how safe is shielding lead

[mac1911]

How safe is lead that was used as shielding for radiation from hospitals?

[Muddy Creek Sam]

Safe.

Sam :D

[Hardcast416taylor]

If you mean x-ray room shielding - it`s not radio active due to only being exposed to x-rays. If you mean the isotope shielding for tracer material used for arterial illumination - it must be quarantined for a duration set by the length of it`s nuclear half - life. In plain language after 6 months and up to 1 year the shielding material is in a lead vault till the test geiger detects no further radiation. I have been using both types of lead I just explained for approximatley 20 or more years. And NO you won`t get a tracer slug if shot at night.Robert

[mac1911]

I did get a good amount of it, some small heavy jugs and some heavy half ring collet looking things. My quess about 400+lbs

[Muddy Creek Sam]

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

[sqlbullet]

Sam got the link up to my webpage above. This lead is great for casting bullets. The pharmacies can't release it until it has decayed. It is perfectly safe to work with.

[technetium-99m]

It can't go out until the pharmacy is sure it's cold.

If you're really worried about it just let it sit for 90 days or so, that will cover 99.99% of the isotopes the shields were covering.

[shotman]

It makes it easy to find the boolits in the dark. Also if you carry some of those boolits in your pocket it keeps the guys from getting pregnet it has worked for me for last 56 years

[1874Sharps]

The only jewel of wisdom I might offer is that if you are dealing with lead that has stopped "zoomies", (even though sufficient time has passed to exponentially decay the radioactive isotope), be careful to practice proper hygiene after handling. If a radioisotope is ingested, guaranteed it will find a strand or two of your DNA on the way out of your body to mutate. If it decays outside your body (depending on the range, of course) there is a good chance it will not hit your body.

[GP100man]

You`ll get more rads walking out the door into the sunshine.

[mac1911]

I got to smelting down somw of the shielding lead 43lbs 2 lids and 1 larger container. hit just about 650 before it melted. From the high temp it seems to be on the pure'r side of lead. I melt mostly WWs which start in the high 500 range melting. I have some BIG truck WWs which start to melt just a touch under 500'F
Just sorting and smelting for now.

[lwknight]

Just because the lead gives off a few beta counts does not mean that it has any measurable ionizing gamma radiation.
I would not even worry about half living it out.
Like gp100man said, You get more exposure from the terrestrial and celestial background in a day than you will with the lead in your pocket for weeks.

[geargnasher]

It's no good! That stuff'll cause your kids to be born with nine heads! I offer a FREE disposal service for that stuff (have my own FDA-approved quarrantine), so call me pronto so I can get it off your property.:kidding:

Gear

[lwknight]

geargnasher , that stuff will cause the babies to be born naked and with heads that look disporportionatly large till they are several years old. Also it will cause male children to be generally more troublesome than the females till they are teens then the roles will reverse.

[Doby45]

Oh my lawd!!!! My children are infected then!!

[GP100man]

Doby 45

Me & the yungens got a kik out of your avatar!!!!!

We like it !!!!!

We want a puppy off a liter!!!!