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dodgyrog wrote: I got this from my Consultant at the RVI hospital (Newcastle) today where I am being treated for lead poisoning!!!

What prompted you to get checked out in the first place?

Dark Skies wrote:

dodgyrog wrote: I got this from my Consultant at the RVI hospital (Newcastle) today where I am being treated for lead poisoning!!!

What prompted you to get checked out in the first place?

My blood lead content is the highest he has ever seen - 4x higher than the previous one!
I do have my doubts as to the voracity of this reading (which is being checked).
As you know (probably) I cast a lot of boolits (and have done so since the mid 1980's) but my lead level jumped around 2014 which is about when I joined my local club. I suspect their extraction system is inadequate and I will be wearing a particulate filtering mask in future.
It is inevitable that clubs in this country will be hit by the H&S executive sooner or later as a means of hitting the shooting community and it is not beyond the realms of belief that some shooter or other will resort to litigation.
If you are on the committee of such clubs I would suggest you check the number of air changes per minute/hour or whatever,

Dodgyrod ,
Sorry to read your post abt your condition. My mum beeing a typograph, the fear of lead poisoning actually makes me weary of indoors shooting. I try to avoid it as much as possible and always thoroughly wash my hands immediatly after shooting .
Did your consultant advise you on the effectiveness & the type of mask to wear or other ways to protect yourself ?

When I did my RMQs and was ROing on indoor ranges we were only allowed to be exposed (standing in the range while rounds are fired and/or firing them yourself) to 500 rounds per week (rolling 7 days). Now at the local club I could be exposed to that limit in a three hour session of mini-rifle practice. When we shoot on the local TA/RFCA range we have to limit the rounds fired per RO as the range warden will pull us up if we exceed the limit.

I have a blood test every quarter for other reasons and for the last 15 years have had the lead levels checked as a matter of course. My latest test came back last month and the level after a particularly heavy few months behind the firers and casting pewter (but I'm guessing the lead in that is minimal to non-existent) was 3.2 µg/dL (10 would be the upper limit before reduction of exposure is required and 20 is when treatment is needed). This had hardly changed time on time and often is lower even after a prolonged time in the range.

I always make sure the extractors are on in the range before shooting starts despite many complaining about the noise from the firing point fans.

Mine was around 4.5 at the time I was shooting around 1500 pistol rounds per week BUT I wore a face mask then. The filters soon went black. I got the club a couple of 2 foot diameter fans which they installed and the improvement was significant but still not perfect.
My current range has 2 Expellairs at the end of the range with no 'pusher that draws fresh air. 2 additional fans are available for the use mainly of black powder shooters - these exhaust into a loft area where a pusher fan at the back of the range draws its' air from. To my mind this is totally inadequate.
The other shooters do not shoot as frequently as I do and don't get the same level of exposure.
The mask I will be using will be the twin filter type but there was no consultant recommendation other to stop 'exposing myself'!

I suspect it would be hard to prove that a shooting club is responsible for the increased levels of lead. The process of elimination for someone who casts and shoots a lot has many variables to try and ascertain a risk area.

That said, precautions of wearing a mask would help and taking charcoal tablets. Lead is drawn to charcoal in the body and you just urinate it out......nice, but it works.

Think positive on this, at least you are more resistant to radiation.

toffe wrapper wrote:Think positive on this, at least you are more resistant to radiation.