sandman_sy Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I've been reloading for 2 months now.. my table/reloading bench is in my garage.. unlike the "MTV Crib" house.. i dont have a closing door to my garage. Its an open type garage. I live in a tropical type country .... and man.. there are BIG buzzing bugs around here. Everytime i load.. i have to light up a UV light.. a mosquito killer stick.. and keep a close eye to the bugs. But still.. after i load up my ammo... i get like 5 bites.. seems the bugs here are immune to these things. So i want to move my loading bench inside the house. so my question is.. should I move my reloading table inside my office??? the Lead on primers and brass is what scares me.. i mostly load 223 and (soon)308 ammos.. and the heads are fully jacketed.. so not much scare there.. im scared more on the spent primers, lead residue and gun powder falling or contaminating the office with Lead and i hear its a hard thing to remove. The office is a place where my 6 month old son and 3 year old daughter goes to find me. A shooter friend of mine suggested the Lead thing is overated and believe me i want to go inside.. but im just scared with the articles saying "hinders brain development" "Lead Poisoning" and all that... what do you think??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Front Man Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I've been reloading for 2 months now.. my table/reloading bench is in my garage.. unlike the "MTV Crib" house.. i dont have a closing door to my garage. Its an open type garage. I live in a tropical type country .... and man.. there are BIG buzzing bugs around here. Everytime i load.. i have to light up a UV light.. a mosquito killer stick.. and keep a close eye to the bugs. But still.. after i load up my ammo... i get like 5 bites.. seems the bugs here are immune to these things. So i want to move my loading bench inside the house.so my question is.. should I move my reloading table inside my office??? the Lead on primers and brass is what scares me.. i mostly load 223 and (soon)308 ammos.. and the heads are fully jacketed.. so not much scare there.. im scared more on the spent primers, lead residue and gun powder falling or contaminating the office with Lead and i hear its a hard thing to remove. The office is a place where my 6 month old son and 3 year old daughter goes to find me. A shooter friend of mine suggested the Lead thing is overated and believe me i want to go inside.. but im just scared with the articles saying "hinders brain development" "Lead Poisoning" and all that... what do you think??? Who in their right mind is going to give you advise about that? FM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimel Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 The vast majority of lead isn't going to be airborne. Capture the spent primers and dispose of them. Do your case cleaning in the garage (including separating from the media). Don't let the kids play with the tumbler or used media. Wash your hands after reloading and wipe down the reloading area now and then (especially under the press where decapping takes place). Gun powder itself contains no lead. Beyond that, unless you cast your own bullets, the risks are negligible. I grew up in a house where we cast our own bullets in an poorly ventilated room, shot wax and plastic bullets inside (primer powered stuff and we did this a couple times a month for years and years), shot .22 LR inside (only when Mom was gone, of course) and so on and so forth. My IQ and cognitive ability has been tested for other reasons and it shows no sign of impairment. I have also had my lead levels tested every few years for the past 10 years and I am not even out of the "normal" range. Now kids that grew up in a town with a LOT of airborne lead, contaminated soil, etc. are certainly suffering some ill effects. But the levels you are talking about with reloading just aren't going to be an issue if you are careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Small bodies are much more impacted by lead exposure than we adluts. If you have little ones crawling around your office, don't do it. Is it feasible for you to get some sort of door or barricade erected in the entrance to your garage? It might cost a bit, but you know your kids are worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkrispies Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 For the most part, I think lead exposure from shooting/reloading is blown out of proportion as long as even a minimal amount of precautions are taken... HOWEVER until your kids turn 7, the lead will affect them way more than an older person, so you need to take every precaution to protect them. I have a 14 month old daughter, and as far as I'm concerned no hobby is more important than her health. Having said that... how exactly are your kids more protected by your open air garage than your enclosed office??? I think a more pressing question is: what kind of flooring do you have in your office? Powder spills on static-y carpet can be disastrous. What kind of ventilation do you have in your office? Tumbling creates dust; if you're going to have lead exposure, that's where it will come from. Personally, I'd keep it outside. Could you put up some mosquito netting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persona non grata Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 It is way, way super-hyped. If you have carpet down in your office, I would suggest laying down a sheet or two of plywood, then putting your bench on top of that. Live primers when sucked up by a vacuum while vacuuming the carpets sure do make an interesting popping noise. Like others have already mentioned, do the tumbling and media seperating outside. A few torn up dryer sheets and NuFinish car polish or some solvent will help keep the dust down. Lastly, you can get your kids to a doctor now and get a lead level blood test done on them and yourself. Then you will have a baseline. Then a month from that get the tests redone and look for any changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougCarden Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Dispose of used primers......keep bullets on shelf in boxes......clean up mess after reloading.....dont allow children to handle bullets or loaded rounds......if they do make them wash their hands right afterward. If you do the above I dont know how they would be exposed to any lead at all........short of them chewing on lead bullets I think it is overhyped and you will be fine. Unless they expose themselves to it, it is not going to find them.... Hell, with all the "worry" today I really dont know how my generation and the one before it survived, honestly.... Relax, and just keep stuff out of reach and it will be fine..... Good luck, DougC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandman_sy Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 ......but you know your kids are worth it...... This just hits the spot for me when i read all the reply.. i'll stick to the outdoor garage.. i don't care how many bites i get... my kids ARE worth more than my legs and arms when they get older.. then i'll move inside. or maybe upstair. at least i know what to leave when i move inside.. tumbler and media Thank a million guys i appreciate all the fast reply this websyt rocks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry cazes Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 This just hits the spot for me when i read all the reply.. i'll stick to the outdoor garage.. i don't care how many bites i get... my kids ARE worth more than my legs and arms VERY sound judgment Sy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UW Mitch Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 This just hits the spot for me when i read all the reply.. i'll stick to the outdoor garage.. i don't care how many bites i get... my kids ARE worth more than my legs and arms Good choice. Can you set up a fan in the garage to be blowing on you to help keep the bugs away? ~Mitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff686 Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 How about some mosquito netting around your bench? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmorris Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 You expose them more by your clothing and shoes upon your return from the range, unless you have a sloppy reloading room. I did go with wood floors though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandman_sy Posted June 12, 2009 Author Share Posted June 12, 2009 This just hits the spot for me when i read all the reply.. i'll stick to the outdoor garage.. i don't care how many bites i get... my kids ARE worth more than my legs and arms Good choice. Can you set up a fan in the garage to be blowing on you to help keep the bugs away? ~Mitch I did just that.. and it helped placed a fan.. set it to max... downside is when i do my powder charge.. heheheh.. gotta turn it off hehehehe... Did my reloading last night.. and i noticed I wasnt in a bad mood after reloading even with lesser bites hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flint Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 You expose them more by your clothing and shoes upon your return from the range, unless you have a sloppy reloading room. I did go with wood floors though. If I recall correctly from Safety training primary exposure by kids are eating it, (chewing lead-based paint on their crib or window sills - or in your case they would have to get it on their hands and stick their little fingers in their mouths) Rare they get it from the air - but clearly the tumbler would be a no-no as previously noted. Another typical route of exposure is similiar to above, basically Dad gets lead on his clothes, comes home, kids hug Dad and get a dose of it. Dad takes clothes off, tosses them in the dirty clothes, Mom does laundry putting kids clothes with them, therefore contaminating their clothes, then they have a continual low dose. Little kids fatty tissues in the brain "love" to take in the lead, causing the issues. For yourself, personal hygiene would be called for regardless. So, no smoking (hope you weren't doing that while reloading anyway), no eating or similiar hand to mouth contact. Proper hand washing. If you think your clothes may be a route of exposure then wash them separately. You have also paid for countless resources on OSHA's website or the CDC. Do the lead level checks is always a good idea. To be 100% safe, simply take all spent .223 and .308 brass and send to my attention for proper disposal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveyacht Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 (edited) 1) Buy Encapsulateing HazMat Suits for all habitants and visitors to your house. With Self Contained Breathing System. 2) Install Oxygen recirculation, pressurized air system for your entire house, make sure it has positive pressurization to prevent outside air from entering closed enviroment. 3) Install Double Door clean room entry system for ingress and egress to your loading room, with changing facilities and showers. 4) Have an electrical induction furnace installed that will burn at least 2500 degrees F. This will destroy lead contaminants when you burn the primers, brass, used primers, trash and anything else from the loading room. 5) Have loading room glass encased so youngin's can look in at Daddy. Use of a two way intercom helps in this case also. All Kidding aside, I grew up in when there was none of the Hype from lead contamination. We used lead based primer inside the house and used "Red Lead" as a rust preventative paint on farm equipment. While there is some small chance of airborne lead contamination, the amount you are talking about is miniscule by comparison to growing up near internal combustion powered equipment and traffic in the days when gasoline contained lead additives. Most cases of lead contamination leading to serious medical impairment were caused by ingestion. Unfortunately most of this occured in low income housing areas where there were young children around peeling lead based paint. I grew up Dain Bramaged and remain that way to this day. Edited June 12, 2009 by steveyacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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