Are there any risks from handling lead pellets?

[Phil Russell]

The symptoms from lead poisoning are well given above and cannot be disputed. But the key question is 'What is the risk of lead poisoning from using lead pellets?' The risk is obviously related to exposure: more exposure to lead in all its forms equals higher risk. I cannot give an indication of what that risk is. But, I consider the risk to be minimal for an average airgun shooter and do not consider myself to be at a significant risk from my activity. I do on occasion, maybe once every 3 or 4 years, melt maybe 1000 spent pellets down but always do it outside and in the shortest possible time. I do not wear gloves while shooting or handling pellets to sort them etc. Most pellets 'appear' clean and I do not usually immediately wash my hands after a session but do so when convenient. If, however, pellets are clearly dirty and I end up with grey finger tips then I wash hands immediately.

My conclusion is that providing precautions are taken then there is no real harm to the airgun shooter from using lead based pellets.
Cheers, Phil

[evert]

I've been shooting airguns and regularly handling lead pellets for over 40 years with no adverse effects.

I collect them (or rather the packaging they come in) too and have probably touched millions over the years.

Yes, wash your hands after handling them and no, don't put them in your mouth.

Like with most things in life, a common sense approach works best when applied.

John M

Have you monitored your blood levels of lead?

There are two problems with lead exposure:
Accute intoxication, which can be very harmful in a short term perspective, and tissue accumulation (mainly bone tissue) over time.
The problem with accumulation is that is "leaks" over time, so you are continually exposed over a longer period.

After a lot of indoor shooting and reloading over ca 10-12 years, I started monitoring my blood levels of lead.
They were too high, but after several years of exposure reduction they have gone down.
I stopped indoor shooting firearms, and started washing my hands EVERY time I handeled guns and ammunition.
I also made sure to have proper ventilation when cleaning out pellet traps.

It doesnt cost you much to wash your hands, and it may be worth it...

[BC312]

You must be a bit of a un hygienic person to handle a air rifle with oil grease, handling pellets, putting up targets shooting handling the disposal of pests etc and then go and make a sandwich without washing your hands. Unless you lick each pellet you take out of the tin or lick the insides, you should have no problems handling pellets normally unless you bought them from Chernobyl.

[Phil Russell]

In response to BC312:
I only shoot rats in the garden: always use disposable gloves to dispose of them and wash hands afterwards,
Airgun maintenance: Hands can get grubby, especially springers. Sometimes wear gloves / disposable gloves but generally not. Always wash hands before eating meal. This applies to any operation involving gardening too.
Shooting: covered above. Will wash hands after end of session and if I need to take new pellets from a tin and put them in a pellet tray. Not in the habit of chewing pellets to get extra roughage.
Cheers, Phil

[oldskoolzzz]

It does make you think a tad.

As a smoker it’s not unusual if at the club or down the farm or at home in my garage range when chewing the fat to have a smoke between/during a session etc.

Obviously some pellets are dirtier beasts than others

Back in the earlier club and hunting days with those very dirty acupells being munched very favourably by many a rapid barrel it got to the stage where I was using the clubs hand wipes those heavy duty types as a good session on acupells and it looked like I’d done an oil change on a dirty derv

I actually keep a quiet pellet trap for Chrono testing inside the house for winter testing but am now thinking it might be best to put it back in the garage.

[Logunner]

Yes I know lots of houses still have lead pipes.

Phosphate is added to the water to mitigate lead pipes, it creates a lining by sticking to the lead and therefore reducing the exposure.

[evert]

I actually keep a quiet pellet trap for Chrono testing inside the house for winter testing but am now thinking it might be best to put it back in the garage.

How you make your pellet trap is also important. Shooting into a large container with a lot of old t-shirts does not cause much lead splatter.

But then again, that gray residue you get inside silencers, or "Lead Dust Collectors" as they call them in the US makes you think.

[oldskoolzzz]

How you make your pellet trap is also important. Shooting into a large container with a lot of old t-shirts does not cause much lead splatter.

But then again, that gray residue you get inside silencers, or "Lead Dust Collectors" as they call them in the US makes you think.

Mines just a decent fully enclosed cardboard box with access hole cut in the front and filled with old paperback books all taped together.

Not much splatter but plenty of paper debris when I clean it out which does make me think about airborne stuff.

Ok ironic as I mentioned I’m a smoker but I never smoke in my house but has made me think about doing indoor testing.

[rapidresponse1]

quite a few id imagine

[trajectory]

Are there an risks in handling lead pellets?

Yes, because they contain toxic substances.

Can I quantify what the risk in terms of contact frequency, exposure limits etc no. But I'm sure there will be something on exposure limits handling of lead & lead alloys on product MSDS or HSE guideline but how that translates into pellet handling I wouldn't know.

So, knowing leads nasty what do I do? Keep pellets in the original packing ( for instance no putting a couple of dozen in a trouser or jacket pocket as a handy supply). Don't eat or drink or handle food until I've washed my hands well in warm soapy water. Try to avoid touching my face especially around my eyes ,nose or mouth & if I have an itch on my face I use the back of my hand as opposed to finger tips that may have been touching lead. Lots of things are potentially harmful one problem with things like lead is that the effects of contamination are not usually immediate with low levels of exposure so anything you can do to reduce exposure levels by sensible practical use seems like a good idea to me.

I think it's all part & parcel of learning to shoot.....well it's the way I was shown.

I'm not paranoid but I would say that I try to mitigate the risks involved.

Not sure but was it mercury that was used by hatters as opposed to lead?

[bighit]

Phosphate is added to the water to mitigate lead pipes, it creates a lining by sticking to the lead and therefore reducing the exposure.

I read about Pb02 scale in lead pipes . It stops the lead leeching from the pipes.

[bighit]

Are there an risks in handling lead pellets?

Yes, because they contain toxic substances.

Can I quantify what the risk in terms of contact frequency, exposure limits etc no. But I'm sure there will be something on exposure limits handling of lead & lead alloys on product MSDS or HSE guideline but how that translates into pellet handling I wouldn't know.

So, knowing leads nasty what do I do? Keep pellets in the original packing ( for instance no putting a couple of dozen in a trouser or jacket pocket as a handy supply). Don't eat or drink or handle food until I've washed my hands well in warm soapy water. Try to avoid touching my face especially around my eyes ,nose or mouth & if I have an itch on my face I use the back of my hand as opposed to finger tips that may have been touching lead. Lots of things are potentially harmful one problem with things like lead is that the effects of contamination are not usually immediate with low levels of exposure so anything you can do to reduce exposure levels by sensible practical use seems like a good idea to me.

I think it's all part & parcel of learning to shoot.....well it's the way I was shown.

I'm not paranoid but I would say that I try to mitigate the risks involved.

Not sure but was it mercury that was used by hatters as opposed to lead?

You are right .
Mercury poisoning of hat-makers – A popular explanation of the phrase suggests that it was connected to mercury poisoning or Korsakoff's syndrome[dubious – discuss] experienced by hat-makers as a result of the long-term use of mercury products in the hat-making trade. In 18th and 19th century England, mercury was used in the production of felt, which was used in the manufacturing of hats common of the time. A late 19th-century example of the effect occurred with hatters in Danbury, Connecticut who developed a condition known locally as the Danbury Shakes. The condition was characterized by slurred speech, tremors, stumbling, and, in extreme cases, hallucinations.[

[trajectory]

You are right .
Mercury poisoning of hat-makers – A popular explanation of the phrase suggests that it was connected to mercury poisoning or Korsakoff's syndrome[dubious – discuss] experienced by hat-makers as a result of the long-term use of mercury products in the hat-making trade. In 18th and 19th century England, mercury was used in the production of felt, which was used in the manufacturing of hats common of the time. A late 19th-century example of the effect occurred with hatters in Danbury, Connecticut who developed a condition known locally as the Danbury Shakes. The condition was characterized by slurred speech, tremors, stumbling, and, in extreme cases, hallucinations.[

Thought it was.

Think it did for a few metal decorators too....there was a dangerous guilding process that used gold & mercury.

[angrybear]

It does make you think a tad.

As a smoker it’s not unusual if at the club or down the farm or at home in my garage range when chewing the fat to have a smoke between/during a session etc.

Obviously some pellets are dirtier beasts than others

Back in the earlier club and hunting days with those very dirty acupells being munched very favourably by many a rapid barrel it got to the stage where I was using the clubs hand wipes those heavy duty types as a good session on acupells and it looked like I’d done an oil change on a dirty derv

I actually keep a quiet pellet trap for Chrono testing inside the house for winter testing but am now thinking it might be best to put it back in the garage.

As a smoker lead is the least of your worries

Same as me, as a mechanic I was constantly in contact with used Engine oil (highly carcinogenic), fuels, lubricants, asbestos, exhaust fumes etc.

Popping a few pellets in a rifle now & then isn't going to bother me.

[Turnup]

The risks associated with lead poisoning stem from soluble organic lead compounds entering (or being formed in) the body. Elemental lead does not readily form these compounds when it is in "lumps" such as bullets or pellets, even if ingested whole. Very finely divided lead does react to form soluble organic compunds more readily and it is here where the risks are.

Finely divided lead is generated by abrasion of skin against bullets or pellets so handling these can leave fine lead on the skin. Wash your hands after handling lead, and particularly before eating or smoking. Most bullets have a coating of wax or other lube which provides something of a barrier between skin and the lead itself. Many muzlzle loading balls and airgun pellets have no such barrier layer.

The other major source of finely divided lead for shooters is on indoor ranges. The heat and pressures created inside the chamber cause some of the lead to vaporise and this rapidly condenses into very fine particles as the gasses exit the barrel. This is particularly hazardous as inhalation of same will deposit very fine lead particles in the lungs where they enter the bloodstream. This is why indoor ranges shouhd have forced ventilation flowing down the range and away from the shooter. That grey dust which is found in all indoor ranges is fine lead particles which have condensed out from the muzzle gasses. This is also the source of that hard grey deposit found inside moderators. So when shooting on an indoor range allow a little time for those particles downrange to settle out or be swept away by the ventilation. I do not believe thast airguns generate much in the way of lead vapour except when impacting hard surfaces such as in pellet traps but this will condense and settle rapidly, presenting more of a contact hazard than an inhalation hazard.

Do not eat on the range. Do not smoke on the range. Wash your hands after shooting as they will pick up this dust when changing targets or moving items about the range.

Lead casting has obvious risks from lead vapour. Ventilate well and preferably in the open air.

If soluble lead compounds enter the body they will migrate to the bone marrow and remain there for a very long time so the body burden is cumulative.