I have high lead

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Schwing, like the others said, it's hard to believe what you described would raise lead levels in your blood.

Question, is there any chance of lead exposure at your job? Since your family's blood levels aren't elevated it's not environmental in and around your home but what about your workplace?
 
I started casting basically two years ago about this time maybe a bit earlier. That said however, I have been processing large quantities of brass in two tumblers for years, not to mention the lead fishing weight habit I have while wade fishing.

Anyway last year when I went in for my yearly check up I had them add lead to my blood test. IT came up just under 7. I figured that was about right for all of the cases I had prepped not to mention the multitude of lead I had handled in the previous month or so prior to the testing.

I don't like the fact that I smoke, but I do and figure that had some influence on it. But I also never really bothered with putting the tops on the tumblers either, not to mention dumping them out and getting a face full of dust.

I am headed in again soon for my check up and will find out if adding a few things to my regiment has dropped my level any. I now top up the tumblers and use a shop vac with filter to suck the dust while I am pour them into my sifter. Add to that some disposable gloves, and serious hand washing before any food, drinks, or even a smoke and I should have hopefully dropped that level some. I do know that I still catch myself with a split shot tucked in my cheek while wade fishing, and I still bite down on them to pinch them on the line. Almost as bad as walking around the woods with a cheek full of lead pellets when I was a kid. I guess some habits are just ingrained to the point of not even noticing.

One thing for sure though, at least I managed to get some sort of baseline, even if it was after years of shooting in indoor ranges with crappy ventilation, and sanding off who knows how much lead paint both at home and at work through the years, with no sort of mask what so ever.
 
As discussed at length on another forum and probably here, Lead is a cumulative build up in the body. It takes a lot of exposure to build up a high level, not a one time event, Once in the fat it takes a long to to remove if it even can be,

From what you mentioned in the first post, there has to be something else?

Indoor shooting and tumbling without a cover are big exposure risks. Lead has to be inhaled or ingested. Very little is absorbed through the skin. Your eyes can absorb a lot also.It's in the dust created. Primers have a lot of lead.

Do you smoke? If you have lead on your fingers and then smoke it can get in that way. Smoke also has lead in it,

As Arch suggested how about your line of work?? Any risk there?

Also possible that the test was faulty. Have another one taken. Did they draw blood or just a finger prick test??
 
I hand casted almost a million bullets by hand as well as melted and pigged up tons of wheel weights and never had a problem.
 
I was born in 1938. on long island N.Y. At that time the water pipes in the service from the street was made of lead so they would not rust. and the pipes were galvanized. My younger sister were born and brought up in that house for 15 yrs. before the service line burst and it was replaced with copper. I might be dumb but not stupid and my sis went to college and I followed the trades. Developed bladder cancer a year ago but that was from smoking the doc. said. Surgery a year ago and am clean since then.:D
 
Another possible source of lead would be when you are cleaning your guns. Powder solvents and other cleaning products could be leeching lead into your system when (if) its in contact with your skin, hygiene is key here as well.

Dave,
 
Lead isn't absorbed through the skin and I'm not sure that any heavy metals are. We have yearly lead checks at work. I'm around ammunition all day and my lead levels are normal but I'm careful to wash my hands thoroughly after handling any components.
 
i had mine checked a while back, after i felt i really screwed up on my first smelting session. unprepared would be an understatement. my lungs felt heavy for a week afterward. part of which is me. i have has lung issues since i was 3. i was was relieved to get a result of 5. my doc said i was lucky (its good to have a doc that shoots, smelts and casts also), and helped me with a plan to minimize exposure during smelting. but, it has been 4 or 5 years. thanks for the reminder, i will get it drawn next time i see him. i really wish you well. if you are suseptable to lead poisoning. you may have to switch to plated bullets. and if they ever offer them, lead free primers. i know that is supposed to be our biggest risk. if i could find them, i would pay extra to buy them!
 
I believe that before I got worried about it I would get a retest on it. I've had it happen twice where the first blood test that was done was faulty. Sometimes I think the labs are just churning business.
 
High blood lead and the blood test procedure

It is my understanding that for a correct test result the blood must be taken using a special lead free vial. My last test had to be retaken since the sample was was taken with the wrong vial resulting in a false reading. I'm sure your test was done correctly but it won't hurt to ask since you seem to be following proper protocal.

Cheers,

John
 
Although casting could be a contributing factor, I would be more suspicious of other sources. There have been problems identified in the past of extremely high levels of lead in earthenware dishes and cups, especially those from mexico and china. Also from some older cookware and painted items from china. Another possibility is from the lead in paint if you have done much sanding or scraping.

I've casting my own bullets since the early 1960's and I've never used gloves, masks, etc. I had my lead level checked about 6 months ago and it was "normal" at 5.
 
I really wish I knew. I don't have any ceramic dishes and, as far as I know, I have no other known exposure to lead. I don't work around it and I don't smoke etc. I work in an office behind a computer.

As some of you have suggested, I do believe that I will go for a retest. I know it is a thin hope but it sure would be nice if that first one was just wrong.
It was an actually blood draw, not a finger prick so the chances that it was wrong are very small.

This really has me confused and more than a little upset. I don't believe that the activities I have done could possibly be the entire story. My home was built in the 90s so I doubt it is a factor. I would worry more about my home and land but the rest of my family tests at near zero so that doesn't make a lot of sense either.

The sad truth is that I am not really worried about my health so much as the fact that, since I don't know what I did to get so high, I am uncertain whether I should wait the 3 months without even touching my guns stuff or whether I should just be more diligent and keep going. I have a lot of time, money and emotional investment in the hobby.

I do have to question whether some of you guys who say you have never had a problem have actually been tested. I was talking to some shooting buddies that were saying, basically, the same thing, that they have been shooting, reloading and casting for years without having a problem. When I really pinned them down on it, not a one of them had actually ever had a blood test done. If you haven't, you might want to think about it to be sure.
 
Schwing said:
....I asked my doc to check my lead level. It was 32 which is dangerously high but, luckily, not high enough to need chelation therapy.
Click to expand...

32 is not dangerously high. Blood analysis that indicates a blood lead level below 40 ug/dl (micrograms per one-tenth liter) is considered acceptable per OSHA regulations. Continue what you're doing and retest annually.
 
I have had a blood test done, and after reloading approximately 800,000+ rounds of ammunition since 1963, and casting bullets since about 1968, my blood level was 11 this past year. I cast almost all my bullets for handguns, which is a considerable amount of bullets, in the multiple thousands per year.

I have studied the lead issue from all angles, as I'm a delegate to the Oregon Association of Shooting Ranges, and one of our main issues is lead management, both on ranges and in general. There are several good manuals on lead management available from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), which were written by experts in the field, along with input from the US EPA.

There is a lot of hysteria involved in the lead issue, prompted in large part by California's Proposition 65, which was a vote of the populace, and was not based on any scientific studies, etc. When you sift through the chaff, and actually study the issue, the fear factor is greatly lessened, and proper management of the issue becomes clearer.

On a personal basis, good hygiene is what is required, along with good housekeeping. Elemental lead is not absorbed through the skin. Only oxidized, or vaporized lead can be ingested or inhaled. Solid lead can't be absorbed. If it could, then the bullet fragment imbedded in my body would have raised my blood levels way up there, but it didn't....

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
I went through the same thing with a 32 level years ago. It came from shooting at an indoor range that had accidentally reversed the intake fans behind the line. I got outdoors and it cleared up after about 6 months and I kept shooting the whole time. Just make sure the wind is at your back. I am a bullseye shooter so all I shoot is lead. I will bet that your problem comes from tumbling the lead bullets. I would suggest running some dryer sheets more frequently in your tumbler to clean out some of the garbage and you may want to change it more often. Even if you hadn't tumbled the lead bullets you would have still had the lead residue from the primers in your media.
 
Schwing said:
I really wish I knew. I don't have any ceramic dishes and, as far as I know, I have no other known exposure to lead. I don't work around it and I don't smoke etc. I work in an office behind a computer.

As some of you have suggested, I do believe that I will go for a retest. I know it is a thin hope but it sure would be nice if that first one was just wrong.
It was an actually blood draw, not a finger prick so the chances that it was wrong are very small.

This really has me confused and more than a little upset. I don't believe that the activities I have done could possibly be the entire story. My home was built in the 90s so I doubt it is a factor. I would worry more about my home and land but the rest of my family tests at near zero so that doesn't make a lot of sense either.

The sad truth is that I am not really worried about my health so much as the fact that, since I don't know what I did to get so high, I am uncertain whether I should wait the 3 months without even touching my guns stuff or whether I should just be more diligent and keep going. I have a lot of time, money and emotional investment in the hobby.

I do have to question whether some of you guys who say you have never had a problem have actually been tested. I was talking to some shooting buddies that were saying, basically, the same thing, that they have been shooting, reloading and casting for years without having a problem. When I really pinned them down on it, not a one of them had actually ever had a blood test done. If you haven't, you might want to think about it to be sure.
Click to expand...

Here are some articles from another thread on another forum:

Do you sweep up the range and pick up a lot of brass? Lead in dust is easily inhaled. mostly indoors (but you shoot outdoors)
Do you handle the tumbler media a lot?,like sticking your hand in there to pick out brass?, does your tumbler have a solid (not slotted lid?)

Do you have any signs or symptoms (effects) 30 is boarder line elevated per the article

If you have insurance another blood test is worth the piece of mind IMHO When I did mine it a inexpensive test.

http://www.health.ny.gov/publications/2584/

https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=10031

http://www.utexas.edu/safety/ehs/msds/lead.html

http://www.gun-tests.com/performance/feb97lead.html
 
http://www.gun-tests.com/performance/feb97lead.htm

@rule3:

That link specifically was an interesting read, thank you for posting those. According to this M.D. it is not that uncommon to have elevated lead levels even if you use an outdoor range, especially if it is covered and you spend a lot of time there and there is no wind.

My range is covered, there are lots of days where there is zero wind and I spend about 4-6 hours a week there. I don't really scrounge brass but I have not been that careful about my own. I just pick it up by the handful and chuck it in my range bag until I get home. There is no running water at my range so that stuff stays on my hands for a couple of hours. That is one of the many changes I will be making. I am also, at least until my levels come down, going to be using a respirator while shooting. I have moved all tumbling supplies to an outdoor location and I have purchased lots of latex gloves.

@Otto. After all of the reading I have done, I am finding that you are 100% correct. 32 is not really that high. I know that 0 lead is the goal but it seams like they revise the numbers lower and lower every year to keep people worried about it. Someone at OSHA looks to be trying to stay relevant. When looking at the symptoms of lead poisoning I can't help but get a chuckle out of the symptoms... Fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, depression, headache.... etc. I think those are the symptoms of being an American over the age of 18.

I appreciate all of the advice and support. I mostly just feel like a fool for getting to this level without any real definitive idea as to what I did to cause it. As others have said, it is totally possible that my levels were high for a long time and I just didn't know about it.

I am going to lay low for the 3 months my doctor has requested and then get rechecked. I am taking vitamin C and eating lots of cilantro. I know none of that has been proven but what the heck? I like cilantro:) Then I will start out again with a little better hygiene and caution than I have had in the past.
 
I used to shoot at an indoor range close to our home. NO more as their ventilation is poor. I should probably report them to EPA to make sure they are compliant. Years ago I would shoot there and I always felt like crap afterwards. I just recentely went to another indoor range and I actually had a very pleasant experience with no ill effects.

Sorry to hear of your lead levels.
 
I have question. Do you drink from a well either at home or at work? Think hard because the worst case of metal poisoning I have ever seen came from a polluted well. The guy was a gunsmith and we all thought it was from shooting indoors and cleaning guns ect. Turns out the well at his shop was polluted by a nearby gas station that had been leaking into the water table for years. It took several decades of making coffee with that water for his health to go south.

Just saying......
 
Im no expert in lead exposure. But have cast many thousands of bullets and the thing that I take the most care in and am concerned about is the stuff that I skim off when I flux the melt or when I smelt wheel weights or other range lead. I have read that this contains lead oxide and arsenic and other elements that may be harmful to your health. I also know that some off the best bullet recipes contain arsenic so im not trying alarm anyone. But I have not seen this issue discussed in this particular thread yet.
 
A very small amount of arsenic is present in wheelweights, and is desirable if you're going to water quench the bullets to harden them. Arsenic in very small amounts isn't a problem, only in larger amounts. I know of one community in the Calif. desert that has arsenic in it's water and no dentist has ever been able to make a living there, since it contributes to strong teeth.

Hope this helps.

Fred
 
Schwing said:
http://www.gun-tests.com/performance/feb97lead.htm

@rule3:

That link specifically was an interesting read, thank you for posting those. According to this M.D. it is not that uncommon to have elevated lead levels even if you use an outdoor range, especially if it is covered and you spend a lot of time there and there is no wind.

My range is covered, there are lots of days where there is zero wind and I spend about 4-6 hours a week there. I don't really scrounge brass but I have not been that careful about my own. I just pick it up by the handful and chuck it in my range bag until I get home. There is no running water at my range so that stuff stays on my hands for a couple of hours. That is one of the many changes I will be making. I am also, at least until my levels come down, going to be using a respirator while shooting. I have moved all tumbling supplies to an outdoor location and I have purchased lots of latex gloves.
Click to expand...


Schwing,

My range is outside also, we are required to bring everything, and bring everything home (trash and stuff) We have no water either (ponds with alligators!)

I bring a 1 gal jug of water and a bottle of soft soap pump (any brand). Look at your hands after shooting a revolver especially with lead. They are very dirty. I sweep and pick up my brass (use a dust pan to scoop it) Before I get in the car I WASH my hands, forearms thoroughly and dry with a towel that I change frequently. I also carry a bunch of generic handi wipe towels. The WalMart baby wipes in the round container (lemon scent is nice:D)

I hope you put your range brass in zip locks and not just chuck it in your bag! If not your bag is a EPA Super Fund site!!. If it is washable, wash it out separate from anything else, wash it twice.:eek:

That right there could be part of your problem if you are a nose picker:D Just kidding, got to add some humor to a potentially serious situation
 
Well this is worrisome, when I leave the range which is an indoor one, and that can get smokey at times. (I shot over 250 rounds last time) My hands are usually blackened at this point, and I have stuck my hand in a bucket of brass with water and citric acid for cleaning to stir it up. I have handled range brass until that made my hands dirty.

I guess I will start going to the outdoor range nearby. Are ranges regulated as to ventilation, etc.?

Thanks for posting this, it hadnt even occurred to me, and I feel like an idiot!

Russellc
 
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