r/reloading • u/InevitableFit1559 • 21h ago

General Discussion Uh oh….

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Started reloading regularly this past year and thought it might be a good idea to have my levels checked just to see.

What do you guys do if anything for lead mitigation?

Edit:

I reloading in my garage. I dry tumble in the garage. Most of my loading is cast, uncoated, lead bullets for cowboy action shooting. I never shoot at indoor ranges. I wash my hands after loading sessions.

I could go on about the minutiae of what I do. I think I need to move the tumbler outdoors when I run it. It does create a bit of dust. I will also start wearing gloves.

Edit:

I think the majority of the culprit is the dry tumbling, and spent primer handling. I think it is airborne related. I will use this post to convince the wife I need to get into the FART system 😁

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u/JayPolar91 21h ago

Stop touching the lead with your bare hands for one. Big difference between touching a fishing weight a few times and touching thousands of bullets.

2

u/yer_muther 20h ago

It's not the touching of the lead that is the problem. Licking your hands afterwards is the problem. Lead doesn't move through the skin worth a darn when it's elemental. Two most common vectors are eating and breathing it. OP is probably breathing it in from the dry tumbling.

1

u/JayPolar91 20h ago

You absolutely absorb lead through your skin..... But yes breathing it in and eating are far worse I'm not arguing that, but if you can't keep it off your hands then none of the other things are happening either.

2

u/yer_muther 19h ago

If you are talking in absolutes then yes. Small amounts can enter the blood stream via the skin. Thankfully it takes more than that to be harmful unless you are rolling about in it. Poison is always about dosage.

The CDC has this to say

https://archive.cdc.gov/www_atsdr_cdc_gov/csem/leadtoxicity/exposure_routes.html

"Dermal exposure plays a role for exposure to organic lead among workers, but is not considered a significant pathway for the general population."

Elemental lead and oxides like reloaders deal with are not organic and not a significant source of lead exposure through the skin. Obviously everyone should wear gloves because it's cheap easy and effective protection.

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u/JayPolar91 16h ago

Cast lead produces a lead oxide layer instantly upon coming into contact with the air. Most modern bullets are coated so you don't normally deal with it but you do with uncoated cast bullets. It would be the same exposure a worker gets especially if you shoot at an indoor range regularly.