Schwing said:
Powder coating and lead exposure
I wanted to get some opinions/experiences from others who powder coat.
I recently posted that I had high lead issues in the past which is one reason why I started powder coating. I recently had a follow up test and my levels have actually gone up significantly since I started powder coating(21 to 35).
For the most part, I take heavy precautions when casting, loading and shooting so I don't want this to turn into a discussion about that. What I am curious about would be possible avenues of exposure that we might be presented with when powder coating.
For example, I have tumbled bullets in PC multiple times without wearing a mask. Do any of you think it is possible that the PC is abrasive enough to generate fine lead dust when tumbling? Is it possible that the Harbor Freight PC has lead in it? I don't see any disclosures on the bottle but...
Finally, we do know that naked lead bullets do generate a measurable amount of lead vapors when being fired. Is it possible that powder coating doesn't prevent this as much as we believe it does?
I am just curious what others of you think about this. I know my own lead issues are shooting related since none of my family members or co-workers have issues but I can't seem to pinpoint where I am being exposed.
Schwing, my concern over lead exposure is one of many reasons why I requested the assistance of blarby for the "Partnership for powder coating" thread project -
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=753510
I shoot mostly at indoor ranges and in past year, I have shot a lot of lead loads for load development and range practice. When my lead level tested at 8, I took precautions and started wearing 3M respirator with 2091 fillter for lead dust/particles when I processed range brass (sorting by caliber outdoors in open breeze). I know that lead level of 8 may not be considered high for some but after 3 months of wearing the respirator and taking precautions, my lead level increased to 12 which concerned me and alarmed my doctor enough that she asked me to not shoot at indoor ranges for another 3 month while still taking the precautions.
I had my family lead levels tested (they were OK) so my higher blood lead level was not the result of lead exposure from water or other environmental factors around the house or from food (imported food from other countries contain higher levels of lead -no more smoked oyster for me). To really narrow the source of my lead exposure, I voluntarily did not even shoot at outdoor ranges the past 3 months so if my lead level shows a decrease next week when I see my doctor (I already had my blood sample taken last week), I can confirm my lead exposure came mostly from the indoor ranges.
In my post # 237, I mentioned that according to the 4/25/14 CDC report on indoor ranges and elevated blood lead levels, there likely is a link -
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6316a3.htm?s_cid=mm6316a3_w
... this report document serious lead exposure from indoor firing ranges ... BLLs should be kept below 10 µg/dL for all adults, and below 5 µg/dL for children and pregnant women.
The findings in this report also suggest that firing range customers and family members of firing range employees, in addition to employees themselves, can be exposed to hazardous amounts of lead.
... The number of persons with elevated BLLs from firearms use during 2011–2012 highlights the need to increase prevention activities. Airborne and surface lead levels in firing ranges can be greatly reduced by using lead-free bullets, improving ventilation systems, using wet mopping or HEPA vacuuming instead of dry sweeping, and having a written protocol for range maintenance.
So you may "think" you are taking the necessary precautions but to be sure, you need to use lead tests kits to verify where the sources of lead exposure are and really look at where significant amount of lead intake maybe coming from (not necessarily shooting/reloading/casting related).
I went through this exercise and found/concluded:
- Paper mask (N95/N100) offers limited protection and respirator with proper fit is better
- 3M 2091 filter is for lead particle and do not offer protection from vapor -
http://www.natlallergy.com/images/art/3M-2091-P100-Filter-Overview.pdf
- 3M 2097 filter is for lead particle and vapor but offers limited protection from some vapor -
http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/mediawebserver?mwsId=SSSSSuH8gc7nZxtUnx_e5vTSevUqe17zHvTSevTSeSSSSSS--
- You will receive greater lead exposure from inhaled lead dust/vapor than from handling solid forms of lead (example: breathing in lead solder fumes/indoor range lead dust vs reloading with lead bullets)
My future plans include the following:
- I will limit my shooting at indoor ranges
- We are in the process of selling our house to relocate where I will be shooting at outdoor ranges and open spaces with plenty of ventilation
- I will process range brass outdoors (sorting by caliber, dry tumbling with walnut/NuFinish) wearing 3M respirator with 2091 filter
- I will consider wet tumbling brass and evaporating rinse water with plastic sheet liner to be sent to the landfill to not contaminate septic/city sewer system
- If I start casting lead bullets, I will switch to 2097 filter and get a industrial ventilation fan for the casting area
The results from the powder coating thread looks promising enough that I plan to powder coat lead pistol and .300BLK bullets with the consideration that I will try to utilize complete coverage methods. I am not sure if there is enough lead dust exposure concern enough to wear respirator for powder coating activities as I am planning to use dry tumbling method using sealed plastic containers instead of spraying the bullets with electrostatic gun (if I did, I probably wear a respirator).
Perhaps others can comment more on the lead exposure concerns from powder coating (dry tumbling vs sprayer use).