Kind of curious - just got my blood work back from my phsyical.  I pay the extra $10 out of pocket to run my lead levels while I'm there; why not?   Historically it's fine, well below 10.  This last one shot up over 10, which is actually high enough to catch my attention.  That's not an alarm-bell number for a non-youth, but that's a bit high, so I'll work on that.  

I'm not sure why it jumped so much all of a sudden, but do note a few weeks prior to my blood draw, I did a very heavy annealing project using a borrowed flame-annealer from a friend.  The was decent dilution volume, but I was right there for hours over several days, and processed thousands of casings.  Some of the brass was clean, some was raw pick-up still.   I've never seen anyone state annealing is a vector for lead exposure, and am curious if that's a known thing or something?

Going forward, I probably am going to change some practices on this.  Fortunately I'm done and don't even have the annealer any more, so we'll see what the numbers are when I'm supposed to go back in a few months anyway _ I'll have them do another lead run then too.

FWIW:
 3.5 is the target, but that's a recent change - threshold used to be 5 in 2021.  10 in 1991.  Physiological affects can start to show up as low as 25, so if your blood breaks 20 that's an somewhat urgent thing.  But anything over 10 calls for changing habits.  And try to crowd 5.   For kids, definately target that 3.5

This has been on my radar for the last 15 years. In the beginning I would shoot twice a week, load with bare lead bullets and tumble dry with corn cob and walnut shell. At the time I wasn't annealing. at the time I also smoked but broke that habit toon after this test. Out of curiosity I got a lead test that came in the high 30's. I think 36. Freaked me out. No symptoms but I changed my system.

I switched to coated bullets and wet tumbling. After 6 months my lead levels were down in the low 20's. Eventually got as low as 7. As of now I'm a 12. I can live with that.

Good PSA. I get my blood drawn every 3 months for diabetes. I'll ask them to put lead on there as well.

Anneal outside.

Don't snort your dry tumbler dust.

Don't lick your fingers while you reload.

Most of the lead comes from the brass tumbling and cleaning with dry media. While you can get some contamination from the annealing, the main culprit is the washing/tumbling and firing of the brass.

I was involved with a study from this at our state university. They were also studying a bronze casting factory. They found it was the brass itself as it has mynute amounts of lead in it. Mine came from two things. A lid on my tumbler that had a hole in it. And vacuuming up the dust off of everything.

I would check the way you are cleaning your brass.

Thanks for the reply.   I wet tumble.  

But there is plenty of contact picking brass up off the ground. I fire between 100 and 500 rounds a week, and will pick up much of that.  ranging from 9mm to 223 to 6.5.   Some .22

That hasn't really changed a lot over the last few years (I shoot a lot - all outside).  And rinse hands on location and wash upon getting home.  The biggest change was annealing activity, and with brass that's not clean and my close proximity to a high count processed, I wondered of I volitalized or otherwise made some airborne fumes.  Timed just a few weeks prior to the blood draw.

From your study - it sounds like maybe not.

You could still get it from wet tumbling if you get the water on your hands. Another form of contaminutes was from the water itself. Some municipalities have changed the types of chemicals they treat the water with. It ended up dissolving the lead oxides off the very old water pipes in the ground. That was what happened in Detroit that the whole city was contaminated with lead. Once it stripped the oxides off the pipes it started to dissolve the actual lead and was put into the water.

I have discussed this with my Doctor.  His advice was don't eat it and you should be fine.

There is a "D" Lead wash you can buy that removes it from your hands etc.

I think you may be right on the wet tumbling.  While it elemented dust inhalation, I haven't been as careful as I could about the contaminated water handling.  It sounds like your opinion is that is the more likely route than the annealing?

I got mine tested and was at an eight.  My Dr. made it sound like that is really high.

Wet tumble your brass before annealing.  Brass contains no lead by itself, so it probably was not that anyhow.  Long way from the primer pocket to the case mouth, even if you leave the primer intact while annealing.  

Look at the hygiene practices at the range, picking up brass, dry tumbling, and eating while having grimy primer residue around while reloading.  

When my lead level was elevated it was due to running classes inside a poorly ventilated indoor range.  

Sweeping up the floor is another thought- don’t sweep brass up/disturb the dust on the ground, and end up breathing it in…

Before even that, wash off your shoes.  You will track a lot of junk in on them.  And wash both hands and shoes off at the range.  

It is all about cross contamination- you handle dirty brass, then your car keys, your steering wheel, your jacket, then you wash your hands….too late.  Cleaning/shooting benches are usually pretty well coated in lead dust.

Use EDTA in food additive amounts - preferably with a patch.

It will remove lead easily.

Huh - how about that.  I looked it up. You're right.   That's pretty easy to do.

So what you are saying, is reloaders should have Screwdrivers as part of their weekend mornings...

I’ll be 66 in a few weeks. Have shot since before age 10 and reloaded since the early 20’s. I’ve loaded untold 10’s of thousands of lead handgun bullets during about 40 years of uspsa. I’ve gotten out of competitive shooting but spend 4 or 5 days a week on the range, generally ~8 hours a day. I pick up brass with my bare hands but for the last couple of years I do wear nitrile gloves to sort the brass.  Still dry tumble but now wear a mask when handling the media.

I get blood tested every January and this year asked the doc about doing a blood test. Surprisingly my level was at 2.9. My wife says a lot of days I come home smelling like gun smoke. I do take a Vit C pill every morn so maybe that helps. I am becoming more aware and will continue to take precautions.

WWWWwwweeeeellllll….

The thing about almost all store bought orange juice is that they are flavored by or in some part by ethyl butyrate.  EB is or was originally derived from the orange or orange peels itself, and goes through whatever chemical process to become EB.  Then it is put back into the orange juice.

So outfits like Tropicana and Simply Orange can technically/legally get by calling it 100% natural.  

EB is also used to scent or “flavor” perfumes and other cosmetics.

Back on topic….

My lead levels went high back in about 2007.  I was shooting an every Tuesday night IDPA style match at an indoor range.  The ventilation there was horrible.  A few of the workers there actually had to do a legit medical chelation process.

I stopped shooting that indoor match, and my lead levels went down.

If I am at the doctor’s and I’m getting blood drawn, I will ask about getting my lead levels check, they always ask why.  I tell them that I do stained glass as a hobby and that the metal between the glass pieces is actually lead.  I never mention anything about guns, casting boolits, or reloading.

Another thing is they changed the levels on what they thought was bad. The research Dr said back a ways it was over 32 when they started to let you know something was going on. Now if it is over that and you are reported to the state. I was 1 number from my house being inspected.

And yes, some brass does have lead in it.  BUt I think you getting the leaded water on you could be a source of the lead you absorbed somehow. Next time you do a big anneal run, have a fan at your side. NOT at your back. On the side it will blow away the fumes. At your back it will create a vacuum or low pressure and the fumes will come back at you before being blown away from the side of you.

I only anneal pin washed (blingy) brass, so any lead in my system isn't coming from that. However, I manually decap brass before wet tumbling and do that bare handed, so I should probably wear a latex glove or something as my hand is super dirty/gross after a depriming session. I wash my hands like a freak though, probably 20 times a day.

I have noticed that I'm fairly allergic to Imperial dry neck lube. Any time I start neck lubing brass, the tops of my hands start getting hives on them. Probably an issue.... LOL.

-ZA