Idea to melt lead on a stove build

[Parm]

From the net (mayo clinic info)

Treating higher levels​

For more-severe cases, your doctor might recommend:

• Chelation therapy. In this treatment, a medication given by mouth binds with the lead so that it's excreted in urine. Chelation therapy might be recommended for children with a blood level of 45 mcg/dL or greater and adults with high blood levels of lead or symptoms of lead poisoning.
• EDTA chelation therapy. Doctors treat adults with lead levels greater than 45 mcg/dL of blood and children who can't tolerate the drug used in conventional chelation therapy most commonly with a chemical called calcium disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). EDTA is given by injection.

I used to work in the precious metal recovery industry. Blood lead levels of some operatives were requiring removal from that part of the job and a couple were really high, so needed extra treatment. I was only at risk from Platinosis - I kept well away from the silver recovery side of the operation.

I didn’t know that

in my role I’m about prevention rather than cure. I dont know much about medical treatment

EDIT

did no one investigate why exposures were occurring or why controls were failing?
I can’t remember now but above certain levels of blood lead workers are suspended from work where exposure occurs

 

[Barking Mat]

Interesting information in this thread.

I at a pre teen age was given a lead crucible to melt lead to make metal figures. We had the moulds the lot, soldiers I vaguely remember for war games.

We did it alot...

 

[8ob]

I wouldn’t ignore the hazards of working with any molten metals, for a few quid you can get a s/h bullfinch stove,iron crucible with handles and a ladle.Respirator, leather gloves ,apron and boots are a no brainier.

This was only about £50

 

[daleyd]

I used to melt lead for fishing weights in a bean tin over a fire in the garden in my younger days, before I knew better!

I do a fair bit of work now at a place that makes fuel additives (light aircraft fuel and, I think 1 or 2 countries worldwide, still use lead in fuel) that have high lead content, though I don't tend to go into areas that are heavily contaminated that much - I still try and keep my hands in my pockets when I'm in there though

 

[bourbon]

As I understand it. Lead slowly coats the bones ( can be picked up on an x-ray) this 'suffocates' the bones. As it is cumulative the body doesn't get rid of it. That's about my limit

 

[Parm]

I used to melt lead for fishing weights in a bean tin over a fire in the garden in my younger days, before I knew better!

I do a fair bit of work now at a place that makes fuel additives (light aircraft fuel and, I think 1 or 2 countries worldwide, still use lead in fuel) that have high lead content, though I don't tend to go into areas that are heavily contaminated that much - I still try and keep my hands in my pockets when I'm in there though

Is this place at Ellesmere Port?

 

[daleyd]

Is this place at Ellesmere Port?

Yeah

 

[Parm]

Yeah

The consultancy I worked for had a big on site occupational health centre there. The chief medic was a world renowned expert on blood lead. He retired about 10 years ago

Some quite interesting things happen there

 

[Porkypine]

Apparently an early arctic ( or was it antarctic) expedition type thing went a bit pear shaped and a bunch of blokes were stranded, they had lots of tinned grub but mysteriously died anyway.. In modern times they exhumed some of the bodies which were found very well preserved, having been effectively in the freezer since they were buried, an examination found they'd died of lead poisoning, the culprit was the lead solder used to seal the tins of food they were eating exclusively. This would've been when canning foods was in it's infancy.

 

[daleyd]

RPS? They have the occupational health centre on site - I use them for my offshore medicals.

For the main site we've just done some work this summer to add a new tank farm to an existing process, but that was on a different part of plant than the lead area.

 

[daleyd]

Apparently an early arctic ( or was it antarctic) expedition type thing went a bit pear shaped and a bunch of blokes were stranded, they had lots of tinned grub but mysteriously died anyway.. In modern times they exhumed some of the bodies which were found very well preserved, having been effectively in the freezer since they were buried, an examination found they'd died of lead poisoning, the culprit was the lead solder used to seal the tins of food they were eating exclusively. This would've been when canning foods was in it's infancy.

Hms Erebus and Terror? Dramatised in the series "The Terror" (with added monsters! ) but based on real events - they do believe they exhibited quite elevated lead levels due to dodgy canning techniques.

 

[ronan]

Lee Precision Production Pot IV 20Lb 220v 90948 - Premier Distributors

Large diameter high capacity pot, holds approximately 20 pounds of lead. A generous 4"es of clearance under the spout accepts all brands of bullet molds and most sinker molds

www.cdsgltd.co.uk

 

[not done it yet]

did no one investigate why exposures were occurring or why controls were failing?
I can’t remember now but above certain levels of blood lead workers are suspended from work where exposure occurs

It was a south african start-up company. I didn’t stay long enough for them to go bust. It was over thirty years ago.

There were lots of ‘under-hand’ practices going on. Back then, they recovered 50% more gold than they actually informed Rolls Royce of, imported ‘scrap cinder material’ from the US but failed to inform customs of its 3 1/2% gold content, expected the work-force to use less-than-safe kit (like a large crucible with no control, when let go by the operator, while granulating liquid precious metals (by ‘manually‘ pouring into a swirling tank of water), pressure washed all the drains on the site after polluting the river from Peterborough to the Wash with mercury (so that the authorities could not actually prove it was them). I could recount a few others, too.

 

[Screwdriver]

Lot of old wives tales being pedalled here as "fact". You do not generate "lead fumes" from smelting. You can generate toxic fumes from contaminants either in the lead or painted on it but the lead itself remains a solid. The only way for lead to enter the body is as particulate matter, by the time you are breathing lead fumes, you are already in some trouble since this only occurs above its boiling point (1700ºC) which is why I suggested earlier you keep it away from direct solid fuels.

So to avoid problems when handling solid lead you just have to keep it off your skin because small particles can break off and while the very smallest can penetrate skin, the biggest issue is you'll end up transporting it into your mouth next time you eat (wear gloves and wash your hands).

When burning any substance you generate ash, small particles of matter you can ingest by breathing them in. So when you are smelting lead, the mechanism for lead to enter your body is particulate, not as a gas. Those particles may be generated by contaminants in or on the lead. A mask will form an effective barrier but fume extraction and/or working outdoors is the number 1 preventative measure. A mask would not protect you from lead gas for the reasons stated earlier (and it doesn't need to).

Lead in pipes and in solder joints can contaminate water as lead forms an alloy or toxic compound and leaches into the water. When using lead solder, the fumes are again largely toxic fumes generated by flux rather than lead itslef and soldering DOES NOT generate lead gas!!

Anyhow, it is dangerous stuff to be around so if anyone is nervous, leave it alone. But so are kitchen knives, fluorescent tubes and virtually any strong acid. Knowledge about the REAL dangers and therefore the correct safe handling procedure is the key issue. Making things up or repeating debunked wives tales is not helpful.

 

[graffian]

I used to melt lead for fishing weights in a bean tin over a fire in the garden in my younger days, before I knew better!

I used to make weights when at my nans. Tin on a coal fire.
I was an old hand at it by the time I was about 5, one day I was meting the lead in a tin and
the tin started to fall apart, clearly the old tin I had picked out was soldered.

Showed the kid next door how to make the weights, he decided to make the
mold from a potato, now idea if anyone got hurt but gather it spat the lead out.

I have to melt lead now and again. I gave up on melting in can years ago. well I would probably still
be using a can, but I happened to get a ladle a mates dad used to melt pitch, it could have been made for lead.

The mercury hat making thing was something to do with prepping the felt wasn't it?

 

[Screwdriver]

Some here may not be surprised to learn I used to make felt hats. Must've been about 12-14 I guess. Crappy facility on some industrial estate near where I lived. IIRC we would dunk or paint the felt with some white liquid (which I now guess would have been PVA), stick it between two hat shaped heated moulds after slathering them in lard and stand on a floor lever.

Hot horrible work badly paid but it was the 70's man and I needed a new skateboard. Gullwing trucks cost a weeks wages. Then the bloke running it had a new building thrown up and told us to go up on the roof and chop out some panels for ventilation. One look at the asbestos roof and I declined (!) shortly before getting fired...

 

[Screwdriver]

Don't heat lead in an enclosed space - the fumes are dangerous. Far better to do it outdoors to be on the safe side

 

[Onoff]

”mad as a hatter’ comes from pressing animal pelts with molten lead for hat making.

I always thought it was mercury poisoning that lead to the saying?

 

[Parm]

I always thought it was mercury poisoning that lead to the saying?

It is, I cleared up my mistake in post 27

 

[daleyd]

Is that wrong then, as according to the HSE it does, or at least can, produce fumes? In fact one of the high risk activities they mention is melting and casting.