TargetTalk

Hi There,

Is there much danger from lead poisoning using air pistols?
I wash my hands after use but are there fine particles in the air that can be inhaled?

Thanks,
Paul

With air pistols and rifles there should be no particulate lead in the air at the firing point, although there may be some at the target depending on the type of trap used. Of course, after handling pellets you should wash your hands, and care should be taken when cleaning up any lead waste on the floor at the target.

The only real hazard from lead with air pistol or rifle is from handling the pellets and cleaning up. Both of these are easily handled with proper hygiene practices. Wash your hands with warm (not hot) running water after shooting and cleaning up. The lead hazard with firearms comes from the lead compounds contained in the primers. People who cast their own bullets are also at higher risk of exposure if the don't take proper protective measures.

Thanks Guys, this article had me a little concerned
http://www.pistolnz.org.nz/ctipart01.asp

Paul

A couple of things in that article, for one he use to put lead pellets in his mouth, he obiously shoots firearms too. No where does it say that he stopped shooting firearms, a possible source for lead from priming compounds, and it doesn't say if he practiced any proper hygene after handling lead pellets. Also lead can be aborbed into tissues and can latter be released so because he had high levels of lead once and thye went down that doesn't mean they will stay down if he stopped treatment.

There is a lot of fear mongering regarding lead, not to say that this article is such, but I think he's come to a conculsion for which the evidence he presents doesn't necessarily support his outcome (he may have other evidence that he hasn't put in his article).

When worried about lead poisioning go pay the $25-$50 and get a test done. Depending on ones age, one could have been exposed to a large number of products that contained lead.

I shoot Air Pistol (6-8hrs per week on the range) and Sport Pistol (2-3 hrs per week) and am 34 yrs old. I recently had a lead test and the results were surprisingly low. The results are compared to acceptable levels for a person that is and isn't exposed to lead in the workplace (the acceptable levels being higher for a person that is exposed to lead in the workplace). I was in the lowest category (less than 10 micrograms per decilitre (ug/dL) of blood) for a person who isn't exposed to lead in the workplace.

I must add that the range I shoot in is adequately ventilated.

Hope this helps.

Cheers
Irene

teh Vogel USA website has a CMP white paper on lead
http://www.vogelusa.com

Thanks, that's one less thing to worry about

Regards,
Paul

Watch the trap area. If your pellets hit metal, they create dust and fragments. I shoot into duct seal that is inside an enclosure that holds the target. Electrical boxes are great there. It is quiet and creates no dust.

regards

I would like to make a few points with regards to this topic, including an elaboration on Bruce's post. First, according to an article I read on the web, the IOC tested Olympic air rifle and air pistol athletes for elevated lead levels. The finding was that the lead levels of the athletes were lower than that of the general population, thus concluding no concern for lead contamination in the context of their shooting habits. With all the pellets these athletes handle over the years one would certainly think we would be fine given simple precautions such as washing hands after shooting and not licking empty pellet containers.

Second, a few thoughts about indoor pellet traps. I started out with one of those champion metal traps upstairs in my house. The sales person I bought my first match air pistol from (not our host) said it would work out fine. Wrong!!! What a mistake. Fine dust accumulated all over the inside of the trap, you could wipe it with a tissue and see it. I had the trap sitting on a piece of masonite to catch paper debris, and it was amazing to see how small, flat, fine lead fragments embedded themselves into the masonite and would not come out when wiped with a tissue. All kinds of small fragments began to accumulate several feet outside the trap in my carpet. I even began to track some fragments into the shower!!!!

Needless to say, I quickly became a convert and bought a 10x10 electrical junction box and stuffed it with 8 pounds of duct seal (extra 2 pounds behind the black of the target). I have the box bolted to the quick release pan head of a Promaster shd tripod (can handle up to 15 lbs.). This is sooo convenient! Just pop the quick release and take the box right off for moving things around. Can pop it right back into the tripod in seconds. The tripod has a gear lift that lets me get the target 55 inches off the ground instantly. Can also tilt box as necessary via pan head. No more fragments using the duct seal, and I a have a quick portable trap.

I cannot say that all metal traps are unsafe indoors. But I certainly think mine was, and my guess is that other metal traps are also unwise to use.

best,

Jon

bruce wrote:With air pistols and rifles there should be no particulate lead in the air at the firing point, although there may be some at the target depending on the type of trap used. .

Actually they can spit quite a bit of lead.

And considering the inadequate ventilation at almost all indoor ranges, where AP and AR are most often shot, I feel this is a real concern.

. . . the lead has to travel 10 meters back to the firing line . . . or the shooter has to travel 10 meters to the trap . . .

Not surprising that the actual empirical evidence finds very little evidence supporting elevated lead levels for high intensiity/long duration shooters.

This thread will keep coming back though, no doubt.

Human nature.

Steve Swartz

Elemental lead by its very nature is heavy and does not travel very far in air, so as long as good hygene practices are followed there is not much problem from any projectile, the problem comes from the lead compounds that are burn't in the primer, these can be inhaled.

Hey folks, I've had elevated lead levels (around 43) before, so let me put your minds at ease. It took weekly shoots in an unventilated indoor range where we were shooting full-power unjacketed lead at steel and dry-sweeping the brass at the same time. I would spend 1 1/2 hours in there, and I would leave with the sweet taste of lead in the back of my throat, had it coating my hands, etc. This along with a busy IPSC schedule and reloading unjacketed bullets.

Once I had my level checked, I quit going to the indoor range but kept shooting outdoor, reloading, etc. My level dropped into the 20s quickly, and I'm guessing it will be close to normal upon my next check.

So, long story short, it takes a LOT of exposure to BAD conditions to get to dangerous levels. Air pistol is just not going to be a problem for any adult, no matter how much you shoot. I can recall my granduncle spent 30 years in the newspaper business, a pot of boiling lead beside his desk for ten hours a day while he cast, handled, and re-smelted the typeface. It never seemed to be a problem with him.

H.