Best Practices to avoid lead poisoning when casting

[BJung]

I hope this threat becomes a sticky for new casters. Lead toxicity has been on mind and I want to know what other casters are doing in their shop to avoid lead poisoning for themselves and family. First, I think the public's perception of lead is far overblown. It's led to lead bullet bans for hunting. People who hear I cast think I'm handling the Covid 19 virus. Personally, I think that if a caster works safely, everything will be fine. So, how do you cast and keep lead exposure to a minimum?

Here are some things I do or did so please chime in. Initially, I made a flu that fit under my garage door to blow the smell from the pot outside. The pot was inside the flu and the fan blew air and fumes into the flu and outside. I wanted to keep the garage closed because of my nosey neighbors. But, I'm giving up on this method. First, it's uncomfortable to sit on the ground. Second, wind can blow the fumes back into the garage. And third, there is lead residue from the spru plate on the garage floor. I sweep up what I can and toss it into my pot. The rest I either sweep up and toss it or sweep it outside and later wash it to the street. I like to wash my garage floor with soap and water.

Now, I cast from a table at the entrance of my garage when it's raining. The breeze blows the fumes away. Neighbors stay indoors. pieces of lead are on an aluminum tray that I fold and pour the pieces of lead into. Any oxidized ingots turn color but never has that powder substance on it. I immediately toss my clothes in the wash and shower. I've been washing my hands but should I but that lead soap?

[Winger Ed.]

The big hazard is whatever else is in the smoke and fumes working with molten Lead.
Keeping that off of you and not breathing it is important. I use a big fan pulling the fumes out and away from me.

Something else to be aware of is the dust from spent primers as you're working with the spent cases.
Wet tumbling keeps most of it out of the air.
If you dry tumble, take precautions for the dust generated that will have Lead residue dust in it from spent primers.

If you ask for it, any doctor's office can sent out a blood sample to be tested for Lead.
Not so much for casting boolits, but concerns of exposure from doing other things is why some people do that once or twice a year.

Lead fumes are kind of heavy. They want to settle out pretty fast.
The old Lead Plant in Dallas used to have huge blowers sucking the fumes out of the plant
as they were processing hundreds of tons Lead a day.

It was fine to be working there. The neighborhoods around it--- not so much.
The people living around there had crazy high levels of Lead in them,
and cancer & sickness rates were WAY higher than average.
The govt. ended up scraping top layers of dirt from neighborhoods, school yards, etc.
where it had settled out down wind from it.

The moral of the story is to be mindful of the smoke & fumes,
dispose of shop sweepings & such quickly, and don't empty the dust pans out in your yard.

[triggerhappy243]

Washing out the garage and driveway out into the street? Peta is going to have a turd hemorrhage.

[imashooter2]

Don’t eat, drink or smoke while casting or handling lead. Wash your hands after. Don’t cast at over 3,000°F. Try not to huff the smoke from fluxing (not for lead, wax and wood smoke is bad for you).

If your doctor tells you you are in danger because your blood levels are 10 µg/dL, find another doctor that actually knows what lead poisoning in adults is.

Live a long and happy life by not worrying about things that aren’t really a problem.

[Rickf1985]

And plain soap and water is fine for washing your hands. I use dish detergent. I wear gloves while working with lead anymore but for 40 years I did not and my lead levels were no different than anyone else. Even though I wear gloves I still wash up before eating or picking my nose.

[lightman]

My thoughts and what I do! Don't eat, drink or smoke while casting or smelting. Don't wipe your eyes, mouth or use the restroom before you wash your hands. Try to stay up wind of any smoke produced. Handle any lead that is showing white powder on it as little as possible.

When I was smelting my raw scrap I did it in my shop. I set up near a door and had a large floor fan and an exhaust fan in the eve running. I could actually feel the air moving out of the shop. I made the effort to work on the upwind side of the pot. When I was finished I would sweep up and put the sweepings in the pot for the next smelt. I also observed the hygiene suggestions that I mentioned above.

Common sense and attention to good hygiene makes casting pretty much a non event.

[dondiego]

To minimize lead contamination set up outside as close to your nosey neighbor's property as possible and explain to them what you are doing. Tell them how they are most likely in immediate danger and should leave the area!

[ascast]

This pops up about once a year. I had my lead levels tested about 4 years ago as it is a specific test here in NY. My levels were still in the background noise; i.e. no indication of poisoning above a normal, non casting person. I never paid any big concern about it. I ventilate some while casting as the gets hot and will dry your out, lungs first. Fluxing stuff can be very stinking, smokey and not good to breath. Anytime you see old bullets with a white powdery coating that is lead oxide. wear gloves wash hands all that.
Otherwise it is mostly a scare tactic - just another tentacle on the octopus called "COMMON SENSE GUN CONTROL"
I suspect the conservation guys claiming damage to wildlife may have some truth. Lots of critters can digest stuff we humans can't, so we error on the side of caution. Any car battery is lead. Any white house paint prior to say 1965 has lead in it.

I have no problem licking a 5 pound lead block to prove the point. I have done so many times in the past 40 years. My test shows normal. Its mostly scare tactics, like the water faucet that filters out lead. Great ! What makes you thin you have lead in your water?

carry on

[Daver7]

A lot of good advice has been given.
I've always done my casting outside with a fan behind me blowing the smoke away. Don't eat, drink or smoke, do wash up after.
"Common sense and attention to good hygiene makes casting pretty much a non event."
I've been casting since the late 70's the last time I had my lead levels checked everything was fine.

[45DUDE]

A lot of good advice has been given.
I've always done my casting outside with a fan behind me blowing the smoke away. Don't eat, drink or smoke, do wash up after.
"Common sense and attention to good hygiene makes casting pretty much a non event."
I've been casting since the late 70's the last time I had my lead levels checked everything was fine.

Same here--Just use a fan--I started casting in the '90's and still do it a couple times a month. I have had several lead tests. I'm 78 and bought a new Lyman 4 cavity mold last week.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Rendered out 1400 lbs of wheel weights, then went on a casting, loading, shooting binge that lasted over a year. Figured I should get tested. Level was in the single digits. Good to go. Wash your hands and clothes, don’t eat, drink, or smoke without washing. Use dedicated gloves. Work outdoors if possible. Avoid indoor ranges and dry tumblers. Deal with any dross off of your pots carefully. Drink OJ.

[M-Tecs]

I hope this threat becomes a sticky for new casters. Lead toxicity has been on mind and I want to know what other casters are doing in their shop to avoid lead poisoning for themselves and family. First, I think the public's perception of lead is far overblown. It's led to lead bullet bans for hunting. People who hear I cast think I'm handling the Covid 19 virus. Personally, I think that if a caster works safely, everything will be fine. So, how do you cast and keep lead exposure to a minimum?

Here are some things I do or did so please chime in. Initially, I made a flu that fit under my garage door to blow the smell from the pot outside. The pot was inside the flu and the fan blew air and fumes into the flu and outside. I wanted to keep the garage closed because of my nosey neighbors. But, I'm giving up on this method. First, it's uncomfortable to sit on the ground. Second, wind can blow the fumes back into the garage. And third, there is lead residue from the spru plate on the garage floor. I sweep up what I can and toss it into my pot. The rest I either sweep up and toss it or sweep it outside and later wash it to the street. I like to wash my garage floor with soap and water.

Now, I cast from a table at the entrance of my garage when it's raining. The breeze blows the fumes away. Neighbors stay indoors. pieces of lead are on an aluminum tray that I fold and pour the pieces of lead into. Any oxidized ingots turn color but never has that powder substance on it. I immediately toss my clothes in the wash and shower. I've been washing my hands but should I but that lead soap?

Only correct information is worthy of becoming a sticky. This thread starts with lots of assumptions that have little to do with reality.

Those that stated to use a little common sense and doesn't eat and or drink while casting understand that it's the hand to mouth ingestion that leads to high lead blood levels.

Good ventilation doesn't hurt lead levels but does it really help? A good friend became a commercial caster after he retired. He hand cast hundreds of thousands of bullets per year using H&G 10 cavity molds in his basement with no ventilation for 20 plus years with no elevated blood levels using simple methods to not from ingest lead dust. He purchased his alloys so no smelting. Alloys never got above 800 degrees.

I started casting in 1968 and have cast and smelted alloys for close to a 1/2 million bullets. I do use a ventilation fan with a flue now but that was not always the case. Work required a heavy metals blood test annually. I was always below baseline except for the one year I deployed to the sandbox and didn't cast.

At about 1,000 degrees lead fumes do become an issue. That is why comparisons between bullet casters and commercial lead smelting plants are not valid. Commercial plants use very high temperatures to separate alloys and in the refinement process.

The lead bullet/shot ban has zero to do with casting/smelting or even a misunderstanding of lead issues. It was/is due birds ingesting lead shot or spent bullets. Birds grind their food in the gizzard. The grinding action allows for high levels to be ingested.

Nothing wrong with using more extreme measures for yourself but pushing those methods on others that are not having issues it wrong.

Same for washing what you believe to be hazardous waste into the street. Not only is that wrong it's illegal.

[Bigslug]

Think of your solution like the radiator exhaust for an in-window swamp cooler - set yourself up with a stove exhaust hood over your pot that vents away from your work area.

It's the fumes of "other stuff" from fluxing or smelting scrap that are of greater concern to me - the hood will work on the first; good to contemplate a respirator for the second.

Liquid lead in a pot at casting temperature by itself is not a great inhalation hazard. Think of it like water in a glass that's at 33 degrees Fahrenheit - it is MUCH closer to becoming a solid than it is to becoming a gas. A bigger concern is possibly airborne lead styphynate from primers on a poorly ventilated indoor range.

Wash your hands and have your doc include a blood test for lead whenever you need to get a stick for the other stuff they routinely test you for. That'll let you monitor and decide if you need to modify anything.

[popper]

Never had a lead blood test. Smoke from flux needs venting. Wash your hands after handling lead bullets. Lead is not absorbed through the skin but handling food and drink can ingest it. Lead in the body can cause brittle bones and rare nerve problems. About the only metal that the body has no use for.

[stubshaft]

don’t eat, drink or smoke while casting or handling lead. Wash your hands after. Don’t cast at over 3,000°f. Try not to huff the smoke from fluxing (not for lead, wax and wood smoke is bad for you).

If your doctor tells you you are in danger because your blood levels are 10 µg/dl, find another doctor that actually knows what lead poisoning in adults is.

Live a long and happy life by not worrying about things that aren’t really a problem.

^^^^^^^^^^what he said!^^^^^^^^^

[Hick]

For your worry level you need to make a distinction between smelting and casting. Lead and our type of alloys all melt below 600 F. At 1800 F the vapor pressure of lead is 1.7 mm HG (around 6% of atmospheric pressure) and you have fumes to worry about. If you are only casting, not smelting, and you keep the pot just hot enough to cast well, the lead fumes are almost zero, and just having an open window or breeze is fine. But--if you are smelting hotter or run your pot really hot the worries go up. If you want to read a lot on the debate there is a long thread here: https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...s-settle-this/

[45DUDE]

With the pot up to temperature put a little lube or candle wax in the mix and the smoke will tell where the fan needs to be or where you sit. A friend gave me some wheel weights and I dumped them in the mix. There was a live primer and it cleaned out 1/2 the pot of lead. Lucky I had glasses on.<something to watch for>

[Wag]

You're only real danger is if you're boiling the lead. Then there is vapor that will raise your blood levels when you breathe it.

If you're smelting "dirty" lead like wheel weights from a tire shop, the other garbage in there with the lead can create fumes which are harmful in and of themselves.

As for primers and the lead styphnate they contain, it's a separate problem from casting and smelting. Definitely keep the area well ventilated and keep your tumble media off your hands.

--Wag--

[fredj338]

Wash your hands, dont smoke or eat. WASH YOUR HANDS. Pretty simple. Worry more about where you shoot. I avoid indoor ranges for just that reason.

[El Bibliotecario]

Having ignored most of the above advice for many years, I have nevertheless survived to an age where I expect my demise to result from other ailments before succumbing to lead poisoning. I don't recommend this course of action to new casters.

I began casting on a patio using a cast iron pot on a Coleman stove on a board placed between two chairs. Well ventilated it was, comfortable it was not. I don't recommend this method either. I upgraded to an open garage door and an electric pot on a GI field table. In recent years have placed a fan behind me to blow smoke and fumes out the door.