lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

I have some ammo stored near my pc desk. It's mostly 7.62x39 FMJ, but I do have a fair amount of 12 guage ammo, mostly buckshot & slugs.

Now I know lead is not good for you, but I don't know if all that lead sitting nearby is doing me harm. Is there anything to worry about or things I should do to make it safe to store nearby?

TIA for any help.

Re: lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

Don't eat it or lick it.

Don't heat it up, vaporize it and then sniff the vapor.

Don't shoot yourself with it.

Keep your kids away from it.

Other than that, I wouldn't worry about it.

Re: lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

Is your ammo stored in boxes? Ammo cans?

There is much more danger to the ammo from moisture and heat than there is from lead to you.

Unless you're munching on the bullets or grinding on them with a Dremel you're not in danger.

Re: lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

Thanks, I like it nearby.

Re: lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

The dangers of lead have been vastly exaggerated by the environazis. As long as you don't eat it you are fine

Re: lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

Lead sitting by you is OK.

Lead flying AT you is NOT ok.

Re: lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

That is the form of lead poisioning i worry about. ......not the 10s of thousands of rounds i keep on site.

Re: lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

It's an overblown fear. Conditioning for future banning of a type of metal. Why aren't you worried about the mercury in your flourescent tubes? Oh, how green we are with our mercury addiction!
Maybe I'm a screw-up, but I have no problem diddling lead-but you WON'T get me into a public pool.

Re: lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

you're fine. dont worry.

Re: lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

+1 on the ventilation.

Also, if any of you are reloaders make sure you don't inhale too much dust when you tumble the brass. Lots of lead from the used primers.

Personally, I think I've dropped about 10 IQ points since I started reloading. At least my brass is pretty...

Re: lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

I suppose if I were to get lead poisoning I would have gotten it back as a youngster. My first job was at a printing shop. I had to melt the lead used in the typeset everynight into big ingots in this little room. The only safety items I remember were gloves.

Re: lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

I have been soldering copper pipe and electrical wires for nearly 40 years.
I have melted lead and cast, sized and lubed bullets.
I have done some reloading and shooting of small arms over the years.
I have worked with, in and around lead for almost 40 years.
Curious about heavy metals concentration, I had a blood test about 6 years ago, came up clean, no elevated lead levels.
Dont eat the lead, or lick your hands after handling ammo. you should be okay.

Re: lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

And don't lick the lead, or eat your hands either. :tongue_ma:

Re: lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

is it ok to just hold the cast bullets in my mouth to keep them handy while I am reloading? You know like a carpenter does with his nails? Or an ice fisherman does with his worms...? Hey that reminds me of a joke....

Re: lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

When you work at an old sawmill theres a bunch of great stories collected over the years. One guy, back in the 80's I think, would warm his sandwiches up over the babbit pots ( an alloy of tin, lead, copper, and antimony). When warned of the obvious dangers of lead fumes and consuming food placed over the pots, he'd just shrug his shoulders.

Re: lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

Holy smokes that's about as close to a horror story as you can get in terms of lead poisoning.

I've done a fair amount of soldering in my life without fume hoods and such, and it's well known that you keep your fingers out of your mouth, or don't handle any edibles while soldering. But if you are inhaling the sweet pine smell you're actually inhaling lead too.

Lead actually causes IQ loss, cognitive ability and all that, it's quite different from say Mercury poisoning. Maybe the guy shrugging his shoulders had already passed the threshold.

I was pushing .22 lr cartridges into a 597 magazine, and after about 4~5 reloads your thumb had enough grey stuff on it to write at least one letter on a nice piece of paper. Other than what was stated already indoor ranges, that is possibly the closest thing you would get in terms of lead exposure at the range, aside from pushing cartridge after cartrige of soft noses into a tiny magazine. You proably shouldn't be eating at the range anyway.

Re: lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

You are at zero risk.

I've smelted tons of lead and was shooting 3-4 days a week on an indoor range but was very careful....been tested...no problems though slightly elevated. I used a respirator, had range shoes and clothing.....smelted with a strong vent fan,....extra cautious.

I need to be tested again....I think I have elevated levels right now....I have symptoms (loss of smell....) - I think i got exposed via welding quite a bit of painted old steel....the welding heats the paint into vapor.....I think the paint may have had lead......it has me worried. I just noticed my loss of smell has been getting worse....

Re: lead poisoning from 12 gauge ammo?
 

just curious ...can you get rid of it once its in you??.....done a fair share of welding old painted stuff myself but never been tested