Lead poisoning is a concern of many avid shooters. Anyone who frequents the range should be aware of the risks that their favorite hobby has, and while being shot and losing your hearing are things that shooters often think about, for whatever reason the danger of lead contamination seems to go overlooked, and while abdominal pain, headaches and irritability may be monthly par-for-the-course for a certain half of the population, I don’t think any of us are interested in coma, seizures or death.
Not as tasty as it looks
There are a lot of things shooters can do to avoid lead contamination, but what it really boils down to is leaving the lead at the range. There’s a fairly simple routine that can be followed to avoid bringing lead home with you:
1) Don’t eat or drink while you’re shooting
Seem obvious? A lot of people seem to struggle with this one. There is lead in the air and on your hands while your shooting, and lead is not part of your perfectly balanced breakfast. Sure, I can be seen munching on a Cliff bar during matches but you’ll see me standing back from the firing line and not actually touching the food at any point. Your water bottles should stay away from where the shooting is and you really don’t want to be touching food right after shooting.
2) Clean up at the range
Washing your hands and face with lead specific soap or, lacking that, just normal soap and cold water is going to keep the lead off of surfaces it shouldn’t be on – like your food, your car and the dog that you pet when you get home.
In the event of being stuck at a sink-free range, D-Lead wipes are about the best thing ever to have so you can clean up before eating or getting in the car
3) Take off your shoes
Tracking lead into the house on the bottom of your shoes is especially hazardous to children or pets. The easiest thing to do is to have range-specific shoes that you leave in the car or at the door. When I was working at the range and didn’t feel like wearing range-specific shoes I would use D-Lead wipes to clean off my shoes before heading home.
4) Do your laundry
Seriously. Wash your clothes. They’re covered in lead. Just throw them in the washer right when you get home.
5) Take a shower
Take a shower before you go to bed or lay on the couch watching TV, that way your not rolling lead all over your home.
Seem simple? It is. A lot of people don’t think about it, though. I know there are more things that can be done to help, but this is a simple routine that would keep your risk of lead poisoning low.
Also, if you shoot more than a couple times a week get your blood lead level checked on a regular basis so that you can take action if it starts to rise.
Gosh, I never even thought about that. Thanks for the heads-up.
Great article. I always have a water bottle (you see better if you’re hydrated), and always make sure the drinking part is covered when I’m not actually drinking.
Those D-Lead wipes look really handy, too!
Yes it’s important and the residue from powder, copper and lead combined when firing is not good – so wash your hands. But on the other hand don’t make this into the monster that the anti gun bunnies have. It’s just like working with any other industrial byproducts…common sense and wash your hands when done. You receive more harmful gases sitting in traffic then you do at the range. Our forefathers didn’t have lead problems,our troops don’t have lead problems. Unless you consume it daily, like little kids did when they made lead based paint or lead pipes, you won’t have any significant or minor health problems. VA Tech did an excellent study about 7 years ago on lead and the shooting community. It’s a good read, bad read for the anti gun people. I will try and find the link and post it.
If you’re shooting at an indoor range, ask about their air filter system and how often they change filters. We had a local range (now closed down) that just flat out didn’t change their filters (learned that from an employee) and at least one shooter had high lead levels in his blood.
We’ve had local anti’s try to pull the whole lead issue on our club’s ranges. We paid for the indoor range testing and found it was actually safer than the surrounding area. As for the outdoor range…well, it’s built on what used to be an old car dump and is prone to various types of natural gas seeping to the surface, so I can only imagine what would happen with long-term exposure to ANYone in that area, much less shooters.
Question, though. What “lead specific soap” is out there? Last I checked, the studies I saw indicated that the specialty soaps and wipes don’t perform all that much better than normal soap and wipes.
ESCATech makes D-Lead wipes. I use the detergent for my clothing too … I’ve found that their shampoo isn’t too bad (figure my hair soaks up a bit of lead)…
Really, just knowing about the problem and washing up helps the issue more than anything.
My levels have dropped from ~35 to 15 and I do the majority of my shooting indoors…
I’m a little paranoid about lead exposure (I like to call it careful) and I follow all of the above and a little more. Another thing to look at is cell phones and other electronics. Many people video their friends or themselves shooting, many with a smart phone. Even if you answer your phone or send a text while shooting it’s time to give that phone or camera a D-lead wipe down (or baby wipes if you don’t believe in D-lead). Great post and I wish more media sources covered this aspect of safety at the range.
Excellent article, great reminder that safety goes beyond the firearm.
All great suggestions. I would recommend chlorophyll, as it absorbs toxins in thr gut, before they’re absorbed by the body. It’s cheap and has a host of other benefits. Besides, if it was good enough for Tony Stark…
Don’t some modern doctors speculate that Annie Oakley may have died from complications due to lead poisoning? For a casual shooter, this may not be a big issue. For someone who shoots guns for a living or at least daily, every little bit of exposure can add up over time and become a real problem. It’s not like eating with contaminated hands one time will kill you. Do it often enough and you may have problems. This is because the body is unable to shed many heavy metals from the body so any exposure gets added to previous exposures.
Good article, good suggestions
1 more = try ‘lead free’ ammo, Lawman tmj from Speer
FNEB rounds from Remington, PMC Silver e-range ammo
they are clean burning and have encapsulated bullets to reduce lead exposure.
Interesting!
I wonder just how high a risk shooting actually causes and what the figures for those requiring treatment are (I can’t find a reference anywhere, in fact all I can find related have been scare stories by anti-shooters, is this relevant?). I think the risk is less than feared, but certainly not inconsequential.
I’m in the UK (I used to work in the National Poisons Unit) and most of the figures for here (shooting obviously excluded) are for those in industrial and construction work which are required to be monitored. In other words they are persons who work eight, ten or twelve hours in an environment very high in lead (in solid, particulate and gaseous states) and even then I believe in the last four years we’ve had only one person need to be suspended from his post (and then as a precaution). Their levels are monitored regularly since it is not metabolically cleared and is thus cumulative.
Surprisingly the highest rates, from monitoring, are not in the smelting, refining, alloying and casting industry , the glass making industry, or even in the lead battery industry, they are in the scrap industry. Why? For the obvious reason that precautions are not taken since most scrap will not be seen as a threat by those working with it.
So, whilst I have no real idea as to the level of threat posed by a few hours shooting a week, your precautions are sound, wash your hands, change your clothes and consider what exactly you are going to put in your mouth (meaning cross contamination and oral consumption is the primary route).
I’d expect the level of exposure, from handling and particulates deposited on hands and clothes to be minimal, whilst particulate inhalation to be even less so, but they are something to be aware of and if you are worried then a blood test would be a good idea (and recommended in most areas of exposure anyway). Children are the most at risk since they are still developing neurologically.
I can’t say I’m particularly worried (especially since in the PRUK I get to shoot once every two or three months – thanks nanny!). I think my exposure (and yours) is as great, if not greater, when cleaning my balanced wheels or when soldering. YMMV
Oh, and with regards to your previous post, I can’t get any lady to take me to the range no matter how many hints I drop (fluttering eyes and pout included), I just know it’s because my butt looks big in these 501′s,(but I have such a bubbly personality, you ladies all have one track minds) [sounds of sobbing tailing into the distance] ;-p
Able,
Have you looked for your soulmate on Gunmatch.com?
I have a soul-mate?
Oh Lord, give them my sympathy (and make sure they get the professional help they (we) so definitely need).
And the important bit? Is it a lady, and will she take me to the range? :-D
Sorry Sid
I didn’t look at what you meant, but I suspect it won’t help :-(
I’m here in the PRUK where the average citisen runs screaming to the po-po when a shop started selling vaguely gun-shaped calculators (I kid you not!) so I’m seen as somewhat similar to Charles Manson for my hobby (although my rather fetching goatee is much better than his!)
Well that and the fact that (to misquote Oscar Wilde), ‘I wouldn’t go out with anyone who would go out with me’.
The question of when to treat has a complex answer or perhaps several answers. first, is the patient symptomatic or likely to be come so? This may happen at levels between 35 and 50. If symptomatic, will removing the patient from the contaminating environment be sufficient? Stopping shooting, or maybe using leadless ammo and monitoring may be sufficient. It takes a long time for lead to be excreted. If treament is required, you will need to see a specialist in toxicology. DO NOT sign up for chelation therapy by someone who is not a qualified toxcologist. Go to your primary care physician for a referral. There are many physicians who feel that some doctors who advertise ‘chelation therapy’ are actually charlatans preying on a gullible public. Chelation can have VERY unpleasant and dangerous side effects. DO NOT try over the counter treatments.
Lead levels above 50 can be dangerous and regular monitoring should be carried out by a qualified internist or toxicologist.
So…. if I am understanding you correctly…. in a survival situation we should not eat our bullets.
Got it.
Seriously though, excellent advice and one that too many people take for granted.
Some references:
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ranges/
http://nssf.org/ranges/rangeresources/library/index.cfm
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1647000/pdf/amjph00260-0075.pdf
http://www.supertrap.com/ST_Downloads_files/Pb5-stdy.pdf
Peter, thanks for that little ‘light reading’.
So far, from the ‘research’ it seems the problems have been confined to indoor ranges (with bad or faulty design/ventilation and poor or non-existent cleaning) and those there for extended periods (ie. range officers). Notwithstanding the lack of removal of other practices (such as reloading and the simple handling of significant amounts of ammunition by these people) as cause.
The ‘hand-washing’ was a bit of a laugh though. I particularly like:
“NIOSH research shows that washing hands with soap and water is not completely effective in removing lead (and other toxic metals) from the surface of the skin.”
Well, yes washing will not completely remove anything (bacteria, virus, heavy metals) but does this mean we should use ‘special’ hand-wipes all the time (and coincidentally developed and raising funds for the organisation who say that they are required. A similar situation exists in infection control with gels and creams abounding , whilst soap-and-water is as effective). Call me a cynic but I’ll just keep washing.
Thanks also Doctor Bob, here the levels are similar. 40 is classed as ‘alert’ and ‘actionable’ (ie. checks, precautions, etc.) whilst 50 is ‘suspension’ (ie. removal from the work area). Chelation is, as you say, ‘a bit rough’ and only to be administered under the care of, preferably a specialist, physician.
Here is a nice little publication from the state of Texas. If you are shooting at an outdoor range your lead exposure is probably not that great. If you are shooting at an older indoor range and they don’t have a great air circulation/exhaust system you are more likely exposed to higher lead levels. Some airborne lead isn’t from bullets but from some primers. Children are much more sensitive to lead levels because of their small mass and their developing neurological systems. If you take them to the range, make sure they bath and change clothes after a shooting trip. If you are pregnant you also want to be much more careful at the range, particularily in the first trimester. There is a lot of hoopla out there from the anti’s about lead in the environment. Solid lead isn’t really much of a problem, it is airborne lead that generates most of the problems, but that is really about the concentration levels. If you are worried ask your doctor to do a blood test for your blood levels.
Oops didn’t give the website: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/epitox/fact_sheets/firingranges_emp.pdf
This is something that has been address in the obama health care bill. The anti gun people will use it in the future as a liability to gun ownership and high risk health care. If they went to non lead ammo then they would find some other reason why the shooting sports is a hazard to your health. We, as firearm owners, have to be very careful in our statements. The anti’s like nothing more then to create the “Dover Effect” when it comes to firearms.
Regardless of what they say it’s an issue that we, as shooters, need to be aware of.
Yes!. I agree it is something that we need to be aware of and common sense practice will prevent health issues. I think the in door ranges are a whole different issue and relies on the proper venting and air exchangers. But I’m concerned about the alarmist that will get on a band wagon and turn this into something more then what it is. Remember the people who sounded the alarm about fast food and it’s dangerous health effects on our youth. Well it wasn’t the food…it’s the stupid people who made it part of their main diet…lack of common sense and a good reason to have the Govt step in and over regulate. Same thing with stupid people doing stupid things with firearm and ammo. It’s to easy now a days to leave common sense out of the equation and blame someone else for our troubles. I just hope the shooting sports doesn’t go in that direction.
P.S. Enjoy your articles keep up the good work.
Semper Fi
The first year I got serious about shooting, I shot around 30k rounds in 8 months. I was practicing 4 days a week and shot 2 club matches week in old indoor ranges. After 8 months I started having several health issues and went to the doctor for tests. The first set of blood work came back normal. Then my doctor, a family friend, asked if I was still shooting alot. Then sent me back to get blood tests for lead and they came back high (25). Normal scale was 0-19 so they weren’t terribly high, people who work around lead can have levels as high as 30. It took 2 years for my levels to get back to normal, last time it was tested it was 2. Back then I was spending 12 hours a week on ranges that had terrible ventilation. By the time the matches were over it would be difficult to see through the smoke to the opposite end of the range. Also I only loaded jacketed ammo.