Wife is pregnant... and I reload in our bedroom

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

buckeye8

Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2008
Messages
279
First off, I'm very happy about the wife being pregnant. And I am not one of those people who freak out about lead in general. I mean, I reload in the bedroom, so I guess that much should be obvious. But I think I need to ask about this, just to put my mind at ease.

The situation: We live in a very small two-bedroom apartment. I have an old desk that I use for reloading, and it sits in the corner of our bedroom. My wife never touches the desk, I never deprime brass when she is home (and when I deprime, I do it with a filtering fan beside me), and I always tumble my brass outside on the porch. Brass and bullets stay in containers with lids or ziploc baggies. I wipe things down after use.

Is there anything I need to change (or stop doing) out of respect for my unborn kid? As long as Mom doesn't have lead issues, the child will be fine, correct?

Sorry if this sounds a little paranoid, but I couldn't forgive myself if my kid was born with six eyes due to prenatal lead poisoning.

(And yes, it is awesome being married to a beautiful woman who lets you reload in the bedroom.)
 
Keep it clean, and you'll be fine. Don't let her handle primer residue etc. Keep the tumbler media from getting dry and dusty where it can get airborne.
 
When we were traveling in our motor home I did everything outside on the picnic tables. (The press was mounted on a board that clamped to the table.) Except for measuring the powder because of the wind. You could do the same, just so you'll feel better. I don't think it would hurt doing it inside, but asking her doctor might be the first thing I'd do.
 
Sounds like you are already a bit parinoid... but take that with a grain of salt from a guy who bites lead sinkers to mould them tighter around fishing line.

All kidding aside, sounds like your already very careful about it. I actually let my 4yo daughter "help me" with reloading once in a while, I just make sure I help her scrub her hands when we are done.
 
Does she get maternity leave. You may want to stock up on powder, primers and lead. She can wash up before breastfeeding.
 
Make sure no Cat litter Boxes are indoors...'Toxoplasmosis' et al...those are things to worry about...even Cat's feet can transmit it to hands, then to mouth, etc...
 
Have a serious chat with your doctor(s). He or she should setut your mind at ease at the amount of lead that could be toxic to you, your wife and your unborn baby. I was a chemist, not a physician, but the amount of lead exposure would be at a bare minimum. Frankly I would be more concerned about what's in your drinking water. :)
 
Your apartment sounds just like the one my wife and I shared 30 years ago this December. We never had any children, although we are still happily married (what is happiness?). My reloading bench (such as it was back then) was also in our bedroom!

Honestly, I think you are fine, so long as you are not producing a lot of dust. Much dust and that stage should be done elsewhere.

Unless you are tumbling a lot, I wouldn't think there should be much dust at all! I use an inverted large funnel over my vibratory case tumbler and run a vacuum with the hose hanging from an overhead pipe in my basement and over the small funnel end with the funnel above the top of the open tumbler basin and all the dust goes up the vacuum!

I realize extremely small particles could escape. I suppose you could have a hose for the vacuum discharge going out the window.
 
It's that dust and very fine residue that will cause problems, much more than the lead bullets themselves. Keep it outside and make sure the brass is very clean before being brought in for the final stages. I don't see a problem with priming, charging and seating inside. None of those steps kick up lead laden dust.
 
Unless you shoot her, all will be well. Lead dust is....well, lead; it don't fly around much. And there is precious little lead dust in reloading anyway, including tumblin'.
 
If you reload in the bedroom, how the hell did your wife get pregnant?:)

Sorry - couldn't resist. Just follow your normal hand washing routine like you normally should during reloading. If she handles the powder, primers or bullets (esp lead), make sure she washes up good. If you do handle lead, wash with dish-washing liquid like Cascade - apparently the Phosphorous in the detergent reacts with lead particles and makes cleanup easier and more complete.
 
Don't worry about it. If your situation is like mine, you won't be able to shoot anymore after the baby it born!
 
(And yes, it is awesome being married to a beautiful woman who lets you reload in the bedroom.)
Click to expand...

And to help be sure you have a beautiful baby, then maybe you should consider reloading outside.

Is the joy and money savings of reloading worth the risk and expense of what lead and other associated chemicals can do to a developing fetus?
 
And there is precious little lead dust in reloading anyway, including tumblin'.
Click to expand...

The remark that it's the dust to worry about more than the bullets is correct. The dust and fine residue probably contains lead from the lead styphnate used to make primers.

You are correct that this is the activity to do outdoors.

Don't forget that clothing can be contaminated by lead dust, and you will then track it into the house, sit on sofa cushions, etc.

You might consider wearing coveralls that you change out of and bag. Then shower immediately so whatever remains goes down the drain.

Also, it isn't just prenatal lead poisoning that is the issue. The child will be susceptible to lead poisoning for many years.

Lead poisoning isn't something to mess with even if you're an adult.

My suggestion is to examine the problem as a whole, and develop a routine that protects the whole family from lead exposure...

Edit -

I just dump the tumbled brass into the media separator outside, wearing long Nitrile gloves. After separating, I pour the media back into the tumbler and put the lid on. I then rinse the gloves off outside. This isn't much of a procedure, but it keeps the dust outside and off my hands. I don't have any kids around, and I believe this is OK for me & my wife. This may not isolate dust completely enough if you have kids around. I know lead exposure is cumulative, and the industrial environment is treating lead dust almost like asbestos. There may be a real concern if you reload frequently and there is a constant "track" of dust brought in when you come in from outside. One idea might be to follow your procedure for awhile, vacuum the floor and upholstery and then have someone analyze your vacuum cleaner bag contents for lead. If it comes up negative, you're good.
 
Last edited:
Hey! First off, Congratulations! You are a blessed man.

Now that we have things in proper perspective...

Sounds to me like you are already taking every precaution I could think of, and I don't see any risk left. If you have a sheet or blanket to put over it when you are not reloading, that might help a little more, but really not necessary. Just in case she's the type to tidy up around everywhere, you might caution her against it with your reloading bench. You could also help by not letting it get to the point where she might want to tidy it up (hence the sheet/blanket).

Andy
 
Thanks for everyone's advice so far. I think I'm doing about as well as I can with the circumstances. The only way I can completely stop reloading is if I completely stop shooting as well, because I can't afford factory ammo prices anymore.

To the few of you that advised me to stop reloading... can you give me some evidence that it actually poses a serious risk? I'm not being mouthy with you... I'm just not an expert on this stuff. To my understanding, there is not a serious health risk if basic precautions are taken. Please tell me if I am wrong, and why I am wrong.
 
Mythbusters recently busted a myth about the 'common cold' and how easily your mucus and germs can spread when you're sick. When Adam acted 'normally', everyone was exposed to his germs and mucus. When he made an active attempt to keep to himself, everyone was clean as a whistle.

Are we talking apples to apples here? Hardly. But the point is that if you are actively trying to keep the lead away, you will probably be successful.

I would consult a doctor if I were you and wanted to be 100% sure, but I think you are safe with the measures you are taking. Or you can go outside/wear different clothes/etc as mentioned.
 
Before you know it, you'll have a little rug rat putting everything in it's mouth.
Heaven forbid if he were to swallow a spent primer despite your best precautions.
If it were me, I'd be proactive and move the reloading to an off-site location now.
 
No, I can't enclose the porch. I live in an upstairs 2 bedroom apartment in a big complex. We have 2 bedrooms (ours and the other kid's), a bathroom, a kitchen, a living room, and a porch. Moving stuff is not an option... I am either ok "just being careful", or I need to stop reloading for a year or so. And on my budget, I would be relegated to ".22lr only" if I couldn't reload. I really haven't heard any "evidence" that a well-kept reloading station is much of a health hazard at all. Just vague fears about it, just like I have.

And I'm not worried about the little guy (I hope) once he's born. I now how to handle live humans. Our four year old probably knows more about gun/reloading safety than a lot of folks who post on here! She knows the four rules, the parts of a cartridge, all that. Heck, she watched a guy shoot himself in the foot with a Derringer a few months ago at the supermarket.

This thread is strictly about prenatal lead issues. So far, it sounds like there are two camps: Guys who have handled this stuff for decades and have no fear of it, and guys like me who don't know quite enough to put their minds at ease with the idea.
 
"To my understanding, there is not a serious health risk if basic precautions are taken."

You are perceptive.

Fact is, IF reloading presented any health hazard the feds and their media lackies would be screaming it to the world, as they did about asbestoes, alar, second hand smoke, etc., all with a very thin element of truth but greatly magnified to generate fear to support expanded gov. control of us "little people." They don't have even a thread of truth on any dangers in reloading so ... no government/media Chicken Littles.

Common sense will cover it all, safely. We don't need to tell you not to lick your fingers clean after reloading and not to let the little bugger eat spent primers, do we?
 
People do alot worse than reload...crack whores, illicit drug abusers, teens in denial who seek no prenatal care etc...many have healthy kids.

My point is that - unfortunately - every pregnancy doesn't always result in a good outcome. So why perform something while the baby is most venerable that may cause some guilt later?

Rather than saying would've, could've, should've...you can reflect that you did everything that you could to insure a sucessful pregnancy.
 
I wouldn't sweat it. Run the tumbler outside, just because it will generate some dust with nasties in it. Aside from that, just don't transition from reloading to intimacy without washing your hands, and I think you've nothing to worry about.
 
Stop the reloading, shoot the .22, and lament that you should have been reloading all night instead of....

I don't know how many of the responses thus far have been from individuals with medical credentials to back up their claims or observations but if it was my wife and my unborn I think I could make the sacrifice.

If you feel like gambling, buy a lotto ticket.

YMMV
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

T
  • Locked
Newbie question about primers and lead poisoning
Replies
4
Views
281
ranger335v
R
B
  • Locked
Reloading and Pregnant Women
Replies
16
Views
1K
jenrob
J
R
  • Locked
Reloading area questions
Replies
15
Views
633
45ACPUSER
4
B
  • Locked
Anyone tested for lead around their work area?
Replies
7
Views
349
Dumpster Baby
D
T
  • Locked
wife gave me a 50" space to reload..the results...AND LOOKING FOR SUGGESTIONS
Replies
9
Views
464
TennJed
T
Back
Top