Protection from lead at indoor ranges

[Questor]

I am shooting more at indoor ranges but almost quit because I can often smell a whiff of gun smoke. This smoke contains lead and I will not tolerate it for its toxicity. The ranges I have available to me are modern and equally well (or poorly) ventilated.

I am trying various respirator masks, like half-mask respirator and HEPA N100 dust masks, and I believe I'm on the right track. The problem is that I can't wear the masks without my glasses fogging.

Do you have any tips for me to improve my safety vis a vis lead?

Another tip I have to share is to use GoJo with Pumice, a hand cleaner used by auto mechanics, to clean the hands after a shooting session. The fine lead dust has an affinity for skin and needs to be scrubbed out. Soap isn't enough.

[jrmcdaniel]

First, if you are getting fogging then your mask is not sealing. It is vital for the mask to fit tightly with no leakage of air around the edges. This means no facial hair, in general, as hair is very difficult to seal (divers use petroleum jelly to seal their masks and this could work but is messy and may deteriorate rubber seals).

Apparently, the lead exposure is primarily particulate (not from fumes) and OSHA suggests wearing disposable gloves, Tyvek suit, and a respirator. I suspect that these are the order of importance. Another report said that when testing ranges the commercial ones passed (they maintain the proper ventilation and filter change intervals) while most others failed. NIOSH says to wash hands and face after shooting (and keep hands away from mouth, nose, etc. until washed). Of course, one solution would be to shoot outdoors.

I always wash my hands after handling ammo (pellets or bullets) and, perhaps, should be changing clothes although unless one changes at the range or away from the house, you will be carrying some particulate lead into the home. Particulate lead is not nearly the problem that lead oxides and other water-soluable forms of lead. After reading the above reports, I will add washing my face to my cleanup regimine.

Best,

Joe

[Questor]

Thank you Joe for the good ideas. I think you are right about the facial hair. I've got a full beard and mustache. I've tried a half mask respirator with cannisters and N100 dust masks that are supposed to reduce fogging. I'll work on the sealing problem. I think there may be more to it than sealing. I have used the respirator when working with solvents that stink and I could never smell anything while working with them. I think if there is a sealing problem, it is on exhalation not on inhalation.

By the way, the event that increased my interest in this alarmingly was the result of a friend's lead test. We both shoot bullseye but he has the habit of putting his pencil between his lips after scoring and while putting up his next target. That ingestion was enough to get him into trouble.

Fortunately the test identified the situation before he had any negative health effects. My understanding of the physiology of the problem is that he will excrete the dangerous blood-borne lead in urine. But some lead may have become part of his bones. Lead in bones can be released with ailments like osteoporosis, and the release from that ailment can cause lead poisoning. It has been known to happen with women suffering osteoporosis.

[somewhereinla]

First, if you are getting fogging then your mask is not sealing. It is vital for the mask to fit tightly with no leakage of air around the edges. This means no facial hair, in general, as hair is very difficult to seal (divers use petroleum jelly to seal their masks and this could work but is messy and may deteriorate rubber seals).

Actually, being a diver (I dive every week) with facial hair I can tell you that no divers will ever put Petroleum based product near any rubber parts as it will deteriorate your equipment( which is quite important since this is your life support). I personally don't use anything with my mask as I have a good seal enough but I know some divers that will use wax(non-petroleum wax) to create a better seal. You might also got to a dive shop an buy some anti-fog gel. Another diver's trick is to brush the glass with a tooth brush and toothpaste. The fogging is usually made much worst by the glass coating than new glass usually come with. It can be removed gradually by "brushing" the glass.

[Steve Swartz]

Questor:

There is a lot of misinformation floating around about lead- much of it purposefully spread by vendors selling lead abatement adn lead-free projectiles.

We have seen it here on this forum many times.

Just be carefuyl about where you are sourcing your information from (ps we haven't used lead in pencils since the 1960s; too expensive) and keep your BS meter finely tuned.

It's good to be cautious- lead is indeed toxic- but various l;aboratory studies have already determined where the dangerous exposure does and does not come from. Like "secondhand smoke" and "breast implant silicone" scams [more recently, bogus mesothelioma shake downs], you have to truly "follow the money" on a lot of these things

Steve Swartz

[Steve Swartz]

Oh Sorry I see that you probably implied that the lead dust was settling on the outside of his scoring pencil and then he was ingesting it while scoring- that's more plausible.

Where was he keeping his pencil during actual shooting?

Steve

[jrmcdaniel]

For Steve Swartz -- "lead" pencils have (almost) always been made with graphite (since about 1500 or so according to Wikipedia and never with the metal lead (at least in modern times). The name is only from the "color" or perhaps from the ancient Romans.

Best,

Joe

[Pat McCoy]

Lead problems at indoor ranges come from the gaseous lead from the priming compound. You need to be sure to wash up after shooting, and taking vitamin C as a chelating agent helps (I take 1000 mg a day in two doses).

"Getting in trouble" will take lots of hours of indoor shooting (unless there is very poor air handling), as levels of 40 micrograms/deciliter of blood are where OSHA allows folks to return to work if they are in a lead industry.

As with everything, the government continues to lower the limits they want to see (so they can have more folks employed to "work on the problem"). The lead labs used to show 0-50 as normal range(my 1990 labwork), but in 1992 went to 0-40. Now they break things at 10, 19, 44, and 69.

My levels have spiked when I helped with lead removal or washing down the range, so guess I have to stay away from that in the future. Otherwise I have dropped from 55 to 21 since 1990 (just with the vitamin C).

[Richard H]

Questor have you gotten your lead levels checked? If not it might put your mind at ease. The biggest thing with lead like others have pionted out, is proper hygiene. If you do go the route of respirator, it needs to be properly fit tested, they will do this with a hood and usually either Bitrex or Sacrin. You will need to be clean shaven, industrial hygienist usually wont (none that I know) do fit testing with any facial hair on half face respirators.

[Ed Hall]

Another tip I have to share is to use GoJo with Pumice

Or, might I suggest a product similar to GoJO, but made for lead? - D-Lead Skin Cleaner. I'm not affiliated with the company, but do use their product. A gunsmith friend of mine keeps it stocked. He gets his from Brownell's (stock number 100-002-193). Here are a couple links:

Brownell's product page for D-Lead

Esca Tech's product page for D-Lead

I use the 3M N100 masks and have the fogging issue as well as a slight change in where the glasses sit. Sometimes I move them around until they fog everywhere except the area through which I'm looking at the sighting system. Other times I put in the effort ahead of time to use some anti-fogging cleaner. Sometimes, by readjusting the mask's metal nose clip, provided for this purpose, I am actually able to direct the exhaust properly so it doesn't fog my glasses. Before big matches I use the anti-figging cleaner anyway, but I also don't use the mask for those larger competitions.

Take Care,
Ed Hall
U.S. Air Force Competitive Shooting Teams
Bullseye (and International) CompetitionThings

[TomN]

For parents/youth coaches out there, keep in mind that children (which I will define for this discussion as persons less than 15 years) have a far greater risk from lead exposure than do adults. Very small children (those <2 y.o.) are particularly at risk. (I know, 2-year olds don't typically shoot, but older shooters can bring lead home from the range with them, on their skin, hair & clothing. Be aware of where you go in your range clothes, and shower before playing with the little ones.) Youth <15 should probably limit their time on an indoor firearms range (this does not apply to air rifle ranges) to <2 hours/week, unless the range is certified as lead-safe, and also good hygiene practices when returning from training.

[robf]

i have carried an airgun pellet in my head for the past 15 years...ex army surgeons with 20 years experience said for the amount of hassle it would be to remove it against the risk of it causing problems, based upon their experience of treating lead gunshot wounds that they have not been able to remove all the lead (shotgun) they would leave it in...and did.

there's a lot of scaremongering about lead.

[Steve Swartz]

1. Yes, there is a lot of scaremongering about lead
2. Lead is a toxic heavy metal and can endanger your health if absorbed into your bloodstream and carried into lead-sensitive organs
3. Lead is inert and has a difficult time getting into your bloodstream in the first place:

a. A chunk of lead in your body doesn't "enter your bloodstream"
b. Aerosolized lead, inhaled, can enter your bloodstream
c. Ditto for ingested lead- can enter your bloodstream in some circumstances

Like silicone breast implants, depleted uranium, and exposure to RF radiation (more recently "mercury" [sic] in inoculations), it is very PROFITABLE to get people jazzed up with pseudoscience about health risks. Lawyers in hte US are particularly fond of spooling up a segment of the population ("Dial 1-800-mesothelioma") in order to extort money out of various industries.

What was that about a lie going around the world ten times in the time it takes the truth to get out of bed (or some such)?

Steve Swartz