Working with lead

During my empennage build I had to work with several lead weights. This involved some work drilling and shaping them to fit. I know lead is considered a major health risk to the environment. I wonder if its a health risk to the builder. So my questions are:

Are there any health risks in working with the lead in RV kits?

If so, what steps should one take to minimize those risks?

Personally, I just treated working with the counterweights the same way I treat a trip to the shooting range; basically, I just make sure to wash my hands thoroughly afterwards, and especially before I eat or anything like that.

Overall, my feeling is that there isn't really any great risk of exposure from the little work we do, HOWEVER, I have absolutely no tangible evidence to back that up. I'm interested to hear if anyone else took any more thorough precautions.

Lead salts?

I think I've heard that heavy metals in their elemental form aren't much of a hazard to someone handling them. The problem comes when they get into the environment and form other compounds (salts, mostly). These salts are very hazardous, and are readily absorbed into your system.

It might be worth looking into best practices of folks who work with lead regularly, like ammunition reloaders, etc.

M

foka4 said:

I think I've heard that heavy metals in their elemental form aren't much of a hazard to someone handling them. The problem comes when they get into the environment and form other compounds (salts, mostly). These salts are very hazardous, and are readily absorbed into your system.

It might be worth looking into best practices of folks who work with lead regularly, like ammunition reloaders, etc.

M

Click to expand...

That's not entirely true. Mercury in it's elemental form is dangerous to handle. Lead can dangerous, particularly to fetal development and children, if ingested. Lead paint, for example, isn't a problem until its ingested, which infants and children are prone to do as they explore their world. When lead (or other metals) get into the environment, it can cause plenty of problems. When I worked in public health I encountered lead in water supplies occasionally and the source was often pretty obvious, and not just solder or lead pipes.

As for the OP's question, working with a block of lead isn't much of health hazard. Even working with molten lead is relatively safe (casting bullets for example), with burns being the biggest risk. The comment about washing your hands after working with lead is probably the most important thing you can do. The lead that rubs off on your hands can be ingested if you don't wash thoroughly.

I've been reloading (cast bullets as well as jacketed) and soldering with tin/lead solder since the mid 1970s. I've handled an awful lot of lead. Whether it's led to brain damage is a subject upon which different people may have different opinions. Wash your hands before eating or handling food, don't use a grinder that will create breathable dust, vacuum up your work area. Just take some reasonable precautions and you will be fine. Lead is poisonous, but it's not hazardous on the scale of, say, mercury.

My first job (6 years old) was as a trap boy loading clay pigeons. Automatic traps made me obsolete in 2 years. My second job was reloading skeet rounds for my dad and his buddies. I got 75 cents a box!. I'd load for hours until my hands were silver up to the wrist. I don't think it hurt me....or did it? Anyway I just cut some elevator weights two days ago and have found the cleanest way to do it is with a hammer and a wood chisel on a steel plate. Faster than sawing and no mess.

I had the same worries but simply used the same safety precautions I use with fiberglass and epoxy work: wear throw away gloves when handling things and appropriate breathing protection when creating dust or around vapors, keep wearing them until things are cleaned up. I presumed that this was an abundance of caution...I could be wrong

Nothing to worry about...

I have heard working with heavy metals affects your memory. I have done a lot of bullet casting, soldering, and plumbing work in my life, and I have heard working with heavy metals affects your memory. I don't think it has bothered me in the least, although I have heard working with heavy metals affects your memory

Bob

The big problem with lead is buildup in the blood stream. The most common cause is injestion. We used to have lunchs at our gun club in the room with the indoor range. I would never eat there and was laughed at by some of our members. So, the number one preventative is washing your hands after handling lead. The number two is never to smoke when your working with lead. Lead can actually be removed from the blood stream but its a painful
process. Ask some of the guys that used to shoot with me.

videobobk said:

I have heard working with heavy metals affects your memory. I have done a lot of bullet casting, soldering, and plumbing work in my life, and I have heard working with heavy metals affects your memory. I don't think it has bothered me in the least, although I have heard working with heavy metals affects your memory

Bob

Click to expand...

What was the question?

Yeah exposure to lead can make you...........ugh, can make you........uhhh I'll get back to you later

Bird, I think
Yeah bird

Another excellent use for lead is that weights of it don't scratch the aluminum. You can rest it directly on the metal without worrying about that.

Now that's relatively pure lead. I don't know about the lead that's got hardening alloys in it.

Same cautions - wash well afterwards. And the lead will leave a residue on the workbench, so be careful of that.

Dave

I was thinking of this issue while cleaning the lead from my spark plugs yesterday. I was using the cheap deal with the fabric pouch and kept noticing this odd smell. I had visions of small lead particles coming out of that pouch and into my lungs and stomach.

Never worried about it much while working on the lead counterweights.