Lead Exposure

[swmass]

So im sure this has been beat to death and theres multiple opinions on it but how do some of you go about reducing your lead exposure? Obviously most of us use hard cast bullets and are exposed to a fair amount of lead, and I haven't been exactly careful with it. I cast in the garage near a window with the fan blowing, but I have seen others take it many steps further. Such as wearing latex while reloading, taking extra precautions while tumbling ect.

I've only been at it for a few years so I feel like now is a good time to start thinking about it as I see myself reloading for many years. I currently tumble brass in the garage and simply pick all the brass out of the tumbler.... washing my hands after handling brass and reloading. Just how serious is the exposure to lead? I'd like to see my older age without my lungs and blood being full of lead. I'm the only real serious reloader out of my group so its hard to get opinions from people besides on the forums :Fire:

[Vinne]

Like many in the hobby for years, I worry about lead exposure. Anything you do will help like washing hands, using a dust mask and washing clothes used during casting in a batch from the rest of the family. Take long breaks (weeks) after large casting sections or do shorter casting sections.

Have your blood tested once a year if you are worried about over exposure. A doctor told my friend to stop casting for a while and drink milk when his level tested a little high. Some things that will greatly reduce lead exposure is to switch to jacketed bullets or factory ammo. We all love our hobby so caution will keep us healthy and enjoy shooting for many years.

[lightman]

I'm not sure how real this threat really is. We probably are in more danger from shooting in an indoor range. Common sense and good hygiene while casting are important. No eating while casting, washing your hands before lighting a cigarette, decent ventilation, ect. Also, use caution while handling lead. If its heavily oxidized, try not to disturb the white looking powder too much. We all should probably be getting an annual physical, and adding a check for lead to the blood test would be simple. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not taking these threats lightly, I just thing that a little caution and common sense removes some of the dangers.

[opos]

It's 4:15 am where I live...I'm up early preparing to leave to have a cat scan this morning...a lung cat scan. I have several lung related issues and the doctor has long forbidden me from casting lead so I buy my lead bullets from a commercial source. She has allowed me to shoot but as things have worsened over the past months she has said absolutely no indoor shooting...outdoor is ok for now.

I think the situation with lead is just one of many things that might have some impact on a person's lungs and body just as nicotine is only one source of problems in a cigarette..if a person has problems to begin with it's reasonable to remove any and all possible items from the "menu" of possible damage.

Wish me luck.

[GhostHawk]

No one gets to live forever. What we do, how we live our life has an effect on it.

Personally I think my lead casting hobby is way safer than smoking for 44 years.
I have since joining here gotten religious about washing well after a session in the reloading room.
I am 63, retired, and watching my dad struggle with life at 92, not sure I want to go that far.

Lead is not one of my major concerns, and I do know it is not healthy. but I guess I am just not that concerned.

Everyone has to go from something.

[44man]

I have been fooling with lead for 72 years with no problems.
I smoked two packs of Camels a day when in high school, then met the future wife. I tossed the pack out the car window and quit cold for her. Best thing you can ever do!
Like was said, wash hands and watch skimmings and lead oxide. Casting itself is no danger.

[Spector]

I agree with watching the lead oxides and dust especially when turning scrap lead into ingots. I wont shoot indoors, but have an unsupervised range less that 4 miles from my house. So I have a good alternative to shooting indoors.

If you are going to burn money up I believe it is much better to burn powder than tobacco. Thirty one years of not smoking has netted me $40,300 in savings even at the old prices, not counting inflation of tobacco prices.

I have my lead levels checked at intervals and will have it checked again in April. It is always fine.

So when one door closed the door to more shooting at the outdoor range opened wide for me. And I'd much rather be a well practiced shooter that a well practiced smoker.

But that decision is something each of us has to wrestle with ourselves. And for me it was a protracted battle over years before I finally got got the nicotine monkey off my back. I smoked so much I chewed tobacco and swallowed the juice rather than spit just to keep my throat from being so raw. I had it bad, but somehow I won the battle going cold turkey, for about the 40th time. Don't ever think you can't.

Thirty five years of fooling with lead has caused no noticeable bad effect. Eighteen years of heavy smoking did.

And then when you are on the firing line believe you can..........make the center of that target disappear. That is much more fulfilling.........Mike

[10mmShooter]

I would add, watch the dust from you tumbler, I tumble prior to depriming, so my tumbler media has nasty lead styphnate and cyclosyanate(spelling) very nasty, so watch your ventilation, wash up good after handling lead, don't shoot indoors. This are your primary exposure points. As mentioned casting assuming clean alloy exposure is minimal compared to indoor shooting and tumbler media.

[LIMPINGJ]

Like others have said no smoking,dipping eating or drinking while casting. Then like mom always told us wash up before you come to the table. I would be more worried about the fool playing with their phone at the upcoming intersection than a hobby.

[Mica_Hiebert]

I Prime and manufacture 22 amunition for a living, theres lead stiphinate in the priming mix and we have the lead bullets. only way to get lead poisoning is through breathing it in or eating it. so in short wash your hands when your done casting and dont smoke cigarettes or put in a dip of chew or a wad of jerkey while casting and you will be fine. i would venture to guess my exposure is allot higher than the hobby caster and I have not had any issues arise yet.

[wv109323]

I think lead levels are more hype than factual. If you were a commercial loader or caster then you could have problems. But for the hobbyist up to the serious shooter ,if you use the already listed precautions you are fine.
I just watched the evening news about Flint, Michigan. It seems their drinking water has been running through lead pipes for ever so long.

[gwpercle]

I was talking to my doctor about lead. I have some lead bullet fragments left in the right side of my head, received during an armed robbery and shooting, a few years ago, and also about casting. He told me the lead dangers are blown out of proportion , he calls them "the alarmists" , you know , the sky is falling people. Anyway he told me the lead fragments in my head were not going to poison me ( and gave a long medical explanation as to why) and said , as long as I didn't chew on boolits, eat them, grind them to dust and inhale them, I would fine . To just wash my hands when I got done. I asked about testing and he said I didn't need it.
I guess it all depends on your doctor as to how much of a problem it is. Mine is a hunter, shooter and reloader himself, swell MD whom I like and trust .
Gary

[plainsman456]

Don't suck on your boolits[smilie=l:

[swmass]

Well that makes me feel better. I certainly wont be stopping because of the "dangers". We all knowingly assume the risk when we take on the hobby, its just hard to gauge how serious it is since some people seem to think it is horrible. The only other hand loader I know very well is my buddies father, and he wont go near lead. I do a fair bit of shooting inside since I do a lot of my shooting at night and cant use the outdoor range... maybe ill try to get out there a little earlier and go outside, its more fun anyway.