My dad, a dentist, and my uncle, a radiologist, taught me, at a very impressionable extremely young age, that the proper way to cinch your lead fishing weight to your line is with your front teeth.
Upvote 0
Real life lead poisoning from airgunning
- Thread starter TheShooter (aka Seeker)
- Start date
- Status
I'm not sure that statement is based in reality. It's not good advice and even weaker humor. I suspect it is more about your disagreement with the covid mandates than anything we are discussing here.
There are protocols for removing and working with all types of hazardous materials including lead. If you are shooting in an area with a high lead dust concentration nothing you have mentioned would help much except proper respiratory protection. The best solution would be to clean up the hazard and stop the activities that caused it.
Working men in industry deal with this stuff daily. I realize for many those types of concerns seem far away and insignificant. I can assure you they are not.
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Yes I know. I was Hazmat Certified as a Heavy Equipment Operator. My comment soared over like a "Lead Balloon". Much as expected.
Upvote 0
Every time this topic comes up, it just proves to me common sense ain't as common anymore.
What would you consider a common sense approach to the topic?
Has someone posted something on this topic that you feel lacks common sense? If so what was it?
Upvote 0
Powder coating or High Tech coating liquid powder coat almost eliminate lead dust..on coated lead slugs. .My moderators are much cleaner only running powder coated slugs...one way to minimize lead exposure and get cleaner barrels with less fouling..
Upvote 0
Containing lead dust in the LDC and also cutting down on possible lead dust exposure is another reason why I shoot wet lubed slugs. The silicone oil lube keeps the micro particles sticking to each other and helps to stick them to the inside of the LDC on the end of the barrel.
Upvote 0
Has anyone actually measured lead particle emissions with and without a suppressor? I doubt that a suppresor would reduce lead particle emissions once it became fully contminated or coated internally. Some Pb particles would be trapped inside temporarily, some would be blown out with each shot cycle. Reduction in emission would at best be only temporary. But if there is data backing up one way or the other? It could certainly ease the minds of those shooting indoors if a suppressor could actually reduce Pb emissions effectively long term.
Last edited:
Upvote 0
This makes me wonder why a lot of pellet gun shooters are still alive, including myself. As a youngster in the 60's I put my pellets in my mouth and walked hunting doves for days on end. Many did that.
Upvote 0
Im assuming those pellets were not sub micron size and you didnt inhale them. Thus your radiant health.
Lead dissolved in solution (like lead in the water) is a long term health threat. Putting pellets in your mouth is not a great idea but it's not going to increase lead levels unless you do it daily. Drinking water contaminated with dissolved lead daily would be much worse. Breathing sub micron sized particles would be much worse still.
I honestly don't think lead dust would be a hazard in most shooting conditions. Inside in a small area with poor circulation that is used a lot who knows? The only way to know is to test. It's simple and cheap if it's a concern.
None of us have any idea how much lead we are being exposed to unless we get tested. I've never been worried about shooting a pellet gun but that means exactly $h!t. It could be much worse than we think depending on our individual situation.
Lots of guys don't worry about hazards for lots of reasons. If quantitative tests showed elevated levels of lead on surfaces after regular airgun use I would address the hazard. Most guys would probably just ignore it and I get that.
I live near a spot that is loaded with naturally high lead levels. Lots of birth defects due to lead dust. Many people have problems from long term exposure. There was a giant superfund project to mitigate dust and stop lead from leaching into groundwater. It cost tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.
Many other places in the U.S. have high background exposure to lead and arsenic. It would be unwise to assume any potential exposure is completely harmless. Equally unwise to assume you are not being exposed to lead some other way besides shooting.
It's cumulative. The lead from the pellets you put in your mouth as a kid is building up with the lead you have accumulated over the years. It won't affect you until it does. If your lead levels are high then it would only make sense to limit exposure. Shooting lead pellets in your basement for years could certainly be a potential hazard. You wouldn't know unless you tested for lead on the surfaces.
Last edited:
Upvote 0
If the silencer has any vent holes around I use a duct tape to get rid of them. I remember the lead rings imprinted on the air reservoir when the vent holes were in the shroud.
This is not about life and death as the shooters do not suffer from the acute lead poisoning. It is more about low dose, chronic exposure. What can you expect from that? Many things. E.g. poor short term memory, low mood, depression, lower IQ, gastrointestinal issues and many, many more. It may be hard to connect the dots to determine that your quality of life was lowered because of the chronic lead exposure. The shooting range worker which I mentioned about developed diabetes.
Exactly. Different people have different abilities to cope with heavy metals. They also excrete heavy metals with different efficiency. Some people have more tendency to accumulate.
Upvote 0
This is what we get when we shoot lead projectiles. Bonus points for doing it under ~130 bars of pressure.
Upvote 0
Man up and face reality.
Understanding the hazards and how they behave is not being against the hobby. It’s the exact opposite.
David
Upvote 0
Common sense is a start but it goes deeper than that.Every time this topic comes up, it just proves to me common sense ain't as common anymore.
While I don’t generally eat food with my hands after shooting, I often forget to wipe down my hands before I drive home. The grime on hands builds up in the wheel and gear shift and if I’m shooting a lot, will end up containing significant lead. Then when I hit the drive thru and I snack on piping hot fries …
As for the lead in air thing I suspect some facilities are much better than others. My club has a well designed indoor range with fans and a regular floor cleaning routine. They have de-lead hand soap in the restrooms. But if you shoot in your basement or garage - you need to be extra thoughtful.
And if you’re a reloader, remember priming compound contains lead styphnate, so all of that dust produced by decapping brass is toxic.
Upvote 0
Maybe should use a mask still or forced air respirator or stop shooting. Here is the thing, life is deadly and eventually we all get dead and somehow I think Pb poisoning will not be the end of most of us.
A lead dust collector, LDC, is a joke, it was and is a PC way of attempting to separate air guns from powder burning guns. They are suppressors and that is all they do, suppress muzzle report.
A lead dust collector, LDC, is a joke, it was and is a PC way of attempting to separate air guns from powder burning guns. They are suppressors and that is all they do, suppress muzzle report.
Upvote 0
Very glad to see this topic discussed and people on board with the facts. I made it clear in the barrel cleaning thread that I opposed certain methods of cleaning due to the increased risk of lead exposure. It is a serious concern that all airgunners should be mindful of. Had one guy laughing at my post mentioning the risks involved, some people seem like they already suffer from some lead exposure.
Lead poisoning *most likely* won't kill ya, but it definitely can cause more cognitive impairment than natural aging, increased pain / inflammation in your body, increased hyperactivity (adhd like symptoms) and irritability, and gastrointestinal issues. Ignorance is NOT bliss. You'll be a very miserable person if you expose yourself to certain heavy metals over the course of your life to your own detriment.
So, be mindful when cleaning your barrels and LDC's, use disposable patches if possible. Always start with a wet patch. Cleaning your LDC? Give it a soak. Get things wet first before you go disturbing a collection of fine lead dust, because a wet particle won't go floating around in the air like dry particles. Avoid direct skin contact with the mass collection of lead particulates, your skin is a sponge.
-Matt
Lead poisoning *most likely* won't kill ya, but it definitely can cause more cognitive impairment than natural aging, increased pain / inflammation in your body, increased hyperactivity (adhd like symptoms) and irritability, and gastrointestinal issues. Ignorance is NOT bliss. You'll be a very miserable person if you expose yourself to certain heavy metals over the course of your life to your own detriment.
So, be mindful when cleaning your barrels and LDC's, use disposable patches if possible. Always start with a wet patch. Cleaning your LDC? Give it a soak. Get things wet first before you go disturbing a collection of fine lead dust, because a wet particle won't go floating around in the air like dry particles. Avoid direct skin contact with the mass collection of lead particulates, your skin is a sponge.
-Matt
Upvote 0
Moderators have been coined the name LDC because...they literally do collect a ton of dust due to the design. If you ever ran one with a light colored cloth, that cloth will go grey due to the accumulation of lead.
Heck even inside your shroud, and outside of your barrel itself will have a caked layer of lead.
-Matt
Upvote 0
- Status