D-Lead heavy metal hand soap

Typically when I do a lot of tuning (handling lead projectiles) I use a nitrile glove to limit my exposure. Recently, during some higher velocity testing into my indoor pellet trap, I noticed a significant amount of lead dust gathering on my bench in between the muzzle and the chronograph. It got me thinking, and I finally decided to purchase some special soap. This stuff is supposed to remove heavy metals from the skin, so I figured... why not!

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Michael, with all that lead dust coming from the muzzle from high speeds ya might want to wear a covid type mask! Winds will move that lead dust everywhere.....
Agreed. While this high power tune appears to be somewhat of an anomaly, I decided to keep the window near the muzzle closed too.
 
Interesting, I looked up the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for D-Lead Hand Soap, because I'm into that kind of thing, and because they often tell the ingredients of the product. If found two MSDSs, one from back in 2011 when the ingredient was a chemical called sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, which is a detergent in the same class as what one might find in dish soap or cheap shampoo.
Chemists help me out here, does the benzene part help it better disperse electron dense stuff like metal dusts?

Anyway, by 2024 they changed the recipe to different chemicals,
a chelator
a detergent
and a little antibacterial disinfectant
all in a goopy salt water carrier.

The chelator sounds like a good idea, something that can bind to metal bits and maybe clump metal dust, like a molecular kitty litter. But I was looking up the tests for lead, how they work, and many of the less expensive and thus more common lead tests, the swabs or wipes, use some chemistry to react with the lead and change color to indicate lead is present.

So my question is, if a chelator binds lead, will it still react with such a lead test kit? If one cleans up using a product with chelator, might one then get a false negative measurement with the test kit, showing no lead even when some is still there, but bound to chelator?
This paper describes the indicator chemical in the pink or purple test kits, Rhodizonate, itself a chelator that changes color when bound to heavy metals, and how that is inhibited by other common chelators
(page 2)

And I don't mean that D-Lead is a bad product, it sounds like a great soap for washing off lead. I got this bug in my brain about chelators and lead tests when I heard about another product, tactical grit or something like that, which is advertised as waterless, just wipe on, rub hands and you're good to go. Their video showed a lead test wipe as being negative for lead after using the product, but without actually rinsing anything off I had to wonder if the lead was really gone or just masked by the product.
 
Typically when I do a lot of tuning (handling lead projectiles) I use a nitrile glove to limit my exposure. Recently, during some higher velocity testing into my indoor pellet trap, I noticed a significant amount of lead dust gathering on my bench in between the muzzle and the chronograph. It got me thinking, and I finally decided to purchase some special soap. This stuff is supposed to remove heavy metals from the skin, so I figured... why not!

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I use these wipes - might be from the same company. Pre-moistened wipes - no washing necessary.

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I use these wipes - might be from the same company. Pre-moistened wipes - no washing necessary.

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I saw these a while back and wondered if they were any good / worth it. Maybe I should invest in both the wipes and the soap just to be safe??!!?
 
Wiping the dust off and washing your hands takes care of 99% of your exposure problem. No special soap needed.

Super fine lead dust on surfaces is very soluble. Cleaning vinegar or dilute acetic acid wipes work on most surfaces.

Inhalation and ingestion of fine particles are the main risk. Wear a mask when shooting indoors and wash your hands with soap and water afterwards.

I've dealt with lead in construction all my life. I've remediated lead radiation booths, lead ceramic tiles, asbestos materials, crime scenes and chemical spills.

Unless the area is severely contaminated or you are crushing lead ceramic tiles into dust a soapy rag and a handwashing is all that's needed. The hazard in in the micron sized particles in the air that you breathe. A mask will be about the best you can do unless you wear a proper cartridge respirator and a tyvek suit.

There are lots of lead test kits. They are generally acetic acid wipes that you use on a surface. There are instant tests and there are tests you send to a lab. There is XRF testing. If you are worried or just wondering about it test it! If you have a problem clean it and then test it again.

There are dozens of materials analysis labs that can help you out. Any construction outfit, engineering or architectural firm can hook you up with someone who can test the air when you are shooting and the surfaces around it. If there is a concern it would be worth the cost to know if you have a problem.