Lead Levels

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PattonTime

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Hey , has anyone else had their lead level checked ?
I read an article in a magazine and decided to get mine checked.
I was told by my Dr. and also read in the article that above 10 is not good.
I am not sure what the number means , if it is perhaps parts per million ?
Any ways mine is 23 so it is 2.3 times adult maximum.
I would like any feedback that you can share, am I going to have any symptoms at this level ?
Do any of you have medically tested levels this high or higher, is this very high ?
Someone at my range claims that he knows that a long time range employee is in the
200 plus area !
 
Specifically oriented toward shooters. http://www.corneredcat.com/Safety/lead.aspx

Nice concise summary
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/hwtr/demodebris/pages2/lbloodtest.html said:
BLL measurements show the amount of lead circulating in the blood stream, not the amount of lead stored in the body. BLLs do not show either the current, or cumulative effects of lead on a person's body.

Blood lead levels are reported in micrograms per deciliter (µg/dl), or micrograms per 100 grams (µg/100 g) of whole blood, which is approximately equal to µg/dl.

* The standard elevated blood lead level (BLL) for adults' set by the Center for Disease Control is 25 micrograms per deciliter (25 µg/dl) of whole blood. This level recognizes that every adult has accumulated some lead contamination.
* The level for a child is much lower, currently it is 10 micrograms per deciliter (10 µg/dl) of blood.
Click to expand...

Someone at my range claims that he knows that a long time range employee is in the
200 plus area !
Click to expand...

I hope that's a gross exaggeration since it is a violation of both state and federal law for his employer to let him work where there is any chance for exposure if his BLL levels are anywhere near that high.
 
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I shoot and reload regularly, and have for many years. About a year ago, I had my blood level checked; it was 4.3, less than half the level that's considered excessive.

I have always been concerned about lead poisoning, and have always washed my hands thoroughly after shooting or reloading.
 
Get your level checked annually. If you're at 23, I'd schedule another test in say 3-4 months and in the meantime try to identify and remove the source of your lead exposure. A level of 23 isn't immediately harmful but it's more than you want, and it will go nowhere but up unless you stop taking lead in and give your body a chance to get rid of some of the lead already in you.

I was at 0 when I got back into shooting a few years ago. Then I added reloading, and then bullet casting. Something I did was getting lead into me, as I went up to 17 in one year.

I really got on top of my lead hygiene which until then I'd blown off. Wash hands with warm water and soap after working on guns or ammo. Don't eat or drink in the shop. I also spent $30 and bought a lead-dust respirator which I wear when I'm casting bullets. I don't know if it's necessary or if the respirator helps, but I wanted to get a handle on what was putting lead into me.

4 months later I had dropped to a level of 12, so I think I have a handle on it now. I'd suggest trying these things and don't wait another year to get tested to see if you've fixed the source of your lead exposure.
 
I've been told that most blood level elevation comes from simple poor hygene with regards to lead. Shooting and reloading won't put it into your blood to risky levels if you can stop eating, drinking, rubbing your mouth and eyes, smoking, and otherwise physically placing the lead dust into your body.

Leave the snacks and drinks off the range/reloading bench and wash your hands thoroughly (with COLD water) before you go do any other activity. And don't smoke while you do those things, either. (Of course, if you smoke, what do you care about lead exposure, right?)

If you shoot on an indoor range, triple your caution. If you have kids around, this might even require washing your range clothes separately and leaving your shoes outside. Put the brass tumbler somewhere they can't play with it (or breathe/eat the dust from it), too. They're far more sensitive than adults.

Following those simple rules will do a lot more than wearing a lead dust respirator while you shoot.

-Sam
 
I run pistol matches at a small indoor range. After 2 years, I had my lead checked. It was 19. Indoor shooting is worse than outdoor shooting. Avoid heavy range fumes. Avoid down range dust. Avoid touching metal targets (silouettes, knock down plates, etc). Do not eat/drink/smoke during shooting. Wash hands with soap and cold water (closes pores). Change clothes and shower when you get home.

The limit is 10 for kids and 25 for adults. At 23, you shouldn't have any symptoms, but you are near a concentration that could begin to yield trouble. A concerted effort on your part to avoid fumes and dust will do the trick. One of the initial symptoms of lead poisoning is elevated blood pressure, so keep that in mind.

Your lead level will go back down over time with no further exposure, so just take it seriously, and you won't have any troubles.
 
Indoor lead levels are much more effected if the exposure is CF pistol. The lead is primarily from the primer compound used in the primers and when burned becomes airborn. I have been over safe levels several times but good hygiene will bring it down over a short period. Careful use and handwashing is the best way to handle this problem.
 
Many plants help with chelation too. Cilantro is one example....

Just reducing your exposure, as so many have suggested, is probably the most effective and advisable course right now.

J
 
Shooting is not the only activity that exposes you to lead. Old plumbing, for example. Remember, before the EPA got involved, plumbers used a solder that was 50% lead. That stuff leeches into your water supply.

And as far as bullet casting, etc. Remember, contaminants on your skin's surface still get into your body via osmosis. If I were a bullet caster or if I loaded lead bullets (I use plated, mostly), I'd wear rubber gloves.
 
plumb mania

Watch for posts like this one!

The anti's never rest; poor driven souls, and as they were circumvented in the enviornmental lead scare, now they are turning to health issues.

Government Health control, anyone?
 
I'm more worried about the sudden "accumulation" of lead solids. I know that anywhere from 114gr-to 230gr can be permanently toxic to my system.
 
'Round here, we call that "high speed lead poisoning".

Gets alot of deer in the fall, for some strange reason :)

J
 
IMO most of this is anti-hunting BS !

Short of eating the "wound channel" not much chance of ingesting lead from bullets with exposed lead. Were this a 'problem' it would have surfaced decades ago when much of our sustance derived from shot game.

Shot, IME, tends to stay intact, not fragment, so ingestion requires eating the pellet. Most of us have the good sense to spit it out......

Modern folks have lots of opportunity for 'lead exposure' to the extent defining the difference between 'shot game' and 'environmental' becomes moot. 'Environmental lead' exposure can range from paint to roadside dust to poor sat er supply soldering techniques to dinnerware and a long list of others..... >MW
 
I got tested about 18 months ago and got a 31!
I started wearing a mask (I shoot at an indoor range with mediocre ventilation) and about 4 months later I got a 26. I got tested last month and my level has gone down to 10. This is just from wearing a dust mask from the Home Depot.
Lead takes a bit of time to get out of your system and doesn't necessarily have "symptoms" but may harm your kidneys and other organs over time.
I had been shooting about 5 years about 2 times a week so my exposure before wearing a mask was pretty frequent.
My advice: wear a mask, get tested every 6 months
 
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