Blood lead w00t!

[Fishslayer]

In Feb of 2012 my blood lead level tested at 18 whatevers... 25 was the level where OSHA would get involved in an "incident."

Last week it tested 8 which is in "normal" range. Most people are generally around 2 or 3.

I still shoot indoors but changed...

1. No more bare lead boolits. Plated, jacketed or Bear Creek moly coated.

2. I wash my brass in Lemi Shine before tumbling. The dirty brass always gets handled with surgical gloves. The media lasts a looooong time, too.


I believe ASC has upgraded their ventilation since then but I could be wrong.

[XDRoX]

That's good to hear.
My guess is that 99% of your problem is shooting indoors, so don't get too crazy with the handling part of it. But anyways, good to hear you're in the safe zone again.

[Enfield47]

Very good, glad to hear your levels are back to normal.

[pdq_wizzard]

I shoot mostly bare lead in my handguns, and cast my own.

I shoot out side 99.999% of the time (I have only been in the gunroom once)

4 years ago it was 8, three months ago it was 0.8. I was bad about smoking when I was casting 5 or 6 years ago.

PS I'm in my late 40's and have been casting / shooting for 30 years.

[bigbossman]

I just tested at 11, and got mail from the state. Guess the doctor has to turn in the results? Anyway, I will test again in Dec.....................

[stilly]

Well damn, I was test fitting some powdered lead grilles that I made for that event tonight but they kept falling apart and powdered lead is a PITA to get out of your mought... I had rhinI mean Diamonds that were BlingING STILLY when I bared my teeth... Oh well, I gotta use more silicone adhesive in the mix next time...

Oh yeah, How do they test your blood levels through the mail?

[JDay]

The amount of lead contamination in fired brass is so low I wouldn't worry about it. Shooting cast lead bullets indoors was likely the cause.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk

[gwanghoops]

#1 -- quit shooting indoors (or switch indoor ranges). My lead level was above 20 for over a year until I stopped shooting at my local indoor range. Not all indoor ranges ventilate / filter effectively.

[thorium]

Is a lead test a normal part of a physical or does one need to specifically ask the doctor to include it?

[gwanghoops]

Is a lead test a normal part of a physical or does one need to specifically ask the doctor to include it?

not normal unless you are in an occupation with lead as a hazard.

just ask for it and the doctor will ask why and won't argue about it. two doctors of mine turned out to be shooters and were really interested about the elevated lead levels and where I shot.

[bigbossman]

not normal unless you are in an occupation with lead as a hazard.

just ask for it and the doctor will ask why and won't argue about it. two doctors of mine turned out to be shooters and were really interested about the elevated lead levels and where I shot.

Yeah, you have to ask for it. During a routine yearly physical, you get blood drawn. Your doctor will check several boxes on the form, and you ask him to check the "lead" box. My doctor asked why as a curiosity, and I told him. I presume they are mostly concerned about exposure in the workplace or home environment. Not a lot of people ask for it, so it raises an eyebrow.

After my results came in, he called and told me that I was in the "normal" range with a lead level of 11 micrograms per deciliter.

Later that day he called back and said some state agency was alarmed and notified him that he had to consult with me, ask additional questions about work place and what-not, and re-test in 6-8 months. A few days later, I got mail from the state with all kinds of pamphlets and literature about the hazards of lead poisoning.

For reference (although "normal" is supposed to be 2-3 micrograms/dL):

Normal Results

Adults:

Less than 20 micrograms/dL of lead in the blood

Children:

Less than 10 micrograms/dL of lead in the blood

[DaveInOroValley]

My Dad stopped shooting because his was way off the charts his Doctor was freaked out when he saw his results , if I remember they were 4-5 times what was considered normal.

He was shooting 3-4 times a week at an indoor range as well.

[Leethe4th]

I went from a 12 to a 22 in less than a year. It is from shooting nearly every Saturday in competition running about 225 rounds per match of Bear Creek moly lead thru a BarSto barrel in a G17. Breathing in the 'lead cloud' is where most of it comes from, and if you also do alot of RO'ing, now you breath in everyone elses cloud. As the bullet goes down the barrel the grooves shear off some of the lead, and along with the lead styphenate from the primer, form the cloud. The only other way to get lead in yourself, other than breathing, is to injest it. So if you wash your hands after handling primers it is not an issue. The faster the bullet and the more you shoot, the more the exposure. The cloud does not dissipate very quickly either, especially on windless days.

[lpspinner]

My doctor was ordering a blood test for me and out of curiosity I asked if I could also test for lead.

I came back with a 18 and right away received phone calls and mail from the health department. My doctor was also bombarded with phone calss asking about my lifestyle, where I could've been expose to lead. She basically told them that 18 was below the maximum level and that I requested the test for the heck of it and to stop bothering her.

I'm pretty sure the lab is mandated or something to report that test results.

[Whiterabbit]

I got a call over a level of 6. CA reduced the "freak out" level from 10 to 5. So if you get tested, expect the call. You tell them you're monitoring it, it's not an OSHA issue, and to carry on. They will leave you alone.

But get checked, and being above a 5 does NOT mean you have to stop casting or shooting lead. It just means monitor, improve cleanliness, and carry on casting and shooting lead, the finer material (compared to copper).

The advice about not smoking while casting (or loading) is a good one though...