Loading In A House With Children (Lead Exposure)

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Hey! I have 4 toes on both feet, with a total of 9. :D But it had nothing to do with lead. My stay at the Holiday Inn Express made me an expert on something, I just can't remember what it was! And my initial college major was chemistry, but there weren't any jobs open.

If you only use jacketed bullets, exposure to lead is minimal. The biggest problem with lead, as stated, is ingestion. Inhalation of dust can occur, but in a home reloading setup it is minimal, as you do nothing to create dust. Next is transfer via the mouth, nose and eyes. Keep your fingers out of those places when loading. Wash with hot, soapy water after loading. If you stop to do anything else, wash first. No eating or drinking while loading. Keep the area clean. Kids can help, but they have to adhere to the sanitation rules.
 
HA! Awesome. My wife is seemingly ok with it (at least until I actually start) now. I could use you guys' help a lot around here! Well done
 
Tell her to give you an entire room under lock and key and then there are def no worries. then you only have to worry about having a neat bench for when we want to take pictures. really everything should be fine. i even cast indoors. my reloading room has 2 windows, i open them both and put a box fan in the one in front of my bench sucking air out from the casting pot
 
Potatohead said:
I'm talking to my wife in here about all of this and she says "these guys that are saying it's no problem, they probably have 3 eyes, 2 teeth, and 4 toes on each foot from reloading." You guys are "whole" aren't you? LOL
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Look, my formative years (about two years old) were spent in a NYC (Queens) tenement building. The window sills were mouth height and I chewed on them, lead paint and all. Now here I am 61 years later and am just fine. Well there are the voices and twitch but other than that I am OK. :)

Ron
 
." You guys are "whole" aren't you? LOL
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Well six toes and four eyes aren't normal?? LOL. Lead causes nerve and brain damage.

But I do reload in the bedroom, I just wear surgical gloves when handling bullets and tumbled cases.

You will breath in more lead dust when shooting at a indoor range with poor ventilation than when reloading. I also wear nitrate gloves when cleaning my pistols or rifles. Otherwise you will be good to go.

Jim
 
When the supply chains get back to normal, there are lead-free primers. So you could use those and eliminate a big part of the exposure risk. There will still be lead dust when you decap range-pick-ups and purchased "once fired brass". Not really a problem as long as you know about it and clean up after yourself.

As Jim just said, shooting at an indoor range is where you'll get the most lead exposure, and if you are careless some of that could rub off on the kids. Again, a little hygiene works wonders. ;)
 
jim243 said:
Well six toes and four eyes aren't normal?? LOL. Lead causes nerve and brain damage.

But I do reload in the bedroom, I just wear surgical gloves when handling bullets and tumbled cases.

You will breath in more lead dust when shooting at a indoor range with poor ventilation than when reloading. I also wear nitrate gloves when cleaning my pistols or rifles. Otherwise you will be good to go.

Jim
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Gotcha. Yea I figured it wasn't like a radioactivity thing but it's more fun to lump all those serious side effects into one big pile!
 
I was reloading before my kids were born. They both help reload, shoot, and hunt. My oldest just graduated high school and besides being a teenager, he is a smart kid, did great on his entrance exam for the Marine Corp so no signs of lead issues with him.

Just be sure to keep your area clean and make sure the kids wash their hands in cold soapy water if they come in contact with anything.
 
Lead styphnate in primer dust is one bad substance, and tumbling is the process to isolate and control.

Do you spray paint around the kids? Many VOC's are dangerous without a respirator.

Pesticides used around the home can also be hazardous. As can cleaning products.

My suggestion is to review every chemical in the house with your wife, and agree how you are going to use and store them in a child safe manner.

Then she should see that primer dust is only a small part of the larger problem, rather than a unique danger associated with a hobby which she may not have embraced.
 
The understanding of lead toxicity goes back a long ways: it was recognized in this 1911 Industrial Labor standard.
Bulletin of the Bureau of Labor, Issues 94-96 , pages 166 and 167
http://books.google.com/books?id=8c...EdbNWa60HEk481-PwNww&ci=48,61,857,1514&edge=0

There is a lot of information on lead, lead exposure, if you look. One place is the lead hotline:

http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/nlic.htm

A number of shooters have provided excellent educational material about lead exposure for adults:

Lead Safety
Or we have met the enemy, and he is us.
By: John Cox

http://www.lasc.us/LeadSafety.htm


LEAD POISONING – It can happen to you!
http://www.theppsc.org/Staff_Views/Heider/LeadHazards.htm

If you have access to old American Rifleman magazines, this was an excellent article:

“Don’t Let Lead Poison You” , American Rifleman Nov 1984, pg 39. by Dr George W. Huckaba and Dr George C. Wood.

Lead Poisoning and the Shooter:
http://dfuse.us/lead.html


I am not an expert on children, but I do know that the amount of lead that should be in our bodies is zero. Lead is not a natural nutrient for humans.

I am of the opinion that for adult shooters the greatest exposure to lead comes from breathing the air after shooting cast bullets. The amount of lead in the air A combination of lead from the bullets and lead from the primer is a nasty combination.

This was a very important study and shows just how much lead is in the air after each round of a 158 L bullet in 38 Special:

Reduction of Airborne Lead contamination in indoor ranges
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/b018797.pdf

LeadinAir38Special158grainbullets.jpg


The OSHA standards for lead keep on going down, year by year, but 80 micrograms/cubic meter is the current standard before employers have to take measures. If you notice, one round of 38 Special puts 5600 micrograms in the air. :what:

People who shoot a lot of ammunition in indoor ranges tend to have high lead levels.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=307170


Handloading and reloading Moderator

For the last 4 months I have been shooting a lot and of lead bullets 10k+ in 45acp (lasercast and mastercast bullets) from a covered outdoor range and reloading. On each session, I would shoot around 200 rds. and there would be a lot of smoke around while shooting. After each session, I would wash my hands and face and blow my nose and my muccus is usually stained with some black goo and I also wash my hands after reloading. Just last week I went in for blood test for lead poisoning and today the result came back with abnormal level at 57 mcg/dL (micrograms per deciliter) here's a link for lead poisoning http://mayoclinic.com/health/lead-po...068/DSECTION=1. This was very high and even the local OSHA person called me thinking it was work related until I told him it was from shooting lead bullet and inhaling lead fumes. I notice there are no visible lead fumes when shooting outdoor with no cover (action range for ispc etc.) because a breeze is blowing, but a different story in a covered outdoor range because there was a cloud of smoke everytime I shot lead bullet. I know a few older guys tells me they cast and shoot a lot of lead bullets and they feel ok, but when was the last time they had a blood test for lead? I feel terrible about this and a major let down to my favorite hobby. I'm going to stop using lead bullet and will look into using Rainier or Berry's plated bullet from now on and will take a break from shooting until I recover. I recommend anyone that shoot a lot of lead bullet should go get a blood test.

Update: Just talked to my doctor and he recommend that I stay away from lead and comeback in 2 months for another blood test. If my lead level doesn't drop then I need a treatment call Thelation therapy. This treatment has strong side affect and could cause other complications. I also talked to an OSHA toxicology and he recommended the same path for treatment. Furthermore, I did a research on the internet and found that there were studies where 1000mg of vitamin C taken dialy have shown to reduce lead level significantly, so I'm going to take vitamin C for now. I also wanted to point out that I use the word 'lead poisoning' loosely, but in my case I was not sick or had any symptoms of lead poisoning. I only started shooting lead bullet in June, so this was a case of early detection and not lead poisoning. I think if I was sick, my doctor would of recommend Thelation therapy right away.

I got my 2nd blood test result after 3 months of not shooting and taking 1000mg of vitamin C daily, it went down from 57mcg/dL (Oct.) to 22mcg/dL (Jan.) I am sold on vitamin C and will continue to take it daily. You can buy a bottle at Costco - Kirkland brand 500 tablet 1000mg for $10. Here are links to association between vitamin C and lead:
http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/c...wers.lead.html
http://www.langers.com/PR/Vit_C_redu...od_7_22_99.htm
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH...HC000&c=218582
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocente...inC/index.html
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But for children, you ought to read all the links and do what you can to minimize the amount of lead that gets moved from the bench to the inside of your house.
 
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As someone said, there are items far more potentially dangerous than lead bullets all over the typical American household. Its true that small children like to taste things, but that just means you as the parent must not let them taste your bullets. Aside from that, I'd be more concerned about fumes from kitchen and bathroom cleaning products and such.
 
I started reloading in 1963, and casting bullets in 1968. My kids used to help me with the reloading when they were small and they're now both in their 40's. One is a bank vice president, and the other owns his own business and is prospering, so I would say they were ok with the lead exposure.

To date, I've reloaded approximately 800,000 rounds of ammunition in 31 calibers, with most of it reloaded with cast bullets that I've made myself, or purchased, depending on the time period they were loaded. I still cast bullets weekly and shoot regularly, and my blood levels were in the normal range at my last visit to my doctor last January.

Wash your hands after handling any type of lead, and keep them out of your mouth while reloading. Common hygiene is all that's required.

I've never worn rubber gloves while loading, nor do I wear any type of mask, or dress up in a HazMat suit (except when I was actually working HazMats as the on-scene Incident Commander before I retired). If doing those things floats your boat, by all means dress up anyway you choose.....

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
The dust from cleaning the cases in a tumbler or vibrator will likely be your biggest source of lead dust. Keep things clean and it won't be a problem, wash up after every loading session before doing anything else.
 
I've never worn rubber gloves while loading, nor do I wear any type of mask, or dress up in a HazMat suit (except when I was actually working HazMats as the on-scene Incident Commander before I retired). If doing those things floats your boat, by all means dress up anyway you choose....
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I was kind of set on a tutu, camoflauge knee highs and bowling shoes.....
 
Is their anything one can test their lead levels with? Our Dr?
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When I started handloading (about six years ago now) I started asking my doc to include a lead test in my annual physical.
That was with shooting at an indoor range once to four times per month, collecting/sorting/tumbling (a fair bit of) brass, and loading (exclusively lead bullets)...in the living room.

The first year, my reading was a 4...and that was taking zero precautions, and probably doing everything wrong. To put that into perspective, 0-19 is "normal", 20 or above is worth looking at...but you have to be up around 60 (IIRC) before there is really cause for concern.

Do some searching, and you will find lots more info.

Anyway...I started wearing nitrile gloves while loading (whenever I thought of it)...although I shot even more frequently, still indoors, and still didn't use gloves while sorting or tumbling...although these two activities are arguably the two where one will most likely be exposed to lead dust. I still sort inside and tumble outside...or at least in the garage. I made sure to wash my hands when I am done shooting, loading, tumbling, etc.

Next year I was at a 2. Year after that, I was at a 1...and today I am still at a 1. No change in any of the above habits.

Like someone said...it's not Kryptonite. Take reasonable precautions and don't over-think it.
 
I don't let my kid in the reloading room and change my clothes and shower after matches.
 
Hey, where's Walkalong? I haven't gotten in trouble for being off topic or using bad language or anything lately. Must be on vacation :)
 
As a cable splicer for the local phone company I handled lead or lead covered cables on almost a daily basis.Retired in 97 after 30 years. The company tested all employees such as I on a regular basis.Never came close to the high end of the test, Most of the later years I was, and still do hand load and cast bullets. Not much lead in the blood stream I guess, come to think of it not much in the pencil either.
 
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