I have an 808 grain solid brass projectile that I’d like to drill a hole in and turn into a necklace. However it isn’t listed as lead-free on the company’s website, and on Midway it even has a lead warning. Would wearing it against my bare skin on a regular basis or handling it on a regular basis be risky or dangerous? Do brass bullets have more lead in them than brass casings? For that matter, is handling brass casings a form of lead exposure and requires handwashing afterwards?
Thanks.
Brass is part Zinc and part Copper. Drill it, spray it with laquer, and enjoy your funky fresh medallion.
From the manufacturer:
“There is lead in Brass it is around 2 to 3% of the material. Attached you will find a MSDS Sheet for standard brass. We do use this brass as well as a Lead Free Brass; however, the Lead Free Brass can be very difficult to obtain. Yes, standard brass is listed on Prop 65 in CA. Whether there have been cases of lead poising from handle standard brass materials or not, I am not certain.”
Hmmm… I’ve seen the spectro analysis on various brasses… I didn’t remember any lead… I guess because of the small amount. I still say if you lacquer sealed it (or some sort of clear seal coating), It’d protect you and keep the thing from tarnishing.
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.
Thats a really good point.
I think the human body encapsulates a bullet or any other foreign matter as a natural defense.
The danger would be handling it and then eating or smoking without washing your hands, more than absorbing lead through your skin.
Andy
So it is a danger?
Once they’re fired, yes… I always wash hands after shooting, before eating. I wear nitrile gloves when I’m reloading, too.
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.
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
And why do we still find Civil War musket balls?
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.
Lot of guys wearing hog’s teeth that sure don’t worry about lead poisoning and they aren’t lead free.
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.