breathing mask rated for working with lead

[kenk]

What are you all using for a breathing apparatus when casting? Ideally I won’t have to get a second mortgage, but also want to be smart about it
Thanks

[barnetmill]

If at all possible did not neglect ventilation even if this is not what you asked.

[M-Tecs]

Cast approximately 1/4 million bullets since 1970 without a breathing apparatus. At work I had a yearly heavy metals screening. Lead levels were always below average except one year when I was deployed to the sandbox. I didn't cast at all that year and levels returned to below average the next year.

Most of the lead level increase happens due to poor hand to mouth hygiene.

Here are some rated masks if you want. https://pksafety.com/blog/lead-and-paint-fumes

[David2011]

Are you concerned about lead vapors or other smoke and fumes? Ventilation takes care of the smoke and fumes. Commercially made lead furnaces don't get hot enough to produce lead vapors. That takes about 1150°F. There are other avenues for lead exposure, though. If you handle lead that has developed white crusty deposits, that's lead oxide which is bad stuff because it easily becomes dust and can be inhaled. Another exposure is from spent primers and the crud that goes with them.

Case polishing media is yet another source of exposure. It gets inside the cases which have lead deposits from the primers and contaminates the polishing media. If the polishing media is allowed to make dust, that dust contains lead. Lots of us put NuFinish Car Polish and a tablespoon or two of mineral spirits in the corn cob media. Let the polisher run for 15-30 minutes before adding brass. The NuFinish adds a nice shine and the mineral spirits helps control the dust. I think it also helps the NuFinish do its work.

Handling lead and then eating or smoking is bad. Lead transferred to cigarette paper goes straight to the lungs as lead vapor when the cigarette paper burns. Pretty sure it would be a crime to get a good cigar around boolit casting.

The common theme here is, as M-Tecs said, hand-to-mouth hygiene. I consider the entire reloading and casting area to be contaminated because bare lead has been all over it at one time or another. When I come in from doing ANYTHING in the reloading/casting room the first thing I do is wash my hands thoroughly, usually with Fast Orange first and then hand soap. I use breathing protection for a lot of things but melting lead is not one of them. I've been at it with a couple of breaks for life getting in the way since 1982.

[kevin c]

An expert in heavy metals toxicology I spoke to agreed with the idea that lead fumes from molten lead at the temperatures we use isn’t much of a concern, but noted that there is risk from smoke particles from burning materials with the lead can carry lead into the air. As already said, then, good ventilation is your friend. If you can smell your carbon based reductants (sawdust, wax, etc.) burning, your ventilation isn’t good enough. Alternatively, a cartridge using mask that filters out the smoke so you can’t smell it helps, though exposed skin, hair and clothes will need washing.

While my conversation with this fellow didn’t compare risks, it seems to me that oral ingestion is likely the biggest contributor, so no eating/drinking/smoking while handling or casting, nor afterwards until a good wash up is done.

[wilecoyote]

my worst experience ever was after some session inside an indoor shooting stand with poor ventilation.
really sick/headached until three days after.
I cast in a dedicated room in my apt., and I try my best to avoid unnecessary harm since my 2nd day, being self-taught at this 20yrs. ago_
all the posts above are so good to think & re-think about that imho their content could be rightly among the Classic & Stickies section, if not already done with something about that_

[kenk]

Thanks folks, being so new to casting, I didn’t know if a protective breathing apparatus was a thing or not. When reloading, I always use gloves and wash well afterwards. At this point, I believe my casting area will be in the garage with both doors and Windows open. Thanks again for putting up with the new guys questions

Ken

[wilecoyote]

...every solution that can facilitate casting together with our safety is worth being evaluated and discussed, exactly as about safely welding, etc._
this said by one who has made (& paid) more mistakes than the real Wile C._
stay safe first

[Retumbo]

Did some work for a company that made lead batteries. Very few people wore masks.

The REALLY big emphasis was on proper washing of hands before eating, smoking, picking your nose, etc

K.I.S.S

[Loudy13]

Last summer melted down all the random lead I had in my garage into ingots, which was about 7 - 5 gallon buckets about half range lead and half wheel weights. I did it in the garage with the big door open did not wear a mask didn't have the greatest ventilation depending on the wind. Had my physical for the year right after I was done and asked the Doc to throw a lead test in just to see if there were any issues after all the smelting. It came back on the lower side of acceptable I cant remember the numbers but the doc had Zero concerns.
Wash your hands, don't lick your fingers and there shouldn't be any issues.

[Omega]

According to the CDC any ole cloth mask will do, if it will stop a virus it will stop lead particles. I don't use a mask, I do my melting outside, under a portable cover so pretty well ventilated, when I cast indoors, but have a good fan pulling any fumes out the window, the wife doesn't complain so no smells must be going to the other rooms.

[dannyd]

Thanks folks, being so new to casting, I didn’t know if a protective breathing apparatus was a thing or not. When reloading, I always use gloves and wash well afterwards. At this point, I believe my casting area will be in the garage with both doors and Windows open. Thanks again for putting up with the new guys questions

Ken

This would be a better investment than the mask.

https://smile.amazon.com/D-Lead-D-Wipe-Disposable-Towels-Container/dp/B07CF77Q3N/ref=sr_1_2?crid=WGU7WW695X34&keywords=d+lead+wipes&qid=1662657960&sprefix=d+le%2Caps%2C224&sr=8-2

To help clean up the area and you :)

[Rickf1985]

This would be a better investment than the mask.

https://smile.amazon.com/D-Lead-D-Wipe-Disposable-Towels-Container/dp/B07CF77Q3N/ref=sr_1_2?crid=WGU7WW695X34&keywords=d+lead+wipes&qid=1662657960&sprefix=d+le%2Caps%2C224&sr=8-2

To help clean up the area and you :)

I wonder what makes those any better than something like this? https://www.amazon.com/Scrubs-42272CT-Bucket-Cleaner-Towels/dp/B07J6X5FZG/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=hand%2Bwipes%2Bfor%2Bmechanic s&qid=1662814028&sr=8-10&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc&th=1 I use these in my mechanics work and they work fantastic for cleaning grease, dirt and grime. I don't see where they would not also clean lead.

[kerplode]

When I'm melting wheelweights or other scrap to make ingots, I wear a 3M P100 cartridge respirator and a face shield. These respirators are pretty cheap....Like $30.

For casting clean ingots into boolits, I skip the respirator and use strong ventilation and regular eye-pro.

When I'm "smelting" the scrap, there is dust and all sorts of junk that burns off into nasty smoke at the beginning...Brake dust, oil, old dried piss, and who knows what else. Don't want to be breathing any of that nonsense! That, more than the lead, is why I use the respirator for making ingots. Casting, though, is much less rowdy and the fan is enough to keep things safe, IMO.

[BLAHUT]

I wear a cartridge respirator rated for pesticides and a face mask with a fan and good ventilation.

[WRideout]

As a former company safety officer, I followed the OSHA dictate of engineering controls first then if not adequate, respiratory protection. Ventilation is paramount when melting lead, air blowing fumes away from you toward an area where a slight degree of contamination is acceptable. My grandchildren had a slight touch of lead poisoning when they lived with us. We never figured out if it was from my lead casting, or just the effects of living in a one-hundred year-old house. We cleaned everything up, and now I do my casting in a dedicated portion of my workshop where the kids don't play.

Wayne

PS: Any questions about respirators should be referred to a professional safety equipment sales company. There is much confusion about masks vs. respirators. Dust masks are only good for nuisance dust, and can't protect you in a hazardous environment. Cartridge type respirators come with many different options for cartridge type; let the professional guide you based on the expected hazard. A respirator, in order to be effective has to be sized to you, and you need to be fit tested. If you have facial hair, you will need to shave. If all of this is too much, it is way better to simply use good ventilation and clean up after yourself.

[45DUDE]

I just use a fan. Put a pinch of lube in the pot to check air flow.

[barnetmill]

Another safety tip for a new caster is moisture. I from a distance once watched someone pour molten lead into a pot. We figured out later that the pot had moisture in it. That lead exploded. Make sure anything that goes into a melting pot is dry, especially if the lead contents are already molten. It might be smart to oven dry range lead and scrap lead first maybe in the same oven you use for coating bullets and certainly not in your kitchen cooking oven. For working outside, I would still have the pot under something in case of moisture some source and I would likely wear a face shield around it. At least googles.

[popper]

protective breathing apparatus was a thing or not NOT but the smoke from flux will get onto everything. I cast in garage with door open. Fan helps. Long sleeve shirt, eye and HEAD protection (got a spot on head from tinsel fairy) plus a towel over lap if casting in shorts. Closed top shoes too. Doesn't happen often but those burns don't heal easily.