at . Wait a few months and retake it ....great chance you will be fine ...labs screw up tests a lot more than should be allowed !

In fact a test just last week ... retook it and Dr.'s office called yesterday ...Normal , never mind lab screwed up ...again.
Gary

[dannyd]

I got real curious because my biggest exposure to lead was long term living on ships with uncoated lead ballast.

I just pulled this from the OSHA website...

Lead can be absorbed into your body by inhalation (breathing) and ingestion (eating). Lead (except for certain organic lead compounds not covered by the standard, such as tetraethyl lead) is not absorbed through your skin. When lead is scattered in the air as a dust, fume or mist it can be inhaled and absorbed through you lungs and upper respiratory tract. Inhalation of airborne lead is generally the most important source of occupational lead absorption. You can also absorb lead through your digestive system if lead gets into your mouth and is swallowed. If you handle food, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, or make-up which have lead on them or handle them with hands contaminated with lead, this will contribute to ingestion.

and...

Once your blood lead level climbs above 40 ug/100g, your risk of disease increases. There is a wide variability of individual response to lead, thus it is difficult to say that a particular PbB in a given person will cause a particular effect. Studies have associated fatal encephalopathy with PbBs as low as 150 ug/100g. Other studies have shown other forms of diseases in some workers with PbBs well below 80 ug/100g. Your PbB is a crucial indicator of the risks to your health, but one other factor is also extremely important. This factor is the length of time you have had elevated PbBs. The longer you have an elevated PbB, the greater the risk that large quantities of lead are being gradually stored in your organs and tissues (body burden). The greater your overall body burden, the greater the chances of substantial permanent damage.

I don't even know if I've been tested for it. The military is funny that way!

Navy didn't test between 75 and 95 when I asked why Because they didn't want to know.

[tomme boy]

If you use a dry tumbler that is usually the cause. You have to add some mineral spirits each time to get the levels down.