Question about radiopharmacy lead

[n10sivern]

I now have a steady supplier of lead. Bought 200# today and they have another 600-800 pounds on hold for me. Is $0.50 per pound a reasonable price? They have a guy they deliver to 1hr away that pays them $0.50 per pound to make fishing jigs so I had to match his price. They'd rather sell to me so they don't have to travel. That said, what is the composition of it? The sheets are really flexible so I assume they are 100% but I don't know about the containers. Each of those big football containers is 32#.

178996

[Beagle333]

http://www.fellingfamily.net/isolead/index.html

This should help.


Great price, by the way!!! (Jealous here!)

[454PB]

The shielding lead I've used was good stuff, from about the same as wheel weight alloy to dead soft pure lead. 50 cents a pound is a good price.

[n10sivern]

Well, using the pencil test, the sheets are pure lead and the big lead jugs are most likely pure lead. Both were peeled by 5B pencil but the sheets seemed a little easier. The little bottles are probably 20:1 lead/tin as they were peeled using 2B pencil. Now to melt into ingots. Be nice if I could trade the pure lead for some Linotype. Once I have melted I'll have to post it and see if there are any takers.

On a side note, I have never done the pencil test until today. I tested some water dropped 3:1 pure lead/Linotype bullets I made and they were peeled by H pencil which means they are 16-18 BHN. Does that sound about right?

[Toymaker]

Lead doesn't absorb radiation, but the oxide on the surface does. The amount of radiation is minute. If you really have a concern just let it sit for two or three months before rendering it into ingots. In truth, the lead oxide poses a greater health hazard to you. Wash your hands, with COLD water and soap.

[leadbutt]

Yea. That's a good haul for 100 bucks.

[n10sivern]

I'm not worried about radiation. I am an ER nurse and I'm exposed to more from X-rays in the ER than I will be from this lead

[Mitch]

Nice find for a great price I have used the 32# ontainers and they work nive for my allaround pistol shootin

[glicerin]

My previous assay of radioactive isotope containers was=WW. good stuff

[n10sivern]

The link provided with the info above lists the jugs as a BHN of 10, but the ones I got pencil tested out dang near pure lead. I just checked again and 5B peeled it, 4B did a little better, but that still doesn't put it at BHN 10. Interesting.

These are the footballs similar to what I got that tested at a lower BHN
179024

I picked up some of these and they tested out about right on the BHN
179025

They had a few of these
179026

The also has 2-3 of these but they were unpainted. They said the previous buyer couldn't use them so I wonder if it is a different composition or metal
179027

[jsizemore]

Member BNE can XRF a sample of each container and you'll know the alloy composition of each sample. He charges 1 pound of lead for each sample tested. Send him a PM for shipping details.

[Leadmelter]

I am a former Nuclear Med Tech.
The football is from a Moly99-Tc99m generator.
The capsule in pic #2 is a Iodine 123 capsule shields.
Item number 3 are Xe133 gas tubes. Not sure what item #4 is?
All items should be wiped tested for any contamination.
At the hospital I am at, I cannot buy lead because it has to be returned to the nuclear pharmacy to be recycled.
At $.50/lbs buy all you can because the regulations are getting worse.
My .02 read up on radiation safety and shielding
Enjoy cheap lead
Leadmelter
MI

[n10sivern]

I plan on buying all of it and selling about half of it. They said this stuff has been sitting for months. I dunno if they have to wait until the half life has cleared before releasing it, but all the lead was just in a stock room. I guess since this is a radio/nuclear pharmacy they are taking the appropriate measures. They were handling it with no precautions.

[plainsman456]

I have several hundred of the smaller ones and they do make some good pistol bullits.
I just add a little tin just to make sure they fill out.

The ones i got cost 1.00 a pound so half that is good i think.

[dragon813gt]

The large containers are 96/3/1. I've had them analyzed. I used to have close to a ton of them. I would buy all I could get because it's a perfect clean alloy for almost every application. You can water drop or heat treat if you need them harder. There is nothing to be worried about. They aren't released until they have gone through the proper cool down period. They started reusing them so there are a lot less available these days.

[n10sivern]

Pencil test works. Went by local scrap yard and they XRF checked those footballs. 99.80% lead so pure lead. Explains why the ones I have didn't check out like everybody else's. by the way, the scrap yard is paying $0.51 per pound lol

[merlin101]

I bought some locally a few years ago and paid $1.00 lb, you did real good! Definitely buy it all and toss in a pizza or doughnuts too!

[2wheelDuke]

Great stuff. I mean it's no good, I'll take it off your hands for no charge.

I've tried pumping the nuke med delivery guys for information at the hospitals in my city. They say the isolead gets sold to a scrap yard, but I couldn't nail down where. Someday I'll follow up on that investigation.

[n10sivern]

Well now I have a steady source of pure lead. I just need a good supply of antimony to mix with it

[MaryB]

I would be bringing those guys a case of beer! And pizza! 50 cents a pound is a great price! I will have to check my stash, I may have 20 pounds of foundry type I can part with... and I know I need more pure lead.

[Sasquatch-1]

Nice haul. I would buy and stash all I can. Lead could get very hard to come by in the future. I bought some of the football shaped ones a few years ago, before I had a smelting rig and, they were hard to melt with a torch and a cheap hot plate. If you don't have a turkey fryer you may want to see if you can find one at a yard sale.

[n10sivern]

I'm set up. I just need more ingots

179098

[Sasquatch-1]

You may want to get a couple of these. They stack well and will fit in any casting pot. At $11.00 they would be great.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KI0OU8U/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3C0RDR4J3ZA2T&coliid=IKRVSSH9ZUVAI

179100


I'm set up. I just need more ingots

[n10sivern]

How much weight do those cast out at

[lightman]

Congratuations on the steady supply. From your pictures it looks like you are getting 2 different kinds of lead. The sheets are probably used for shielding in the walls of x-ray rooms or such and are probably nearly pure. The other things are known as isotope containers and the link that Beagle posted has a lot of info on them. Yours are the first containers that I have seen that are pure lead and not an alloy. I bet the smaller ones are an alloy and could be the source of tin and antimony that you are looking for. Your #4 picture probably held a small vial of medicine and fit inside another larger container. The ones that I had would come apart like a puzzle. Regardless of the alloy that you have, it is really clean lead and you made a good score.

The cornbread molds that I have used in the past made an ingot that weighed between 2 and 3 pounds. When you start smelting with a turkey fryer and a large pot it helps keep your production up if you have several ingot molds. Everytime you fill and dump one they get hotter, to the point that the lead stays molten longer and longer. I usually run 7 of the 4 gang Lyman style molds and after 4 or 5 cycles I have to take a short break and let them cool. Once again, Congratulations on finding a steady source for good lead.

[stormingnorm]

The shielding lead I've used was good stuff, from about the same as wheel weight alloy to dead soft pure lead. 50 cents a pound is a good price.
I'm paying $1.0 lb at scrap yard and thought that was a good deal.

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[stormingnorm]

Where can you get those at?

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[Sasquatch-1]

If you are talking about the corn bread pan, the link is in the post. It's from Amazon.


Where can you get those at?

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[Sasquatch-1]

I don't know how familiar you are with smelting, But if those cores have been stored outdoors you need to make sure they are placed in the pot with the open end facing up. The last thing you want to see is a steam explosion. And if it happens it may be the last thing you see. It's time consuming and it waste a lot of propane, but when I do range scrap I start each batch from an empty pot. I experienced a steam explosion many years ago and missed losing an eye by about an inch.


I'm set up. I just need more ingots

179098

[n10sivern]

Nah. I don't smelt lead that was outdoors. It is all stored indoors and stays in my garage for a while before getting smelted.

[stormingnorm]

If you are talking about the corn bread pan, the link is in the post. It's from Amazon.
No, asking about the lead they are talking about.

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[n10sivern]

No, asking about the lead they are talking about.

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nuclear pharmacies or radio pharmacies

[stormingnorm]

Ok. Thanks.

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[acoop101]

If you have more than you can use sell it here for a buck a pound, I would happily pay that.

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[n10sivern]

If you have more than you can use sell it here for a buck a pound, I would happily pay that.

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I am selling my extra on here. I have a crapload of lead either at my house or waiting on me to pick it up.

[acoop101]

I am selling my extra on here. I have a crapload of lead either at my house or waiting on me to pick it up.
Link to the sale thread? Anything you would be willing to trade for, I work at a shooting range and can get you brass for trade.

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[n10sivern]

I don't know if it's kosher to link a sale thread here. Some forums are against it. I'll send it to you in a PM. It's titles FS: soft lead