Lead poisoning from brass bullet?

[jsbhike]

Gonna guess ingesting/inhaling are the 2 biggest issues of lead contamination from shooting and handling firearms.

Those are the reasons for why you need to wash hands after and have adequate ventilation.

Dick Lee's reloading manual mentions brass tumblers as an area very likely to expose a person to lead, much more so than even casting bullets.

[AndyLate]

So it is a danger?

The state of California would say yes.

I would say the lead exposure you expirience from shooting 20 rounds of standard ammunition is infinitely greater than you would expirience from wearing the projectile.

Standard primers contain lead and you should tumble brass away from occupied parts of your house (i.e. tumble in the garage instead of living room) avoid breathing the dust from tumbled brass, and always wash your hands after shooting or handling ammunition. Kids are much more susceptible to lead poisoning and lead poisoning in a small child is serious.

Andy

[mark5pt56]

And why do we still find Civil War musket balls?

[mark5pt56]

Gonna guess ingesting/inhaling are the 2 biggest issues of lead contamination from shooting and handling firearms.

Those are the reasons for why you need to wash hands after and have adequate ventilation.

Dick Lee's reloading manual mentions brass tumblers as an area very likely to expose a person to lead, much more so than even casting bullets.

Soft tissue and inhalation are the culprits. If you ever have your lead levels checked, don't do it within a short time of a range trip.

[STAMarine]

Lot of guys wearing hog's teeth that sure don't worry about lead poisoning and they aren't lead free.

[Uni-Vibe]

I know of a few guys with bullets inside of them, and they dont have lead poisoning. (Not scientific, I know)
You’ll be fine, laquering it keep it looking nice and keep the lead off your skin.

Fwiw, I dont think lead is an alloying component, likely a contaminate... at least that applies to brass specs I’ve heard of.

Correct. The body typically surrounds a lead bullet with a kind of fibrous cocoon and plenty of people have carried such bullets for decades with no ill effects.

The problem arises when a bullet, or a fragment, gets into a bone. There, you have chemicals that leach out the lead, which flows out into the bloodstream and lymphatic system. This process can, and indeed has, caused deaths from lead poisoning years after the shooting.