Safety of Lead

[Bone Head]

I've only been doing stained glass for a couple of months and my family is telling me that I should not do this becasue of the dangers of the lead. Can someone help me?

[Monkey's Uncle]

The primary risk in this situation are the fumes from soldering. There are OSHA guidelines for those who solder such as those in the electronics industry. If you do it frequently, good ventilation becomes a necessity - open a window with a fan, install a range-type hood over the work area, etc. If I remember right, lead does not stay in an adult's body over time meaning that eventually, you flush out whatever you have inhaled. For many, just having an open area to work is sufficient and to be mindful of not inhaling the smoke/fumes as it rises from your project. Additionally, personal hygene is important too... washing anytime after working with lead. If you are a maniac about the hobby or a professional that works with it constantly, be sure to tell your doctor to have him include tests for lead in your blood. When caught early, all it takes is a vacation away from lead to make things better. If your workplace isn't well ventalated, a resperator rated for fumes can be used. Children are more suseptible to lead poisoning and should be closely supervised to keep them well. Just being smart about working with lead should keep you free of the dangers.

Here is some more information at: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/lead/pb_standards2.html

[Ryan]

General rule is to always play or error on the safe side.  The main way of contamination in stained glass is hand to mouth contamination.  Lead is a neurotoxin and is considered a poison.  When you are working with stained glass there should be no open food or drink on the table with you.  When you are done working always, always wash your hands well after handling your project.

From my understanding you are not bringing lead to a molten stage so you are probably not breathing in lead fumes as much as you are flux fumes; which are caustic so your area should be well ventilated.  Your house probably has more lead than you are aware of like old paint, caulk, older plumbing, ceramic pottery; all of these are potentially exposing you to lead. 

Just like driving your car, obey the rules, drive safely and you will probably be fine.

[Gail]

Cant you get lead poisoning from touching the metal?

[Ryan]

No, your skin protects you.  It is a type of poison that can not be absorbed through your skin. However, if you hands are cut up now there is direct contamination possibility. When in doubt cover your hands with surgical gloves. The nice thing with surgical gloves is that you still can feel well and you still have the dexterity of your hands.  And as another precaution just get in the habit of washing your hands even if you were wearing gloves it helps make it instinctive.