Lead Dust

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That's what a good LDC is for. 😄

Years ago I was thinking of making an indoor PB range after doing some research I came to the conclusion that given most (non-expensive) primers spew out lead salts (much worst than lead metal) into the air. It was near impossible for a reasonable cost to make a room both quiet enough and provide safe ventilation to exhaust the fumes.


 
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The interesting thing about lead is once it is in your body it NEVER EVER LEAVES. It is measured in micro grams in your blood....and it does not take much. Breathing it in is really in the top 10 of bad.

IMHO you should treat lead like you treat mercury.....and you don't just fool around with that as well.

There is so much fun to be had with airguns, and yet on the other hand there is just mountains of really really....well just not good stuff. This (IMHO) stupid LDC garbage...lets just call it what it is really, but we don't and I get why we don't want to say that evil word that everyone knows what it is. This is just taking all that (basically lead dust) and catching it all in a nice little package so people can clean it out and be forced to handle it. Where would it go if it was not there....where ever Xlbs of air would blow it off to.

So with the beer virus thing going on and we are all use to masks.....get a good P100 rated mask get gloves and clean this lead trap safely.....in an open area....you want that stuff blowing around your basement, lead dust is very fine people....think about this for a second. Then toss the gloves into a plastic bag you can seal, toss them, then wash up, remove said mask and wash up again....and around your face.

10 micro grams in your blood is the upper limit in adults, about half that in kids.

This is a dirty little secret that no one talks about, and I really think it will come back in about 10-15 years and bite people in the bu**.

Don't fool around with lead people, it is not worth it..
 
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I've read that keeping the velocity under 600fps mitigates the lead dust exposure. I would not shoot in the basement with a high power pcp unless I had a very good ventilation system installed.
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My understanding is that fragmentation starts to occur at speeds above 600 FPS. If so an airgun shot frequently at higher speeds may accumulate lead dust in the barrel, shroud, baffles and/or moderator. I'd be curious to know if just tuning that airgun down below 600 FPS for indoor shooting would be sufficient for minimizing exposure to that previously accumulated lead dust?

Likewise, just switching to lead-free pellets for indoor use may not mean that the previously accumulated lead dust doesn't become airborne.

I've always shot airguns in my garage but since getting into high quality airguns I've found myself shooting from inside of my house and across the length of my garage much more frequently. I have a Leshiy so having a barrel and maybe even a moderator dedicated to lead free pellets and/or sub-600 FPS would not be a big deal. I might just try that.


 
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For some perspective:

I've been shooting hard cast lead bullets for the past 30 years. I've been casting lead bullets for at least 20 years. I've smelted about a ton of lead wheel weights and another six or seven hundred pounds of linotype. I've been handling pure lead airgun pellets for over 40 years and have been shooting firearms for at least that long. I exercise basic personal hygiene and respiratory precautions - by respiratory precautions, I mean standing upwind from a smelting pot or placing a fan by my casting pot to blow the smoke and fumes away from my face. 

Maybe my lead levels are a little elevated - I wouldn't know because I experience none of the symptoms of lead poisoning and thus have no interest in being tested.

I've known a LOT of shooters over the years and never have I heard anyone complain about lead poisoning. Not once.

We owe it to ourselves to be conscientious about our health but, honestly, I think people react a little hysterically when it comes to lead.
 
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For some perspective:

I've been shooting hard cast lead bullets for the past 30 years. I've been casting lead bullets for at least 20 years. I've smelted about a ton of lead wheel weights and another six or seven hundred pounds of linotype. I've been handling pure lead airgun pellets for over 40 years and have been shooting firearms for at least that long. I exercise basic personal hygiene and respiratory precautions - by respiratory precautions, I mean standing upwind from a smelting pot or placing a fan by my casting pot to blow the smoke and fumes away from my face. 

Maybe my lead levels are a little elevated - I wouldn't know because I experience none of the symptoms of lead poisoning and thus have no interest in being tested.

I've known a LOT of shooters over the years and never have I heard anyone complain about lead poisoning. Not once.

We owe it to ourselves to be conscientious about our health but, honestly, I think people react a little hysterically when it comes to lead.

Yep. This. I've never heard of a case of lead poisoning by exposure...by direct entry into flesh, absolutely...in my life. This involves a lot of folks that handle a lotta lead over a lifetime. Much ado about nothing, but that's only my opinion. If lead dust or pellets or whatever bothers you, by all means, glove up, mask up, it's certainly the accepted fashion these days!
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My guess is allot of the dust is graphite and not lead. Try heating it up and see if it melts. I haven't checked it but will soon.
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That is my guess also. Lead is heavy and will not float around in the atmosphere unless it has been incinerated. For it to be ingested, it would need to be eaten or burnt to destruction and the fumes inhaled. I, like many others, stored pellets in my mouth and crimped sinkers with my teeth in my youth. I don't even think that melting lead will get it hot enough to give off toxic fumes. As long as your kids don't eat their dinner of the floor in front of where you shoot, you should be pretty safe. I do however recommend not licking your fingers, and washing your hands after handling the stuff.
 
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I was cleaning my Impact and Wildcat this last weekend and noticed a pretty good build up of lead dust inside the shroud and moderator. It got me thinking if I should really be shooting these guns in my basement if the barrels are spewing lead particles all over the place. Anybody else have this concern?
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That crap you eat thru the drive-thru should be of more concern
 
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For some perspective:

I've been shooting hard cast lead bullets for the past 30 years. I've been casting lead bullets for at least 20 years. I've smelted about a ton of lead wheel weights and another six or seven hundred pounds of linotype. I've been handling pure lead airgun pellets for over 40 years and have been shooting firearms for at least that long. I exercise basic personal hygiene and respiratory precautions - by respiratory precautions, I mean standing upwind from a smelting pot or placing a fan by my casting pot to blow the smoke and fumes away from my face. 

Maybe my lead levels are a little elevated - I wouldn't know because I experience none of the symptoms of lead poisoning and thus have no interest in being tested.

I've known a LOT of shooters over the years and never have I heard anyone complain about lead poisoning. Not once.

We owe it to ourselves to be conscientious about our health but, honestly, I think people react a little hysterically when it comes to lead.
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Have yourself checked then get back to us.

In adults, older adults you might pass off symptoms as well I am just getting old.


 
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Have yourself checked then get back to us.
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Let's say I did get checked and let's say, for the sake of argument, I had high or even extremely high levels of lead in my system. It wouldn't matter a whit to me. I wouldn't change my lifestyle at all; I'd still shoot airguns, I'd continue to cast bullets and I would shoot lead projectiles out of my firearms like it was going out of style.

I know some folks are terrified by the potential for lead exposure. I'm not one of them - but I understand and can even empathize to a certain extent. My advice to those folks is to shoot with a focus on non-lead ammunition or obtain and use the best PPE you can afford.
 
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Although lead is bad for you, I would not be so concerned about exposure from handling the ammo and shooting the guns. Wash your hands, don't put pellets in your mouth and you'll be OK. Neilson runs a fan in his slug facility - not air filtration; he melts lead and fumes are the worst in terms of airborne exposure and he is fine. I believe he has done air monitoring to ensure this.

10 ug/dl is very conservative yet I'm sure nobody who shoots airguns is near that blood lead level. That value is more applicable to children who are in the developmental stage of growth.

Read up on it yourself and come to your own conclusions.

BTW, I deal with occupational lead exposure regularly in my line of work.
 
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