Lead toxicity levels?

[Birddog97]

So, how big of a deal is lead exposure from shooting at an indoor range?
I'm not overly concerned; I'm just trying to figure out how pissed off I should be. I had a little extra time the other day and decided to stop by the Shoot Smart indoor range in Benbrook. The young guy running the cash register turned me away from using the range because I dip snuff. He explained it was the company's policy over increased concerns of lead ingestion due to my snuff usage. It was an awkward exchange and seemed so ridiculous I really thought he was just trying to be funny and give me a hard time. Trying to be socially polite, grinned and offered a (hopefully less awkward) funny comment about how my grandmother has been telling me I should quit dipping for over 40 years. Nope, turns out He was dead nuts serious. He would not let me on the range.
I understand the increased lead exposure from firearms, and especially when using an indoor range. I also fully understand the risks of snuff tobacco usage. My Mom and Grandmother really have rode my ass about it for over 40 years. I'm not going to quit either snuff or guns, but it seems I will have to quit patronizing Shoot Smart.

I would love some feedback, thanks in advance.

 

[rotor]

My shooting is all outdoors but here is an interesting article.

Lead exposure at firing ranges—a review

Lead (Pb) is a toxic substance with well-known, multiple, long-term, adverse health outcomes. Shooting guns at firing ranges is an occupational necessity for security personnel, police officers, members of the military, and increasingly a recreational ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Perhaps we all need to have our doctors order a lead level with our next routine exam. I think I will.

 

[oldag]

Okay....

 

[Birddog97]

Maybe this is why my tolerance for certain things has gone way down over the last several years. Or, I’m just becoming the grumpy old man my father warned me about.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Birddog97]

Maybe this is why my tolerance for certain things has gone way down over the last several years. Or, I’m just becoming the grumpy old man my father warned me about.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[baboon]

If you drink clear liquor of the home made variety lead in solder joints might me more of a threat

 

[V-Tach]

Their range, their rules........

No food, drinks or tobacco (of any kind) on an indoor range is pretty SOP........

Some enforce their rules strictly, some don't......

 

[Texasjack]

A few years back, OSHA started visiting indoor gun ranges and inspecting them. If they found anything at all, they were fining them or closing them down. Ranges got scared and started changing the way they do things, like not using brooms in the range area, washing the area down periodically, etc.

The prime way that you can get significant lead exposure is through ingestion. For that reason, they ban eating and drinking in the range area, and you'll probably see signs telling you to wash your hands.

Lead exposure used to be a very big problem, as lead was used in all sorts of soldering applications (plumbing, food cans), in paints (lead oxide is a good white color), and in gasoline (tetraethyl lead was added to improve octane levels). Plumbing wasn't a huge problem because calcium deposits on the surface. Paint was a big problem, especially around children who would chew painted toys or crib railings, and in old houses where paint was often peeling or flaking off. Lead oxide has been replaced with titanium oxide, which is actually a lot better. Lead in gasoline made lead an issue everywhere, and in fact it is one of the five listed "priority pollutants" in the Clean Air Act (along with carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone.) A phase-out was started with the 1977 Amendments and a complete ban was legislated in the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air Act.

There are a LOT of chemicals that you can be exposed to at the shooting range. Not only lead, but also unburned powder (nitrocellulose, nitroglycerin) and partially burned products (soot). If the range has a decent air moving system, you shouldn't have big problems from inhalation. Most of these materials don't absorb readily through the skin. Ingestion is the most dangerous exposure pathway, and that's pretty easily defeated by washing your hands and face before eating or drinking.