bad lead

[hillbille]

got some lead from a "source" that came out of a hospital that was remodleing, the lead is pure sheets that is about 1/8" thick only thing is it came out of walls of X-ray room. does anyone know would this be radioactive? or does it just reflect it, or does it absorb it and would it be any great health hazard to melt it? I've made a few hundred balls allready then got to wandering should I be doing this? have close to 40-50lbs hate to just throw it away.

[ED21]

Don't throw it away. It's still good. I've used it for years. The third eye comes in handy . Seriously, I have used it for years. Great to get if you can. Known lots of others who have it and use it.

[long rider]

Hillbille, got to say this, when you try them out,
make sure you try them in the dark, you will know
if there is anything worng, if they begain to glow.

[hillbille]

longrider that is what my hunting buddies have been saying all year, they call them tracers, I passed them out at camp this year to sight in ect, everyone loved them it is so soft you can almost squeeze the ball with your fingertips, reloading is real easy, still just wondering if safe ,"friend" said he can get more just wondering if I should say, get as much as you can or no thanks.

[Raider2000]

With the price of everything going up like it is including Lead, I'd get as much of it that I can store if I were you.

[B. Lahey]

I don't think radiation works like that. If it was somehow contaminated with radioactive material during a nuke blast or reactor disaster, it would be dangerous, but shielding against the minimal amounts of particles given off by a medical x-ray source...

It doesn't seem like it would be a problem.

It's been many years since my last high-level physics class, though. I'm sure an expert will be along shortly.

[long rider]

Yea ill go with raider on that one.
every time i go down to the sportmans werehouse
to get me 100 round balls they put it up 50 cents.

[long rider]

Hillbille you have opened a whole can of worms here
i think we better call up Einstein.

[mykeal]

i think we better call up Einstein.

Somebody called?

Lead does not absorb radiation; it therefore cannot be radioactive. If it were, the EPA would have long ago banned the sale or disposal of lead used in shielding x-rays and other forms of radiation.

[hillbille]

really it is just curiosity more than fear, I'm to old to worry about my noids getting nuked or anything like that just wondering if there was anything to it. Had my 85 year old mother in truck last year on our way to lunch after a trip to the local dump, she had had a stress test the day before and it was enough to set off the alarm at the scales going into the dump. the girl working there asked right off have either of you had a stress test lately?, makes you wonder what they put in you doesn't it?mykeal it was my understanding this lead was not to "go anywhere" it just got lost and wound up at my house.Don't think it is law just policy.

[arcticap]

The form of radiation produced by X-rays appears to just peter itself out. Similar to a muzzle loading ball after it's been fired, once it's stopped, it's stopped for good. Hopefully anyway!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_protection

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremsst...dary_radiation

[long rider]

OH YEA now i remember. i to watched superman to.

[berkmberk1]

hillbille, I was researching lab supply sites for blackpowder making stuff and ran across one where the guy sold all sorts of weird stuff. He was selling some lead canisters that if I remember correctly were called "pigs". The came from nuke labs and had held nuke materials such as isotopes. Apparently they are not radioactive since a major lab or govt. site would hardly turn them over to the public market.................or would they???????

http://www.unitednuclear.com/radmax.htm

If you're really worried, they have a great selection of safety equipment...check out the Decon Spray.

[berkmberk1]

also check out.......

http://www.rotometals.com/Lead-Ingots_c_9.html

[FL-Flinter]

Absolutely all this lead is unsafe and should be delivered to me for safe and proper disposal! Do not delay, get rid of it today! Don't you folks read the paper? Why, just the mere presence of lead is enough to cause massive loss of life, that is if the global warming doesn't burn you up first.

Read for yourself here http://www.ewg.org/files/leadpoll.pdf where you'll find such dis-informative LIES like

A single shot from a 30-30 Winchester containing 8.1 grams of lead could contaminate about 370 cubic feet of soil to Superfund site contamination levels (the equivalent of about 56 bathtubs filled with Superfund site dirt).

To answer your question, the lead itself cannot be radioactive, but it can be contaminated with radioactive materials. X-ray barrier lead used in applications where radioactive tracer elements were used can become contaminated from the tracer elements and sometimes to unsafe levels but this would only be from industrial applications. Being that your lead came from a hospital, there is very little chance of it being contaminated with anything radioactive and even if it was exposed to radioactive tracers, the radiation level contained in tracers used for medical purposes is low enough not to worry about and if it survived the melting process, it'll come off in the dross anyway. X-ray is not radioactive like uranium, they are electrons. X-band radiation is like a high-power radio/radar transmitter - while the transmitter is operating, it can cook you but as soon as it's turned off, everything stops, there is no residual radiation.

In an X-ray application, the lead is used to prevent any excess radiation waves from posing a danger to others. Since an X-ray machine is nothing more than a concentrated beam radar transmitter, those electrons not used to make the actual X-ray picture will continue on their path until they are stopped by something ... the "something" is the lead sheet barrier surrounding the X-ray room. Lead is dense enough to trap the free-flying electrons, it absorbs them but there is no difference between this process and passing an electrical current through the lead, it's the same electrons just used in a different manner.

FYI: The most recent attacks on your gun rights is coming in the form of lead bans. The sole purpose of these bans is to drive the cost of ammunition high enough to prevent you from buying it. Numerous states and local municipalities have already allowed the junk science to sway them into shutting down shooting ranges and some have gone to the point of confiscating privately owned land in the process. It is junk science based solely on lies used for the sole purpose of advancing the anti-gun agenda and it's working quite well since there has been very little, mostly no opposition presented by pro-gun groups. This junk science (lies) have brought you the lead shot ban for waterfowl, lead shot bans at many trap/skeet ranges and most recently the lead bullet ban in condor areas within the socialist republic of Kalifornia.

If you care at all about your gun rights, or any of your rights as an American citizen for that matter, you need to support the Burden of Proof pettition coming later this year. The pettition will be presented to all 50 states as well as the US Congress and will require the burden of proof be placed on government so as to stop the passing of knee-jerk and other unsubstantiated legislation of any kind.

[hillbille]

fl flinter if you would send me a few hundred to cover shipping I might consider sending some out, just be on the lookout for the glowing box. btw just curious on lead but thanks for all the info guys.

[long rider]

NO prob lead head,.
sorry just had to get that one in.

[FL-Flinter]

Hillbille,

I forgot to mention in the previous post.... you have more to worry about if there's any adhesive or other non-wood construction residue contamination on that lead than anything else. Common sense goes a long way:
1- Adequate positive ventilation in the casting area.
2- Keep your face away from the pot - don't be sucking-up the fumes.
3- Do not overheat the lead, no hotter than 850°F
4- Only clean lead goes into the pot, remove all the dirt/contaminents you can prior to melting it.
5- No water/moisture of any kind, it'll explode when it hits the melt and spray the melted metal all over the place, including onto you.
6- Proper clothing, flame resistent non-melting nothing (100% cotton/nomex) that hangs or such so as to avoid spills. Safety glasses, gloves, ect....

[alfred]

If I remember right from my time on a Nuke and NBC Warfare schools FL-FLINTER got it down right.I would be more worried from a illness end until I put the heat to it as some Bacteria and Viruses are extremely resilient.Take the forms of "Staff" for instance that some facilities are hiding from the public because they can not control or eradicate it.Now this is according to some employees.We did get bacteria that would grow in a petri dish off of lead at times just like any other surface.Some very sick folk with many illnesses and weak immune systems are x-rayed.With breathing,coughing and sneezing,it is impossible to keep the area sterile

Most such is in sheet form.Just handle it carefully as you should all lead.You can spray it with Bleach and spread it out in the Sun light for a few days,then flip and do the other side.Direct sunlight kills most bacteria and viruses

[zxcvbob]

fl flinter if you would send me a few hundred to cover shipping I might consider sending some out, just be on the lookout for the glowing box. btw just curious on lead but thanks for all the info guys.

If it's still in sheet form, you could cut it into pieces that will just fit (stacked) in a Priority Mail fixed-rate envelope; reinforce the sides with filament tape, and mail 70 pounds for about $3 or $4. The letter carriers would hate you.