"Gordon" wrote:

The boiling point of pure lead is 3180F. The melting point is 621.43F.
Vaporization will not occur at the melting point as you yourself pointed out
with your comment about the microchip industry.
What you sampled, IMHO, was lead dust, not fumes. Did you measure the
particle sizes present?

It doesn't really matter to the body whether the lead is breathed in
as dust or fume. Both are hazardous.

What was they're method of melting the lead? If they were using a welding
torch, they could very well be exceeding the 3180F temps. This won't happen
with a stove.

The radiator shops were frequently using propane torches. Welding
cutting or burning on metal with lead paint will release lead fume.
If a shop just used a soldering iron, then I didn't get much exposure.

The people doing the lead frogs were using a propane heated pot. The
actual reason I went there was that the lead melted into the propane
heater orifices and plugged them up so propane was being discharged
unburnt into the atmosphere, and they got propane poisoning. When
they got to the hospital, and alert ER doctor tested their blood for
lead and found high amounts. They also tested the homes of the
workers and found lead contamination there especially where they
dropped their work clothing.

I did once get an exposure to lead in a factory that made fuses when
they weren't using lead solder, but were using silver solder. This
made no sense until I found that they coated the terminals that they
were soldering with lead to keep them from corroding, and when they
did the silver soldering (which is higher temperature than lead solder
as you know), it just vaporized the lead immediately.

Macho Man thump thump thump (sound of beating my chest ;) )


"Rosalie B." wrote in message
.. .
"Gordon" wrote:

How does melting lead expose you to lead? There are NO lead fumes and
you

There ARE lead fumes. I once sampled in an old garage where they were
melting lead to make flower arranging frogs (those things with the
spikes in them that sit in the bottom of the vase so the flower stems
don't fall over). The whole place was so permeated with lead that
they could not even tear it down without making it hazardous waste.
Great overexposures to lead.

Welding, even on mild steel can create a problem, and also of course
using red lead paint, or doing construction on steel that has been
painted with lead paint. Even children who live near a construction
project on a bridge which has been painted with lead paint can lead
overexposures.

can wear gloves. If melting lead was a problem, every person that ever

Gloves only protect you from the heat. The danger with lead is
inhaling the fume.

soldered would have a problem!

I've also sampled in radiator repair shops - lots of lead exposure
when they solder the radiators. Respirators required and periodic
blood testing. Ventilation helps.

Most people that use lead-tin solder don't do enough of it to have a
problem. The amount of solder is small, and they heat it just barely
hot enough to flow. The amount generated in the microchip industry
for instance is not hazardous.

That said, old tire weights are covered with dirt, grease, rubber and
everything else off the road and will certainly smoke and smell bad when
melting the lead and that stuff, I would not breathe!
I melt the stuff outside in a coffee can on an old camp stove.
Gordon

Dirt, grease and rubber may smell bad, but the lead itself is the
biggest hazard.

I realize that this goes counter to the macho culture, but it is the
truth.

"Rosalie B." wrote in message
.. .
"Skip Gundlach" skipgundlach at earthlink dot fishcatcher (.net)
wrote:

If you're making your own, go to the tire shops and get their used
lead.
See
Glenn Ashmore's site about how he built his keel!

Is there that much lead in a sounding lead?

In any case, I really do not agree that melting lead is the way to go
because lead overexposure is no joke, and it can occur even outdoors.
If you were doing it on a very limited basis, it probably would be OK
provided that you were not also exposed in other ways (like removing
lead paint or making your own lead shot).

grandma Rosalie


grandma Rosalie


grandma Rosalie