Been Shooting Or Reloading All Day…WASH THOSE HANDS!

Back in June I attended a conference on lead fragments in meat and watched as various state government departments wrestled with how to handle the potential health risks of a public consuming lead contaminated meat. [read more on that conference HERE]   I must say if I learned one thing about lead from that conference it was that lead can have some nasty, insidious consequences to children, particularly those under the age of six.

As a hunter who now has a 13–week old daughter, I have been particularly mindful of lead dangers and how they could effect her young life.   What I used to take for granted years ago, I don’t any more.   Fact is, small exposures to lead doesn’t do much to those of us as adults by way of effecting our health, but to young children whose brains are still developing, it can be debilitating causing life-long injury.

As responsible sportsmen we certainly don’t want to do things that can jeopardize the health of our family.   That’s why when I spend a day now out on the range or even cleaning my guns, I make sure I thoroughly wash my hands and remove any clothing I was wearing that could be contaminated by toxic substances.

Most of you are probably aware of this product, but for just a few bucks there is a hand soap called D*Lead that I recommend all sportsmen purchase and have available.   It’s specially formulated to assist in the removal of lead and studies show it is very effective as compared with regular hand soap.

Normally I wouldn’t push a certain product for this purpose, I would just say be sure to wash your hands…but this soap is so inexpensive that it’s worth every penny.   To find out more on this soap and a reputable source where you can buy it, click HERE.   If you need more convincing on the soap’s effectiveness, click HERE.

Look, I’ll be the first to admit that for most of my life I really didn’t give much thought to lead exposure.   Sure, I would come back from the range often with dirty hands and no immediate urge to decontaminate them.   But something changes you when you become a new father (or even a new grandfather).   Those reckless ways of your past become replaced by doing the little things deep down you’ve known better to do all along.    Wash your hands with the proper soap.

2008 Jim Braaten. All Rights Reserved. No Reproduction without Prior Permission.