Lead contamination in garage

[johnho]

Having been thinking about selling my house soon and only being in it for just over 5 years, I wanted to test for lead. I have reloaded out there and cast bullets along with cleaning brass in an vibrator. Doing some research I found a 3M product called Leadcheck which seemed to be one of the only ones approved by the EPA. It has 8 vials that you break two liquids in the vial, mix them and then rub them on any surface.

I always cast with the garage door open and the side door open and a fan pulling the air out the garage. Reloading is pretty much done when the doors are closed. I tried one place near the entrance into the house on the carpet (yes my garage is carpeted which makes for neat little scars when the lead sprue gets away from me). No lead present. What a relief so far.

Next i tried on the window sill immediately above my casting and reloading bench. Figured if any was there it had to be right on that ledge. Surprise, no lead again.

Actually I was surprised. I expected to find some. the test kit even includes a test patch that when you get a negative response you rub the same swab on that patch and if it turns red then your test is confirmed it was negative.

[PuppetZ]

Not really surprising. Lead do not vaporize easily. If you kept dust from the tumbler at a minimum, lead contamination of your immediate environnement from casting is near non-existent.

[Moondawg]

How did hundreds of previous generations of humans reproduce, paint great paintings, explore the earth and space, discovery great scientific and medical break throughs, and produce great written words and/or music? How did they do all these things before the EPA discovered lead contimination and the government proceeded to scare the bejabbers out of everyone, in order to justify more government control over our lives and ever larger budgets?

[Mal Paso]

How did hundreds of previous generations of humans reproduce, paint great paintings, explore the earth and space, discovery great scientific and medical break throughs, and produce great written words and/or music? How did they do all these things before the EPA discovered lead contimination and the government proceeded to scare the bejabbers out of everyone, in order to justify more government control over our lives and ever larger budgets?

Ignorance Is Bliss!

[MtGun44]

Surprise! Like I have repeatedly pointed out "lead vapor" is mythical at casting temperatures.
Spatter should be cleaned up, and tumbler dust can be contaminated with primer residue,
which does contain lead residue. Sweep up and mop is all that is needed. Then wash
your hands.

Bill

[johnho]

I was aware that lead doesn't vaporize at such low casting temps we use. What I was mostly worried about was the reloading and case cleaning affects. I am hoping that those who are worried about lead getting all over everything and being a hazard to all living things (ha) are totally unfounded given even the most basic cleanliness practices. I am always amazed how many think that even shooting lead bullets is dangerous when they should be worried about the primers and the gases coming back in their face at an outdoor range or shooting indoors.

But I'm beating a dead horse with this group.

[runfiverun]

the best advice to avoid lead poisoning.
don't eat the lead.

if working with lead oxide a simple dust mask will go a long way,and respirator is needed if you are going to work with it continously.
i was working with lead oxides and operating a small casting business [and i smoke] my blood levels were no higher or lower than anybody elses in the company.
i made it a habit to wash my hands and face before smoking or eating.
simple right?
effective?.......... yes.

[MtGun44]

"wash my hands and face before smoking or eating." Yep!

This is about 95% of the whole deal. This has been proven repeately in industrial lead
operations. People want to make this mysterious and all, don't want to
believe in the basic cleanup issues being pretty much the whole problem.

Bill

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

some one was drinking , bathing , doing wash , with the water that ran thru my round balls 3 weeks ago

i got it the day the water service was replaced , the pipe was very clean just a touch of dirt on the outside no crust on the inside like some water utilities will tell you they have so that the water never actually touches the pipe

i smelted it down 3 days later , and had round balls 2 days after that

the only thing likely to ever get lead poisoning from that water service is the deer is shoot with it in the fall.

[MT Gianni]

If you had found some you would be required to disclose and mitigate with any buyer the cleanup methods used and post tests. It might save your piece of mind but IMO, the contamination would have to be visible from the tinsel fairy to be anything at all concerning.

[.458]

It would not be good for us to ever allow lead to find it's way into the environment (where we found it in the first place).

[HighHook]

It would not be good for us to ever allow lead to find it's way into the environment (where we found it in the first place).

+1 +1 +1

[mold maker]

Much to do about almost nothing. Common sense dictates we clean up after ourselves, and try not to make a mess to begin with.
No, ingesting lead isn't a good thing, but neither is eating anything unclean, or with dirty hands.
Politicos make themselves important by creating a disaster to remedy. When one of them is successful, others jump on board. If this weren't the case, would we have to call in hazmat, to clean up a broken CFL????

[mongo]

When I was a kid I remember they tore down an old house where I lived. The water supply line was lead. That ment every house on the block, or the whole town used lead pipes for water service, I grew up there and now I shoot lead boolits every week, as well as cast, What was this thread about? Oh yeah, If you dont eat it ..it wont hurt you.

[sw282]

l worked at a bench for 25yrs. Soldering iron in my right hand. Dikes in my left. 60/40 solder between my teeth. Bench lamp had a fan lt ran seldom as it was noisy. 0nly lead health risks l ever witnessed came from high velocity

[dakotashooter2]

The EPA has done a fine job of crying "the sky is falling". The lead contamination risk to the average person is so minimal it's laughable. Chances are they will die in a car crash or from cancer long before they experience any negative effects of lead. We try to do rehab housing projects with government grant money and on aveage the REQUIREED lead abatement proceedures cost us 35-40% of the entire project costs. Just because there is some lead found in the paint. And it would be one thing if it were just i the habitable areas but even if it is found on a building 100 ft from the living area regulations require the abatement. There is no common sense to it. I think the people at the EPA have been eating paint chips and sniffing glue.............................

[Plate plinker]

Surprise! Like I have repeatedly pointed out "lead vapor" is mythical at casting temperatures.
Spatter should be cleaned up, and tumbler dust can be contaminated with primer residue,
which does contain lead residue. Sweep up and mop is all that is needed. Then wash
your hands.

Bill

Thought sweeping lead dust is a problem? Wet mop yes dry sweep no. Right?
Not really too concerned as I don't stick my face in the tumbler.

[4719dave]

Better check those test kits i use them all the time for checking older houses pre 1978 .I've had them only have the powder and not the wet chemical in there .EPA bad bad major fines ,its unreal .
DONT EAT THE BOOLITS .Funny thing ive got civil war boolit that the solders bit down on for pain go figure .ps i work for a garage door company .

[Bad Water Bill]

We used to close fishing sinkers with our teeth. I know a few went down the hatch by accident and that was over 60 years ago.

[Plate plinker]

Right-o bad water,but I never swallowed any. Gave the habit up though many years ago,well mostly.