Health effects of shooting and reloading?

[fatelk]

Does anyone know much about the health risks of shooting and reloading? I've been reloading, casting bullets, cleaning guns with cleaning solvent and no gloves, etc. for years. Last year I was diagnosed with cancer and I'm only 35. The surgery and radiation treatment went well and I'll be fine, but it really has me re-thinking my hobby. I've stopped casting, wear latex gloves when cleaning guns, even worry about the spent primer residue when resizing as I know primers contain lead. I have two very young kids and I keep any lead or powder far away from them.

I know I'm probably going overboard and there's no proof as to what caused the cancer, but I have been getting a lot more careful with my health as opposed to my younger attitude that I'm bulletproof.

What precautions do you take when casting, reloading, or cleaning?
Any input is appreciated.

 

[imprezagm4]

Wow, glad you are going to be OK.

Does cleaning guns really expose you to harmful things? I ask because I can't imagine what... besides the chemicals, which can't be much worse than stuff we use on our cars. Something about the residue?

 

[hso]

fatelk,

We've had extensive discussions over the past several years on all these topics.

The short form of advice I can provide is to use nitrile instead of latex. Be sure to have good ventilation for all fume/vapor producing activites. Keep the area clean of all surface contamination to prevent it entering the air you breath. Focus on keeping direct contact or inhalation of solvents and lead to a minimum.

Some types of cancer can be traced to types of exposure. Some can't. Some are closely related to family history. It all depends on what you've survived.

Good luck.

 

[fatelk]

As far as cleaning guns, my concern is that the solvent will disolve lead and copper from the barrel and take it right into my hands. I will definitely find some good gloves.

Someday I may start casting lead again, after I install a good ventilation system above my bench. I am also in the process of cleaning up my loading bench and garage to keep anything harmfull well away from my kids. Not that I want to be an overprotective parent but I am a little paranoid as of late.
As to what I have survived, let's just say I have something in common with Lance Armstrong. It's no fun I can attest to that, but it's very survivable when caught early.

 

[rayman]

I often wondered about that too. As a kid I played with pellet guns & lead pellets, and sometimes put them in my mouth & bit down on them. I also fish more than I shoot. I handle the lead weights in my tackle box a lot. I'm 40 now and maybe I should get checked.

 

[atomchaser]

It's very hard to say without knowing your exposure and work practices. Good house keeping and common sense go a long way. For someone to develop cancer at a such relatively young age I would suspect a strong genetic component (i.e. it just happened without specific outside influence), but there are lots of schools of thought on that. If you want specific recommendations on personnel protective equipment just ask. Good luck and make sure you keep up with your checkups.

 

[hagar]

Same here, been casting sinkers since I was 8 years old, reloading since I was 18. I had my lead levels tested a couple of years ago, and I was under the average for people in the US. Most of the chemicals I believe won't harm you, but stay away from stuf like gun scrubber, mek, acetone.

 

[kungfuhippie]

Thank God you'll be around for you kids and your health is recovered (even if not 100%)

I don't think lead exposure has been linked to testicular cancer. Could be wrong. Thought lead exposure could lead to birth defects, skin cancer, and thyroid cancer. Anyone here a doctor? But being carful around lead is a good idea lead poisoning is very bad too, makes your hair fall out...
The symptoms or lead poisoning are very similar to the side effects of chemo-therapy

 

[Sharps-shooter]

Lung, brain, stomach, kidney, and colorectal cancers have all been tentatively linked to lead exposure in epidemiological studies. This means that groups of people working with lead have been shown to have higher rates of getting these types of cancers. It doesn't necessarily mean that these are the only types of cancer lead can be involved in, and it doesn't even necessarily rule out the possibility that something other than the lead could have caused the cancer.

Most agencies that evaluate cancer-causing properties of substances, like the EPA, consider lead to be a probable or possible carcinogen.

Based on what we know of how lead works within a cell, it's possible that lead exposure could increase the cancer-causing potential of other substances (such as car exhaust or cigarette smoke) by preventing the cell from repairing damaged DNA.

In addition to any cancer causing properties that it may or may not have, lead is definitely poisonous. It causes damage to the brain and nervous system, among other things.

Lead in its metallic form is the least toxic type of lead. That white crusty stuff on bullets from the civil war (lead oxide) is a bit more toxic. Organic lead compounds, like what they yusta put in paint and gasoline, are the most toxic kind of lead, by far.

In short, lead is poison, be careful with it as you would with any other poison.

This conclude's today's toxicology lesson.

 

[bumm]

Beyond hearing loss, I think that lead exposure is the most dangerous thing we have to deal with. Wash your hands well after shooting and before eating, and if you shoot indoors, make sure it's well ventilated. I became more careful about such things after reading threads in this group.
Last Summer, I had a bunch of my insides removed on account of colon cancer. I'm going to be fine too, and I think the cause was more genetic. Most heavy metal poisoning has diffuse, difficult to identify symptoms, along the lines of depression and various neurological problems. NOT GOOD though. Be careful.
Marty

 

[hso]

Bulk metalic lead like bullets and sinkers don't represent much of a hazard in and of themselves. Proper hand washing before eating/drinking/smoking would prevent ingestion. Fumes from casting are a seperate matter.

To my knowledge, lead has no established relationship to testicular cancer.

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts13.html

How likely is lead to cause cancer?

We have no conclusive proof that lead causes cancer in humans. Kidney tumors have developed in rats and mice that had been given large doses of some kind of lead compounds. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has determined that lead and lead compounds are reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens and the EPA has determined that lead is a probable human carcinogen. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined that inorganic lead is probably carcinogenic to humans and that there is insufficient information to determine whether organic lead compounds will cause cancer in humans.

 

[xsquidgator]

Did you ask your oncologist about this? (I work in cancer care as a medical physicist) My impression was that seminomas and testicular cancer just sort of happen. I've know 2 guys who each developed testicular cancer, and they were both young one in his 20s and the other in early 40s. Neither had the kind of chemical exposure that's concerning you, not that that proves anything but... Glad your therapies went well. The good news about this kind of cancer is that it's generally very treatable and I think it's almost fair to say, "curable".

 

[distra]

Cancer is a complex genetic disease. Most, if not all cancers are a result of genes either being turned on uncontrollably or turned off. Carcinogens can cause DNA damage which if not repaired properly can lead to tumor formation. The good thing is your immune system keeps most of the events in check. It would hard to show a causual effect from your shooting hobby without monitoring lead, arsenic, and organic solvent levels in your system. As for cleaning and reloading, I use nitrile gloves when cleaning my guns because the solvents in gun cleaners solubilize lead, copper, and other materials. Once these nasty molecules are in solution in the cleaner, it is possible they could be absorbed through the skin or breaks in the skin. It is just good gun cleaning hygiene to wear gloves. Bottom line is, it is hard to say whether or not your shooting hobby contributed to the CA. It also depends on where and what type of CA you had. I'm glad you are feeling better in the CA is in remission. (BTW, I'm a scientist.)

 

[distra]

I use gloves during reloading sessions as well. Maybe overkill, but you can not be too careful.

 

[fatelk]

Lots of good info, much appreciated! I did ask the oncologist in passing; he just looked at me funny. Maybe he thought I was joking? Anyway, my wife tells me the same thing; there's no way to know really what caused it and my reloading is unlikely. It's still a good idea to be more careful what I am exposed to no matter what.

What really made me think is that as a teenager many years ago I used to find old discarded car batteries, bust them apart and melt down the lead. My dad got on me pretty bad when he eventually saw what I was doing as old batteries contain worse stuff than just lead!

You all will find my concerns ironic when I tell you what I do for a living; I work in the semiconductor industry as a specialty gas and chemical technician. A big part of my job everyday is handling some of the worst chemicals around; acids, solvents, poison gases, toxic wastes, etc.. The safety training is extensive, PPE and procedures are stringent, and it has made me respect even household chemicals more.

Thanks again for the info, I figured there might be some experts here!