Cleaning lead dust ?

[nmondal]

Hi All,
Today I was cleaning my pellet collector for the target.
There were a lot of pellets collected, which I safely put inside some bag.
But I collected the destroyed pellets using bare hand ( my bad ) - and there were fine dust of lead.
Which I cleaned it with soap water multiple times.
Also Vacuumed with HEPA filtered Vacuum cleaner.
Cleaned hand with soap again. Like 5 times.
Then took a bath - with soap again.
Again cleaned the hand - 2 times.

So my question is - how it gets done? Anything about lead poisoning?

[Rover]

Wash your hands, you filthy animal!

As I see it, the problem is with your pellet trap. Throw it away and use a box of rags. The more you use it, the better it works.

All pellets and dust are completely contained in the center of the box. When you've shot a case or two of pellets, put a garbage bag over it
and throw the whole thing in the trash. No muss, no fuss, no bother.

[m1963]

I get tested yearly, for lead exposure, due to routinely working at an indoor firing range. It has never been a problem, for me or any of the staff under my command. I know of one range officer, from another agency, who tested high in 2012. He stayed off the range for 30 days, and tested normal after that.

We follow some common sense procedures, though-

1- do not lick, or eat it. (This may sound silly, but many people will eat, or drink, while at a range. If you do, you are ingesting any lead particles that were suspended in the air, and then that falls on the food or beverage.)

2- when cleaning the range lead dust will get suspended in the air. Wear an N95 mask even if the range is vented with a circulation system.
(Do not let youngsters (under 18) clean a range. They are the ones most susceptible to health issues, during brain development.)

3- wash your hands after shooting, handling ammo, cleaning up the range.

4- At the end of the day, when you get home, remove and wash all clothing by itself. Take a shower.

These procedures are for centerfire shooting. There is much less chance of suspended lead particles when shooting air guns.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5379568/

[william]

Wash your hands, you filthy animal!

As I see it, the problem is with your pellet trap. Throw it away and use a box of rags. The more you use it, the better it works.

All pellets and dust are completely contained in the center of the box. When you've shot a case or two of pellets, put a garbage bag over it
and throw the whole thing in the trash. No muss, no fuss, no bother.

Never put that kind of material in the trash. If your locality incinerates their trash, the lead will end up in the atmosphere. Like everything else susceptible to Murphy's Law, the lead will settle out in the worst possible places. If the trash goes into a landfill, it's only a matter of time until the lead leaches out and gets into groundwater where you can rest assured people will drink it.

Follow m1963's steps, and you'll be fine. A bit of extra inconvenience, but it's a small price to pay. When I was doing a lot of indoor shooting - air, rimfire, centerfire - I pretty much followed those procedures, got blood-tested once, sometimes twice a year and never had an elevated lead level.

Use common sense, don't be lazy, and you'll be fine.

[Gwhite]

Wash your hands, you filthy animal!

As I see it, the problem is with your pellet trap. Throw it away and use a box of rags. The more you use it, the better it works.

All pellets and dust are completely contained in the center of the box. When you've shot a case or two of pellets, put a garbage bag over it
and throw the whole thing in the trash. No muss, no fuss, no bother.

Find a local bullet caster to take the lead. As William said, don't put it in the trash. There are also lots of small outfits that cast fishing weights that might like it.

[nmondal]

I get tested yearly, for lead exposure, due to routinely working at an indoor firing range. It has never been a problem, for me or any of the staff under my command. I know of one range officer, from another agency, who tested high in 2012. He stayed off the range for 30 days, and tested normal after that.

We follow some common sense procedures, though-

1- do not lick, or eat it. (This may sound silly, but many people will eat, or drink, while at a range. If you do, you are ingesting any lead particles that were suspended in the air, and then that falls on the food or beverage.)

2- when cleaning the range lead dust will get suspended in the air. Wear an N95 mask even if the range is vented with a circulation system.
(Do not let youngsters (under 18) clean a range. They are the ones most susceptible to health issues, during brain development.)

3- wash your hands after shooting, handling ammo, cleaning up the range.

4- At the end of the day, when you get home, remove and wash all clothing by itself. Take a shower.

These procedures are for centerfire shooting. There is much less chance of suspended lead particles when shooting air guns.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5379568/

Thank you all folks! I shoot indoor, inside my own house and room. 10 M Air Pistol.
The target is Electronic so can not throw the pellet trap away. I clean it - vacuum it.
I will put on some rugs. Any more suggestions?

[brent375hh]

I have to give one to Rover.

After many trap designs, I saw the rags suggestion. I built a box 11" cube out of pine, and bonded a 12 gauge steel panel in the back. I added a 1" lip on the front, stuffed it with old bed sheets, with some old jeans behind that, and duct taped a cardboard face over it.
It takes a long time to hit the steel backing. The pellets I do see are quite intact. There does not appear the be any dust on, or around this new trap. When it starts to get full I just take it outside and gently shake the sheet out and reposition it, collect the pellets in an old 3# powder container and make 45 bullets from them.
I assume the success is due to the rags slowing the pellets and having a cushion effect as opposed to the steel plate dead stop. As the build up, they still hit each other but there is still give to the rags backing them up, hence no lead dust.

I will assume that you can easily get rid of your used lead, or even sell it. People sell it on eBay for $1.00 per pound.

[Pat McCoy]

Cleaned hand with soap again. Like 5 times.
Then took a bath - with soap again.
Again cleaned the hand - 2 times.

Good, but probably overkill. If you are very concerned you may want to get some lead removing soap (check online or with a local stained glass shop).

Using a mask is only effective IF it seals properly (which means you need to be clean shaven). I had a large increase in blood lead level after cleaning indoor range while wearing a high quality 3M respirator with the proper cartridge for lead, but it did not seal over my beard. Later found out the leakage is worse than no mask because the air movement is higher velocity and carrying more particulates.

[High Left]

'Rubber Mulch' from a garden supply works well. A bit, a LOT, heavier than rags, but 'capable' of stopping rimfire as well.

Old solution was a piece of carpet hanging in a box. Anything that isn't 'hard' and fragment the projectiles seems like a 'better' idea. Or hang the target on an open frame close to your fence and let them become someone else's problem ;-)

[m1963]

Using a mask is only effective IF it seals properly (which means you need to be clean shaven).

So true! We are fit tested for both N95 and gas masks, every year. Then, a physician has to check off on our medical review.

Good point! Good information!

[Spencer]

Re vacuum cleaners:

Be aware that many vacuum cleaners draw air through the collector (Bag and/or cyclone), then use that air to cool the motor.

It can be VERY spectacular if any lead dust gets onto the motor wiring.

[atomicgale]

1- do not lick, or eat it.

What's the problem?

As kids, we used to eat the lead-based-paint flakes like it was potato chips, obviously, with zero long-term deleterious neurological affects . . . .

[Lenny]

Nobody uses electrician's putty anymore?