Elevated lead level

[BobM]

KN95 have been surprisingly working out very well in the medical community - with a caveat on fit and durability. It's been working out good enough that as Delta spun-up, my wife requested that we purchase some more to supplement our stocks. Given that her frontline staff were willing to bet their lives on it, I was amenable to the purchase. [A physicist friend of mine -who does not see N95 as valid protection versus COVID- was comfortable in comparing KN95 to N95 in terms of filtration performance, FWIW.]

That said, I'll take a trusted American brand like 3M, as @C. Sumpin recommended.

If you have the ability to have a fit test, @Old_Me , maybe through a friend who is in occupational health or such related fields, I would call in a favor and get that done.

Be sure that it fits well. Getting an actual "American" N95 now is more than half the battle, but if it doesn't fit properly, you're still on the losing side of the equation, I'm afraid. Failing that, some masks do have end-user fit-check steps noted on their packaging or packing insert - those steps should be followed to check your fit each and every time you use the respirator, anyway, but as a substitute for a true fit-test, it's arguably passable, if you can be absolutely honest with yourself.

For the time being, don't go crazy getting a lot of these, @Old_Me . The supply chain should eventually catch-up again...and I personally think that it will do so before the ammo situation sorts itself out.

A painters supply, possibly many auto parts stores or a good local home improvement store should also have good quality N95 masks and respirators used in some paint applications. Many do when checked last.

 

[Old_Me]

A painters supply, possibly many auto parts stores or a good local home improvement store should also have good quality N95 masks and respirators used in some paint applications. Many do when checked last.

yes, i did check an auto parts supply warehouse that i buy from. the prices for what they offer, are very high. the brand i am getting today in fact from amazon, are made in america, and are the N95, for way lesser money for the quantity offered.

 

[BobM]

yes, i did check an auto parts supply warehouse that i buy from. the prices for what they offer, are very high. the brand i am getting today in fact from amazon, are made in america, and are the N95, for way lesser money for the quantity offered.

Glad you got that under control Old_Me.
- Markups and prices can be staggering, especially when many products are drop shipped now days, where one consumer basically places an order for another consumer with little to no "shelfspace" actually taken, just more fingers in the pie raising prices because they can.

 

[Old_Me]

20 N95 masks arrived this morning.

the name i mentioned in an earlier posting.

hoping to actually get to the range monday morning (columbus day). or tuesday for sure.

 

[TSiWRX]

the 3M brand Amazon had, is actually made in CHINA...!!!!!!!!

3M has plants in thirty seven countries. Perhaps China is one of them.?

Yup. As @C. Sumpin noted, 3M is an international conglomerate based in the US.... and yup, they do have N95 manufacture in China, too:

3M Will Import 166 Million Respirators from China

The plan does not include a ban on exporting the face masks to Canada or Mexico.

www.ehstoday.com

FDA yanks 60 Chinese companies' respirators from emergency use list

The FDA has removed respirators made by 60 companies in China from its emergency use authorization (EUA) list for COVID-19 over concerns that they may be “sub-standard.” The list, which had totaled 74 manufacturers when issued April 24, still includes 15 models of N95 respirators made in China...

www.massdevice.com

These days, it's really less about the "where" of a product's manufacture (and for more complicated products, it's much harder to trace -even mores insist on the origin of- every single component), and more about the actual product's QA/QC.

I still tend to assign "trust" based on a company's overall track-record, but even then, as just this (ongoing) incident shows, it's no guaranty.

The same can be said for just about anything, though, even the components we put into our favorite firearms.

This mega-length QA/QC discussion about the AR-15 platform works well to demonstrate the cross-over:

 

[Old_Me]

ok, a few months ago, my lead level was at 27

this past testing, (this past Monday, and i got the results today) my doctor says it is up to 31.

so let me ask, can lead be "inhaled" at the firing range, from either reloaded or new ammo, as we fire our guns.?

i know that many times, when i shoot reloaded ammo, my gosh, the smoke that is thick.

i know that lead dust in on the floor. i am very careful to sweep up the spent casings at either the public range or the club.

also, i take home the spent casings, i either throw many into the 5 gallon bucket to take to the recycler, or i put 50 to 100 rounds back into the boxes they came in, and take them to the reloaded ammo store, for credit, towards other boxes.

would wearing that covid face mask be of any help?

thanks in advance for suggestions.

the above posting was from me, back in October of 2021.

since then, my lead level in my blood was (1st testing) 27, as mentioned.

then it went up to 31, again as mentioned

went down to 30 in the spring of this year (March 2022)

my recent testing last week, (Oct 19th, 2022) it dropped down to 17.9...!!

so, i'd be thinking that, wearing the latex gloves while cleaning is working.

also, i do have "lead removal wash" at home as well, that after cleaning the gun(s), i wash with general soap and then that lead wash soap, on top of that.

at the range, i have lead wipe cloths, that i carry in my range bag. (and recently bought more).

so for me, "seeing" the lead level drop that many points, 12.1 drop, is a great feeling.

now that i am into reloading, i make sure i wear 1 latex glove, on the left hand, as that feeds the bullets, and wash twice afterwards.

i should also point out, that a long time ago, i stopped wearing the N-395 face mask.

i cannot say when my next blood test will be, hopefully sometime in Feb/Mar of next year.

 

[StillLearning]

Some additonal info that may help
Last winter i shot at an indoor range weekly. Approx 15 people and about 100rds apiece. Fairly good ventilation. Open windows and big fans. I also reloaded 4,000 9mm and 1,500 12ga during the same period. I also melt shot. I actually did it inside a large pole barn once or twice last winter. I don’t wear a mask either.…not smart. I decided to have my lead tested. It came back 7.0 mcg/dL. I’m not sure they used the right collection tube, however. I made sure I only melted outside and haven’t been to to the indoor range for several months. Was reloading at a similar rate. Approx 6 months later lead level was down to 5.7 and I know the collection tube was correct (three tries to get it correct). I think I read that 3 was the limit for children or you risk developmental issues. Not sure I found a valid number for adults….think I found 5 but was unable to confirm.
Based on this very limited data, and some stupid actions on my part, your 31 sounds like maybe another problem if you are just shooting……not sure if the units on your 31 is consistent with mine…..
Not claiming expertise…..just hoping to add a data point to your research.

 

[Old_Me]

Some additonal info that may help
Last winter i shot at an indoor range weekly. Approx 15 people and about 100rds apiece. Fairly good ventilation. Open windows and big fans. I also reloaded 4,000 9mm and 1,500 12ga during the same period. I also melt shot. I actually did it inside a large pole barn once or twice last winter. I don’t wear a mask either.…not smart. I decided to have my lead tested. It came back 7.0 mcg/dL. I’m not sure they used the right collection tube, however. I made sure I only melted outside and haven’t been to to the indoor range for several months. Was reloading at a similar rate. Approx 6 months later lead level was down to 5.7 and I know the collection tube was correct (three tries to get it correct). I think I read that 3 was the limit for children or you risk developmental issues. Not sure I found a valid number for adults….think I found 5 but was unable to confirm.
Based on this very limited data, and some stupid actions on my part, your 31 sounds like maybe another problem if you are just shooting……not sure if the units on your 31 is consistent with mine…..
Not claiming expertise…..just hoping to add a data point to your research.

yeah, i still pretty much only shoot at an indoor range. going about 45 minutes to a free outdoor range, just isn't working out for me, for personal reasons i wish to not disclose.

the venting system at my club, and the public range are maintained as well as i can "see", i do not question thier maintenance schedules.

the only times i am actually handling lead, is when i load my magazines, even then, not too much fingering the lead bullets is involved, as i pick up each cartridge from the casing, not the bullet.

i have read in at least one of my magazines, that the primers in the cartridges also have "lead salts", so from what i gather, we are inhaling that as well.

as i reload now, i am wearing 1 latex glove, on my left hand, as that is the hand that feeds the bullets into the cases.

i "think" that wiping down with those "lead wipes" after shooting, and washing with "lead removal soap" more frequently, are working.


if my safety glasses did not fog when wearing the N-395 mask, id' still be wearing one, but if i cannot see the front sight, nor the target, i just ain't gonna continue to wear that mask.


time will tell, come spring , and the next lead testing.