Question about lead exposure

[aj300mag]

Hey All,

I am new to the forum and to shooting.

I purchased my first firearm this week. and went directly to the local indoor range. They had no instructors available so my brother showed me how to work everything and I got to shooting around 50 rounds and dry sweeping the casings.

My question and worry is about lead. I have a decently heavy beard and did not know to wash off before coming home. I was with my 8 month old baby for the rest of that evening with a beard presumably full of lead dust. (and my shoes and jeans probably dropped some dust to the carpets as well).

I am really nervous now about lead exposure for the baby. I know the internet can make a person crazy with panic- I am not worried about myself- but I have read that a small baby may have heightened levels of lead from even a small amount of exposure.

Can anybody with some scientific knowledge of this tell me whether it would be prudent to test the baby's lead levels ?

Thanks!

Back in the mid '80's I suffered from a dose of lead poisoning which I got from shooting in an indoor range...

First off let me say that indoor ranges must comply with stringent OSHA regulations concerning lead exposure. Airflow patterns and air exchange rates are used in the design of indoor ranges. Revolvers are the worst contributors to putting micronized lead particles into the air when shooting lead bullets due to the forcing cone shaving lead and then having the lead blown back into the face of a shooter. Back when I was competing in PPC matches myself and a couple of my friends were heavily involved with putting on handgun training classes where revolvers and shooting lead bullets were exclusively used. We held those classes in a private club range that had poor ventilation. Along with those classes we were also shooting 200~300 rounds a week for practice inside the same range. It was kind of a joke between us, we'd head for a bar after classes to drink some beer to remove the sweet taste (lead) out of our mouths. One of our crew started to show symptoms of excessive lead exposure, we all went in for lead (blood) testing. My test level was 78ppm/per dl of blood. The maximum allowable level for someone who worked with lead industry daily at that time was 35ppm/per dl of blood. The problem with lead poisoning is that everyone is different on how their body reacts to elevated lead levels. Lead can attack you psychologically and/or your kidneys and liver functions. Neither is good. My only symptoms were a black line at the base of my gum line on the front of my teeth and stomach pain.. Luckily I hadn't reached my max toxicity level. Doctor gave me a shot of a drug that had the side effect of flushing the lead out of my blood system and told me revolvers were off limits for at least two years. The other side effects from taking the drug were no fun either. Once lead finds its way into you bone marrow it's there for life.

To the OP, wash your face and hands after leaving the range. It's also a real good idea to wash your close after a firing session and limit contact with your kids until after you change.

 

[Titan700]

Quote from: savagedasher on Yesterday at 10:16 PM
I wouldn't take any other person advice. A simple phone call is all that is needed.
Merry Christmas. Larry

Usually I'd agree- but the knowledge of these things is very limited here.

Lead afects kids 6 years and younger worse than it is on the older ones.
I damn sure would consult my doctor on this mater.
Sweeping in a indoor range can't be good unless it's got great ventilation .

 

[pogson]

I'm certainly no expert on this topic but I have worked with toxic chemicals and radioactive material in labs besides shooting and reloading.

The number one solution is prevention. Just keep the lead out of your body. Simple things like washing hands work but it's even better to wear gloves. Keep a pair of thin flexible gloves reserved for shooting and you will have much less lead on your hands which touch everything. One can obtain lead-free bullets and primers but they are very expensive. Good ventilation does help keep the lead out of your lungs but it's far from a perfect solution. Lead metal tends to stick to everything as dust and no amount of moving air in which you can stand will keep it off surfaces that you might touch or brush against. Lead compounds like corrosion or the oxides on the surface of lead may be more easily absorbed than lead metal itself. Anywhere near the muzzle-blast or the backstop will have high concentrations of lead even with great ventilation. For pistol shooters indoors, coveralls, googles, gloves and a dust-mask make sense. For reloaders there will be some contact with lead in fired cases and exposed lead of bullets. I've taken to washing my cases with detergent and hot water to try to take as much off as possible without creating any dust. I have well-water so I also rinse with distilled water to flush residues from the water. Tumbling cases will definitely accumulate lead in the polishing medium. Hunters probably have little to worry about unless they swallow a bullet. Target-shooters and "practical" shooters are the most at risk from the shear volume of rounds they fire. Shooting is a great activity. Don't ruin it by being careless with firearms, ammunition or wastes.

I hunt on public lands. There is a huge concentration of "range scrap" just dumped into the environment. I collect as much as I can and recycle the lead and brass and plastic. If we all did the same it might help. I also volunteered to help clean up my club-range last spring. It's amazing how much stuff a range produces annually. ISTR it was many hours of work for a dozen volunteers.