Avoiding lead - use gloves - THESE work great

[BigSlick]

Hi guys,

One of my new shooting buddies works for Gould Battery in a plant that makes automotive, truck and marine batteries. He isn't a reloader, so I was scarfing up his brass (like the brass rat I truly am, I didn't miss a single one, you guys would have been proud ). One of the fellows he works with does reload (rifle only) and the subject came up about lead exposure.

This has been a recurring topic on most of the forums I frequent so I thought I would post some interesting info.

We left the range and went back to his house to unload his stuff and his coworker (lives three doors down) dropped by to drool all over us having the chance to shoot a couple of new toys. I got to talking with him about lead, gloves and protection etc..

It seems his coworker had elevated lead level in his blood about four months ago. He works around lead all day and casts his own bullets and fishing weights too. His elevated blood levels were caught by a routine physical at work. The medical people he works with suggested a glove and respirator to use to drastically cut down the exposure to lead. For lower exposure areas, he uses a mask. He worked in an area where the lead plates are mounted in the battery cases. Now he works in a different part of the manufacturing operation, but he has to keep up the extra precautions. It seems that OSHA has a field day at battery plants and the people who work there are pretty judicious about protection.

Lead inhalation is MUCH more dangerous than skin contact, but if it's on your hands and you eat anything, pick your nose, scratch etc, lead absorption/exposure can be increased several fold.

I have bought several types of latex gloves (figured if latex was good enough to be a jimmy hat, reloading would be no problem), but have found that some cleaning chemicals (especially gun scrubber) eats then up and they are far from durable.

He gave me a box of the ones he uses. They are made of nitrile, MUCH heavier than latex cheapos and you can find them at Walgreens drugstore or online.

Nitrile Gloves - get the purple ones

I just put up a batch of 230's and the gloves seemed to hold up great. Good dexterity and good fingertip fit. The pads of each finger are *slightly* textured, to help in the gripping of small things. Overall, they are a ton better than the ones I have used in the past.

When I took them off, I took them outside and hosed them pretty good with Gun Scrubber. They didn't melt like the ones I was using before.

For a mask, to help prevent inhalation, he uses a carbon filter type. The ones he got at work were in a clear bag, so he didn't know which brand they were for sure, but he called the plant (24 hour operation I guess) and spoke to the nurse on duty and she said they were the same as the ones at Walgreens. The ones I found on their site were a little different, but it looks like they are pretty close in specs.

Breathing mask

I didn't get any of these from him since I don't cast my own anymore, but thought it might be useful to those of you who do.

I'm not a chemist, a doctor or anything even remotely related, nor do I play one on the internet.

I just thought this was pertinent info, that may be of use to some of my fellow reloaders.

FWIW,

BigSlick

 

[Crosshair]

I second the Nitrile Gloves. I sell them at work and lots of people buy and use them when handling nasty stuff like that.

 

[pax]

Yep, I'll third that recommendation. We've always used nitrile gloves for gun cleaning and other such chores because they stand up to chemicals much better than latex ones.

pax

 

[The_Antibubba]

Just be aware that when Nitrile tears or holes, it does so differently than latex; you could have several small tears and not notice. Not that it's supercritical with lead, but make sure you wash up thoroughly afterward.

If you're truly concerned, get clothing you wear only for reloading, like an old mechanics' jumpsuit, which you can wear over your other clothes. you can remove it in your reloading area and bag it-that way, you don't bring lead dust into the rest of the house, and you can wash it separately.

 

[g56]

I've been using latex gloves, they work pretty good and I still have a bunch left from back when I sold industrial chemicals. I figured I will go to nitrile when I need to get some more.

When I started cleaning up my new (to me) SKS I was using the latex gloves, they really fell apart when I tried mineral spirits for cosmoline removal!

 

[cracked butt]

Nitrile should hold up to solvents fairly well. They will often get soft and stretch when they are about to fail giving you a bit of warning to change them.

In my reloading room I keep a tube of orange hand cleansing towels. When I'm done reloading or handling brass, I wipe my hands down before leaving my workshop so I don't leave lead residues on door knobs or faucets that can recontaminate me or others later. I use these towels at the shooting range to clean my hands before I get into my truck to drive home.

Out of all the different things I do, shooting, cleaning guns, reloading, casting bullets, I fear cleaning guns the most. Solvents can and will absorb right through your skin, taking whatever is dissolved in them along for the ride.

 

[Selfdfenz]

I have tried both but went back to latex. I like gloves that fit tight and after a while the nitriles seemed to cause the muscles in my hands to feel tired.
I find the latex is tough enough but then I change them often.
Been thinking about a mask.
Excellent thread
S-

 

[Berg]

Thanks a lot for the tip on the gloves.

Out of curiosity, if I don't use cast bullets, how much lead am I exposed to in normal reloading of copper jacketed rifle bullets?

Is there any lead danger from tumbling brass both with a spent primer seated and deprimed brass? I mean specifically from opening the tumbler after 2 hours of tumbling and dumping the lot through a sifter to get the brass cases.

 

[whm1974]

Lead inhalation is MUCH more dangerous than skin contact, but if it's on your hands and you eat anything, pick your nose, scratch etc, lead absorption/exposure can be increased several fold.

I try to avoid picking my nose at the range, and I wash my hands afterwards.

-Bill

 

[P. Plainsman]

Good advice on a painfully relevant topic. I had a significant bout of acute lead poisoning last year. It sucked. Shortness of breath, constipation, abdominal pains, insomnia.

I now think it was caused by a combination of shooting at a poorly ventilated indoor range, and ignorant cleaning practices. I changed both habits and my lead level returned to normal in a few months. Whew.

No one should have to go through that. Please wear gloves when cleaning. Watch those solvent-soaked fouled patches! Please wash your hands, arms, etc., thoroughly after participating in gun stuff.

I try to wear a hat to the range and if I can't, I wash my hair when I get home.

In summary, lead poisoning sucks and is avoidable.

 

[whm1974]

You are lucky. I also wear a hat while shooting. I don't eat or drink anything while I'm reloading.

It is also a good idea to shower after shooting.

-Bill

 

[P. Plainsman]

I was lucky.

Better a sudden sharp scare like that (not long after I took up shooting) than a less drastic set of bad habits that might have taken several years to produce symptoms -- and built up a permanent level of lead in the body during that time.

It's worth having your blood lead level checked at your annual physical just to ensure things are copacetic.

 

[DillHarris]

Very good thread. Just keep in mind that most of those gloves are disposable, aren't really meant for extended use. Another advantage of nitrile gloves is that some people are allergic to latex. It can really irritate your hands. We wear latex at work though (research labaroatory), and they hold up pretty good.

 

[Master Blaster]

I have found vinyl gloves to work real well, and avoids the dreaded latex allergy as well.

 

[Jayman]

I do a lot of my shooting at one of those poorly ventilated indoor ranges. I actually wear a 3M 6000 series half face respirator with P100/MG-V level filtration. The mask and the cartridges were/are cheap insurance.

I need to get back into the habit of wearing gloves for all cleaning. I sometimes do and sometimes don't.

My tumbler sits in the garage. I empty/refill it outdoors only. I only handle cleaned brass indoors, and always wash up afterwards. I only use plated bullets, as well.

At one point my lead count bounced off of 34 (mg/dcl.) It was 14 at last check. Ideally it'd be in the single digits...