Archive for the “Safety” Category


Here is a great post from NSSF: Aiming for Accuracy

Media Gets it Right on Lead Ammo

After several weeks where all too many articles about eating game harvested with lead were negative, it seems as though more and more members of the media are understanding the true facts.

Take a recent article by Connie Mertz, “Lead ammo does not spoil harvested game.” This reporter took the time to ask all the right questions, understanding that “researchers” who have ties to anti-hunting groups may not be the most accurate sources of information when it comes to issues of game and .

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Reading ’s regurgitated tripe on gun control drives me nuts.  His mission is to enact the permanently in an effort to “protect the children.”  Citing  that Assault Weapons belong on foreign battlefields not in our streets.  I am certain and the rest of the Liberal Democrats will not stop with one ban, but rather will try to ban /CCW, and other items.

I wonder if the people in this picture wished they had not been subjected to and gun control.   I can really see the Liberal logic in the concept of total gun control safeguarding the children.  I am sure the mothers in this picture are not the least bit worried.

Warsaw Ghetto (Circa 1940)

Warsaw Ghetto (Circa 1940)

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Particle Mask (non-toxics)

This week I was at the indoor range shooting and noticed a couple of other people who were there shooting wearing a particle mask (dust mask). This piqued my curiosity as I wondered why these people were wearing dust masks.

After some inquiring I found the people were trying to prevent the ingestion of lead dust. I did some follow up research on the Internet and found a few scary articles such as:

Shooting for Lead Poisoning Even with all the education about lead-based paint, lead poisoning is still found in children. One often unrecognized source of lead is indoor shooting ranges where the air can be contaminated with lead dust.

Inhaling air containing lead dust can result in high blood lead levels. The dust can also be brought home on clothes. This can cause secondary lead poisoning, particularly in young children. The highest blood lead levels the Baltimore City Health Department ever recorded were in an attendant who regularly swept up in an amusement park shooting gallery. (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0816/is_n10_v9/ai_6885050)

Articles such as this caused me great concern, I was thinking I missed something all these years of shooting and could have ingested large amounts of lead. Further research yielded a study from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) regarding a case study for a shooting team in Alaska.

The shooting-team coach was asymptomatic for lead exposure; in January 2002, he sought BLL testing from his health-care provider after reading about potential lead exposure at firing ranges. The BLL test result of 44 µg/dL was reported to EPHP in accordance with the Alaska lead surveillance system, which requires laboratories to report all BLLs >10 µg/dL. An epidemiologic investigation by EPHP revealed that the man was the chief range officer and shooting-team coach for firing range A, which was used primarily by adolescents. In February 2002, EPHP tested BLLs for all seven members of the shooting team, who were aged 15–17 years. The mean BLL was 24.3 µg/dL (range: 21.0–31.0 µg/dL). BLLs for 14 nonshooting family members were significantly (p<0.05) lower (mean: 3.5 µg/dL; range: 1.0–7.0 µg/dL) (Table). EPHP advised parents of the team members that their children should discontinue use of the firing range.

Range A, an indoor firing range, was used by the shooting team on school property in a multipurpose building that also housed a hockey rink. A utility fan located near the bullet backstop ventilated the range; no formal range maintenance protocol was observed. An environmental evaluation performed in May 2002 by an independent environmental and engineering consulting firm concluded that the range and its ventilation system were contaminated with lead dust. Three months after their initial testing, the four shooting-team members available for retesting all had lower BLLs; their levels declined from 29 to 16 µg/dL, 23 to 11 µg/dL, 22 to 16 µg/dL, and 21 to 14 µg/dL (retest mean: 14.3 µg/dL; range: 11–16 µg/dL) (Table). Range A was closed for 1 year, during which time the building was renovated, and a new ventilation system was installed.

This study indicates the problem is not so much in the shooting activities but rather in the ventilation system of the indoor range. I checked recently with the indoor range I normally shoot at, I was glad to find out that the range has a high quality negative pressure ventilation system. This evacuates the lead dust and other contaminants to reduce ingestion.

For those who are the belt and suspenders type, you may wish to wear a particle mask. Just make sure you use a mask that will be effective. Lead dust is not mitigated with a regular particle mask, a HEPA mask required to protect against lead dust.

Particle Mask HEPA

Particle Mask HEPA

Respirator: If you are creating lead dust or fumes while working, you can breathe in the lead particles and get lead poisoning. A HEPA respirator prevents you from breathing in dust that may contain lead, but it will not stop fumes. This is not the same as the thin particle mask that many construction workers wear. The difference is that this has a HEPA filter that traps even the smallest lead particles and it should fit your face snugly with no gaps where air can get in around the mask. Some people cannot wear a respirator for medical reasons.

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