I know everyone says its fine, and it probably is, especially with coated, but does anyone shoot a massive amount of cast indoor that's been checked?

The main things Ive ever seen as warnings are birth defects, and I'm not done having kids... Not that I would want to have lead in my blood after I have kids

I know its 1/10000 but when it comes to that, sometimes those odds are enough to question.

Outdoor range is definitely my preference but I live in South Florida, I'm in it for the fun and 100+ degrees isn't that sometimes. Plus I live 2 minutes from the indoor range (sweet sweet a/c)

This topic comes up a lot - and it's worth a search of the Archives for good info.  Here are the basics:

The MAIN source of high lead from shooting/reloading is actually EATING the lead, not breathing it.  By "eating" - I mean it gets on your lips and hands, or embedded in your nasal mucous - then you swallow.

You can prevent much of the ingestion by simply WASHING your hands and face with soapy water.  The NRA HQ building has a range and they offer a washing station right outside the range for this exact purpose.

I have been dying to setup a shop sink in my garage by me bench, I guess I have a reason to now

BLOOD LEVELS:  lead exposure is usually measured through blood tests.

The PEDIATRIC limit for "exposure" is 10 or above.  The Adult limit for exposure is 24, but doctors typically go only by the pediatric limit (or they are unaware of the difference).  Mine has tested as high as 13.

The treatment / action plan for exposure is: identify the source and stop exposure.  This doesn't mean stop shooting; it means you should use better practices to limit lead ingestion (ie eating it).

Washing immediately after stepping off the line is the most critical step here.

But blood tests only tell part of the story.

Figured I would share, a guy on another forum said he got to 28 shooting 6x a week outdoors thats not what I wanted to hear

BONES ABSORB LEAD.  And they also absorb calcium.  Both are METALS.  The human body does not distinguish between molecules of calcium metal or lead metal.  BOTH are deposited in your bones.  Excesses of either metal are carried in your blood.

The blood test you get is only a "snapshot" of a single moment in time, showing the lead level in the blood at that moment.  It does not tell you how much lead has been absorbed over time in your bones.  

There are 2 ways to deal with lead absorbed in your bones:

1) prevent future absorption:  this is easy: take a calcium supplement, preferably one marked "chelate form."  If your body is given enough healthy calcium, it will absorb that first, and the lead is more likely to be excreted.

2) removing lead from bone in more challenging - it can involve "chelation therapy  (do a DuckDuckGo search on chelation therapy).  This therapy invokes an intravenous drip of medical chelation chemicals - and its sometimes done after kids in poor areas eat a lot of paint chips containing lead, and end up with extreme lead levels.  Typically, blood test levels are over 30 before this extreme therapy is even considered.

But, there is another way (next installment).

This does not surprise me.  Think about the slide on your handgun:  with every shot, it flys right at your face, flinging smoke, oil, and microscopic lead particles right at your lips and nose.  It doesn't matter if it's indoors or out: those lead particles will end up being eaten unless washed right off.

Speaking of eating - I usually shoot with friends and we usually go out for a bite to eat afterwards.  Guess what we usually have?

Hamburgers.  You ever see a man eat a burger with a knife and fork? (Me either).  And French fries - I eat mine with my fingers (and a little lead).  Or pizza (finger food.  With lead.).  Washing is crucial after shooting.

Hmmmm.. I guess the only way to know is to get checked. I will look into the calcium thing, regardless if it works or not, I'm sold lol

I use D-Lead soap after I get done reloading or shooting.  They do make wipes too which would work with cleaning the face and hands before eating.

That is a terrific product.  I've used it for over 10 years.  A buddy who is an engineer (ie- anal retentive type-A kinda guy) did all kinds of research into the chemistry D-Lead uses.  It is the real deal apparently.  Well worth it IMHO.

That is very interesting haha. I am paranoid about it now though so I may have to grab some

I used to shoot an every Tuesday night IDPA style match from say maybe 2005 til August 2007.

The indoor range it was at had and still has horrible ventilation.  You might as well be shooting in your basement.

I got my lead levels checked back then.  I can't remember the numbers off the top of my head...definitely not 24 or higher.

I think it was worse for people like me who RO'ed/SO'ed and were like directly behind and off to the strong side of the shooter.
I could literally taste a metal-ish taste in my mouth/throat about halfway through each match.  We all could actually by the end of the night.

I was casting and making birdshoot too at about the same time.

I gave up on shooting that match, and then my lead levels actually went down.  At some point, the owner came down from on high with a no cast boolits requirements for shooting on his range.

Some of his employees got lead poisoning really bad.  I think that was from sweeping up the brass off the range floor.  No telling how many lead particles they kicked up into the air pushing that broom and dust pan/shovel around.

The owner had set up his own brass sorting station in a back room, so I can only assume this Rube Goldberg contraption he had cobbled up for sorting brass put out even more lead particles.

Ya I cant image sorting brass in your office 24/7/365 could be good for your health hah