# Lead poisoning



## Qucifer (Dec 27, 2010)

Just wonderng if anybody has researched the risks of exposure to lead ball ammo. I have recently started shooting it, and never really thought about the risks. I know its not particularly difficult to get lead poisoning, and my pouches turn grey with lead after a few shots. Anybody have knowledge on the subject?

Thanks
Q


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## flippinout (Jul 16, 2010)

I too want info on this topic. When i was a youth i would carry my airgun ammo between my teeth and lip- man that was stupid!!


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## dragonmaster (Dec 24, 2009)

Ive been stabed in the hand with lead its still there no poisoning yet and its been 30 years


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## jmplsnt (Jan 1, 2010)

I'll wash my hands after handling lead ammunition and ensure good ventilation when casting but other than that I really don't worry about it.


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## Nico (Sep 10, 2010)

For what its worth, and I say this in all honesty..

Really handling lead balls as slingshot ammo is relatively safe and the exaggeration of their toxicity to the user is over done.
The best you can do is wash your hands after shooting with lead and deffinately not rub your eyes and obviously not touch your mouth in anyway ( some people do strange things).

I had my load of lead poisoning as a kid when Mama and Abuelita (grandmother) did not know that the paint used for the old style Mexican clay pots was laden with lead. We ate plenty of pots of Frijoles from these earthen vessels in the 1980s until we knew better in the 1990s.

I'm still alive and well and I dont fear the toxicity of lead balls, I just shoot stones for the sake of keeping with the old school but down the road this forum will also see some lead ball kills from me in addition to my stone kills.

Shoot lead it wont hurt you..


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## BaneofSmallGame (Sep 22, 2010)

I don't shoot lead very often, but that is not really why....

All I have to say to that question is you should stop and think about your daily life in this modern world.....

Think about all of the chemicals, exhaust, general toxins, etc. we are exposed to and affected by indirectly and directly every single day. It is almost unavoidable... I could be specific, but I'm posting quickly and I'll leave that thinking up to you

A little lead residue touching you here and there won't do much at all, as long as you don't plan on eating what you plan on buying or molding!!









Cheers - John


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## dgui (Jan 12, 2010)

Everythings Killing us and what does not kill you will surely make you weaker. But if your determined to handle lead you must also eat the foods that will remove it from your body. As long as your body is able to detoxify the heavy metals you will not succombe to leads damaging effects. I think dried beans, slow cooked apples is on the list and chlorella and also chlorophyll but you must keep it moving out of the body.


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## HOE (Nov 13, 2010)

Just be sure to wash your hands and don't touch your eyes or mouth like someone said earlier. The real harmful thing about lead is when casting, the fumes is truly dangerous, I don't dare to do that.

I feel safer to shoot lead than steel balls due to richochet.


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## pelleteer (Dec 19, 2009)

jmplsnt said:


> I'll wash my hands after handling lead ammunition and ensure good ventilation when casting but other than that I really don't worry about it.


Ditto.


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## Flatband (Dec 18, 2009)

You want to know stupid? I did a lot of Bassfishing especially when I was a lot younger. I used to keep the lead worm weights (slip sinkers) in my mouth sometimes chewing them as you would a piece of gum!







Maybe that's why I am as sick in the head about slingshots as I am- what's everyone else's excuse for their slingshot illness ????? Flatband


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## ZDP-189 (Mar 14, 2010)

My understanding is that occasional low levels of lead exposure are not particularly toxic to adults, such as they would encounter in the shooting or smelting of lead bullets, as long as they wash their hands after use. I also understand scavenging animals can build up toxic levels of exposure from regularly eating animals shot with lead pellets, so where there are scavenger species are threatened or endangered, lead shot is to be avoided. I am not expert and you should read up about lead toxicity and the laws pertaining to to use of lead shot in your area.


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## Pro-Shot (UK) Catapults (Apr 21, 2010)

Jusy my 2 bobs werth you should all way have good hygiene when casting or handling lead, wash your hands after you have had contact with your lead shot trust me if you get any amount of lead poisoning you will know about it.It goes to say not every one will react to it in the same way,As a young man working in the foundry industry i was making ship ballast weights and free hand casting them ,back in the 1970s our H & S was not that good in the UK so firms could get away with all sorts of short cuts most of wich were H&S related.For my part i was off work for over 2 week with lead related problems from casting the mould in a room with very pore air ventilation.The casting of lead is not with out danger but that goes not just for lead but all metal both ferrous and none ferrous alike.If you stick to the rules of H & S youwill help to reduce your chances of lead related poisoning.With regards to self cast lead shot .our new lead mould that we will be making for sale soon will come complete with a comprehensive full and in detail H &S safety data sheet.


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## dgui (Jan 12, 2010)

Lead for Hunting Fowl in shotgun shells is not allowed due to the effects of water Fowl eating the lead pellets. Only steel shot is allowed.


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## dgui (Jan 12, 2010)

Flatband said:


> You want to know stupid? I did a lot of Bassfishing especially when I was a lot younger. I used to keep the lead worm weights (slip sinkers) in my mouth sometimes chewing them as you would a piece of gum!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You need a lead test and just lick the strip or maybe pee on it, well after thinking about it I dont know which now . But you survived it, you beat the odds just to grow up and have "SlingShot on the Brain ". Yea!!!


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## ZDP-189 (Mar 14, 2010)

BTW, lead is nothing compared to zinc. I nearly killed myself welding up some galvanised pipes.


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## Qucifer (Dec 27, 2010)

Ive gotten metal fume fever welding galvanized steel. Drink alot of milk and you pee it all out. Zinc makes you feel like crap but its temporary. Lead is a concern because it is more difficult to excrete.

Q


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## ONESHOT68 (Dec 28, 2010)

Nah.......I'm hardcore............I eat 2lb of lead a day and S**t out my own ammo...lol..........


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## ONESHOT68 (Dec 28, 2010)

If you was to bake rabbit droppings to dry them out.........would they be any good for ammo?.....









Imagine..........Rabbit killed by own s**t.............


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## flippinout (Jul 16, 2010)

Flatband said:


> You want to know stupid? I did a lot of Bassfishing especially when I was a lot younger. I used to keep the lead worm weights (slip sinkers) in my mouth sometimes chewing them as you would a piece of gum!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I did the same with airgun pellets. The etiology of our sickness is rising to the surface


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## flippinout (Jul 16, 2010)

ONESHOT68 said:


> If you was to bake rabbit droppings to dry them out.........would they be any good for ammo?.....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


When i was a kid, i knocked a squirrel out of a tree with an acorn from my wrist rocket. Almost like death by poop, just undigested. BTW, it didn't phase the squirrel.


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## John McKean (Dec 24, 2010)

I've poured leadhead jigs for nearly 40 ears ,and fish with these lead lures nearly every day -no health problems at all. Some lead jig molders that I know seem to live to ripe old ages (or maybe they just LOOK real old!). But ,seriously, I had a relative that was a prominent MIT trained chemist, and have been assured that its virtually impossible for solid lead to cause any toxic problems to a human body. Now, that having been said, I have a really good friend from Hawaii that has for years sold "lead free" jigheads at a great price & no shipping charge. It seems his round "alloy" (slightly lighter than lead ,but just as hard hitting, made out of a bismuth/tin mix) would be terrific slingshot ammo(maybe even faster in flight), as would more ergo shapes from his other (hookless!) jig heads - www.leadfreejigheads.com


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## Bill Hays (Aug 9, 2010)

Or if you're truly worried about lead poisoning.... buy the nickel plated stuff from ballisticproducts.com


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## Jaybird (Dec 20, 2009)

When I was a kid we would put lead slingshot pellets in our mouth so you could get a fast second shot.I don't think it hurt me any.On second thought maybe it did,I'm still playing with slingshots?


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## Qucifer (Dec 27, 2010)

This is from the web

"Symptoms of lead poisoning can include abdominal pain, muscular weakness and fatigue, constipation, and headache. Severe exposure can cause nervous system disorders, high blood pressure, and even death."

"Lead poisoning can be treated if treatment begins before too much damage has occurred.
Lead is removed through a process called chelation, using drugs to bind to the metal in the bloodstream, flushing it out in the urine. Medications include calcium-disodium (EDTA), which is usually administered intravenously over several days in a hospital, and succimer (DMSA), which does not require hospitalization. Succimer (Chemet) has become the preferred chelating agent for less severe cases because it can be given by mouth."


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## Jaybird (Dec 20, 2009)

A side effect of chelation is,it will remove the plaque from your arteries for most people.Mainstream doctors will not tell you this.It beats the surgeons out of a big hip pocket operation.A celation job costs between $3000 and $4000 and will work for most people.If it works for you it is better than by-pass surgery.It cleans all your arteries out.


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## dgui (Jan 12, 2010)

JayB you got it right it's all about the cheddar, fat wallet, the bling, staying sick puts money in someones pockets.

I would be elated if I were chelated.

Give me chelation, don't give me a doctor.


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## Dan the Slingshot Man (Nov 21, 2010)

Just wash your hand but does any one know what will happen if you shoot your game with lead and eat the game. Wouldn't the lead spread through the blood streem of the game.


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## bunnybuster (Dec 26, 2009)

I have fed lead to many game animals.
What I have determined is that lead is very toxic to them.
Mostly they expire quite rapidly, due to organ trauma, and blood loss


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## lonewolf (Feb 5, 2011)

I am a second generation signpainter, The lead wasn't taken out of my brand of signpaint utill sometime in 1997, I cast lead and have swallowed lead sinkers
suppose the sinkers took care of themseves but mustard and green vegetables along with plenty of water is how I was taught to detox, Still steady as a rock.
Now you got me to thinking, Guess I might take my flip and bag some chickweed for supper.

I will wipe a thin layer of liquid soap on my hands and let it dry before handling lead and was when done.
Lead pot is always well vented and don't breath in any fumes.

Agreeing with Bunnybuster, that is the worst kind of lead poisoning I've seen


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## All Buns Glazing (Apr 22, 2012)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16832226

interesting and based on research.

* RESULTS:*

We confirm that PbO can pass through the skin with a median penetration of 2.9 ng/cm (25-75th percentiles 0.35-6). The cleaning procedure using Ivory Liquid soap significantly increased skin penetration with a median value of 23.6 ng/cm (25-75th percentiles 12-47.1; Mann-Whitney U test, P = 0.0002), whereas the new experimental cleanser only marginally increased penetration (7.1 ng/cm).
* CONCLUSIONS:*

Our results indicate that it is necessary to prevent skin contamination from occurring because a short contact can increase skin content and penetration even if quickly followed by washing. This study demonstrated that PbO powder can pass through the skin and that skin decontamination done after 30 minutes of exposure did not decrease skin absorption occurring over 24 hours and stresses the need to prevent skin contamination when using toxic substances.


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## Viper010 (Apr 21, 2012)

maybe rub a little vaseline into ur hands before handling lead shot? i dont worry about it too much though, just keep my grey fingers away from my face n food.

defenitely make sure smelting area is well ventilated though, the fumes are really bad for you


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## Northerner (Nov 9, 2010)

I guess you could clear coat your lead ammo with varnish or paint. I wonder if that would help.

Cheers,
Northerner


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## Incomudro (Jan 12, 2012)

As a teenager, I often put "splitshot" weights between my teeth to open them and to crimp them on the line.

My friends and I would also walk along the curb to find lead wheel balancing weights that fell off of cars.
It was easy to collect enough to melt down for our lead ammo mold.
We melted that lead down in a cast iron saucepan down in the shop in my friends basement.
No ventilation.

Sometimes I worry now, LOL but that was some 30 years ago.


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## LittleBear (Mar 24, 2012)

Ah so much good, so much bad, so much taken out of context, and no way to fit volumes if not whole books worth of info into a short paragraph.

Examples:
Chewing fishing weights? bad ides yes, but just like chewing iron nails won't significantly increase you bloods iron level it's not quite as bad as it sounds, it's all about digestible lead you know the stuff that doesn't just come out the other end. So when my grandfather spent 12 hours a day 7 days a week with fishing weights in his mouth he may of gotten mild constipation and irritability from lead poisoning, the reproductive system issues where more than likely not so much doe to the fishing weights but the amount of time he spent fishing, it is however a pretty safe bet that the heart attack came as early as it did from smoking.

Can lead be absorbed into your blood stream directly through the lungs, eyes, skin? Sure it's possible, but so is getting sick by eating apple seeds possible but you would have to eat a whole heaping lot of of seeds, it's a 99.99% distractor possible but distracts from the real issue DIGESTION! If by some turn of ill fate or stupidity you are getting a measurable amount of lead in you system through your lungs, eyes, or skin which are very good at keeping lead out there is a lot more "bad" going on and much more is going down your throat and into your stomach. Unless you are washing your hands or child daily in tetraethyl lead it's like worrying about a bee sting while standing in a pit full of pissed off cobras, your priorities need work.

Bullet molding reality? Lead as a metal is hard to digest, and melting lead below 700F puts almost no detectable traces of lead into the atmosphere as dust, fumes, or vapor, hotter than that as the temp goes up so does the hazard and the process (cutting, mold breaking, etc.) does create lead dust so wash your hands, cleanup after yourself and don't do it in the kitchen. If you are worried, keep the temp low, don't smoke, eat, chew gum, etc. while working with the lead, wash your hands before you do, keep your work area clean, and eat your veggies.

But what about my pregnant wife or younger children? Wow the right question! Practically speaking we want to keep them away from inadvertently digesting any dust you may create, as well as hundred of other potential lead sources out there. Why? Because even these days it's harder for some people to have healthy children than you would think, most of us want the best possible environment for our children, and like most things in life potential hazards with simple easy fixes like washing our hands, cleaning up, and not letting little little junior chew on the sleeve of our work clothes aren't really issues until you personally win the tough-luck-lottery, that does buy the way require a stupidity ticket to win.

In our world there are few if any short easy 100% all possibilities covered good answers, but oh so many short easy questions.

Cheers


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## All Buns Glazing (Apr 22, 2012)

I've since researched this for a few hours, and as paranoid as I get about this kind of stuff, I'm currently pretty confident that solid lead can't easily be absorbed into the skin, and washing your hands afterwards is best to avoid cross contamination with stuff like foods, or if you suck your thumb etc









It appears to be pretty safe - just don't eat it, and certainly keep it away from kids 6 years and under.


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## Rapier (May 28, 2011)

I once knew a Lil bunny... He got instant lead poisoning, died and then I cooked him!
Seriously though whilst lead ain't great to ingest. (Hat makers often went mad and died from working with lead all day) breathing in wood dust is worse. Everything's poisness if you breath, eat or otherwise ingest enough if it. Even beer! Or so the wowsers recon.


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