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Is Breathing Moly Dust Harmful?

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06 January 2004, 08:35
LE270
Is Breathing Moly Dust Harmful?
Today I treated some bullets to moly coating. I use a closed drum into which I put the bullets along with some steel BBs and the moly powder. I rotate the drum for about 50 minutes. I then pour the bullet-BB mixture out into a bowl and fish the bullets out, using a spoon, and put them back in the box. I then pour the moly-coated BBs into a jar to save them to use the next time.



At no time was I aware of moly dust being in the air, and I did not get such dust on my clothes -- at least not noticeably. But this afternoon I blew my nose -- I'm suffering from a bit of a cold -- and I found some blackness from the moly on the tissue I used to wipe out my nose. So, obviously, I did breathe in some moly dust.



My question: Does anyone here know whether moly dust is harmful? Does anyone know of medical studies of this question?
06 January 2004, 08:48
Bill M
Lloyd,

I wouldn't lose any sleep over it, but you still might want to take precautions in the future (some sort of mask):
http://www.2spi.com/catalog/msds/msds429ml.html

I coat bullets with DANZAC, and it has a warning not to breathe the dust. I hold my breath when I open the can after tumbling, and let the dust settle before I separate the bullets from the steel bearings.

Regards, Bill
06 January 2004, 09:51
ricciardelli
From a technical viewpoint, breathing anything other than earth's atmosphere is harmful.

But the advantage to breathing moly dust would probably being about to spit further with less effort...
06 January 2004, 09:52
DennisF
I haven't ever seen or heard of any problems associated with moly coating. I haven't even seen any warnings from the People's Republic of Kalifornia (and they think everything you see, smell, drink, eat, or walk past causes cancer). Since moly is so nasty to handle and ruins the drum you use it in for anything else, I will make a suggestion about a trick I have been using. If you order prescriptions through the mail, save the bottles they come in after you empty them. Put your bullets, moly, and BB's in the bottle (screw the lid on good and tight) and throw the bottle in your tumbler. When finished you can empty the bullets and BB's on to a paper towel and simply pick the bullets up and do what ever you want to with them after that (this eliminates almost all possibilty of breathing moly dust. Just keep one bottle and set of BB's for FMJ's and hollow points and one for spire points or any bullet with exposed lead. I use the same bowl for moly coating and brass cleaning and I have been using moly this way for 5 or 6 years.
06 January 2004, 11:04
LE270
Quote:

...the advantage to breathing moly dust would probably being about to spit further with less effort...

Good answer. Thanks. I hadn't thought of that!
07 January 2004, 09:41
LE270
Quote:

Oh yes, before starting the Moly Coating process, be sure to soak the bullets in Hot "Dawn" dishwashing soap for 30min. Rinse in Hot water and let them dry well. Then start Moly Coating. This removes the Forming Oil from the jacket and eliminates "Spotting" of the Moly.

I've done this in the past, but forgot about it this time!

We'll see how this batch of bullets works. (They are .277 caliber 150 grain Hornady SP Interlocks.) They look OK after moly coating anyway.

I've never used Carnuba in moly coating bullets. It may indeed be a useful thing to do; I simply haven't done it.
06 January 2004, 13:56
easyup
I've worked in and around Molly Plants where the stuff is separated from sulfide ores, usually as a by-product. Industrial Hygenists will tell you what the others have said, breathing any dusts should be avoided whenever possible and that molly is not a particularly bad actor like lead, cadnium, etc.

Take care.
06 January 2004, 14:40
tiggertate
Breathing may not be harmful, just don't swallow any, especially if you sneeze a lot!
06 January 2004, 15:27
LE270
Quote:

Since moly is so nasty to handle and ruins the drum you use it in for anything else, I will make a suggestion about a trick I have been using. If you order prescriptions through the mail, save the bottles they come in after you empty them. Put your bullets, moly, and BB's in the bottle (screw the lid on good and tight) and throw the bottle in your tumbler. When finished you can empty the bullets and BB's on to a paper towel and simply pick the bullets up and do what ever you want to with them after that

I use something called a Scholastic Rock Tumbler that I got from Toys R Us. It was designed for rock tumbling, jewelry polishing, etc., and was intended to be a toy for older children. It cost about $40. I use it only for moly coating, so I don't worry about the moly that gets on the outside of the tumbling chamber. I also wear rubber gloves during the process so that I keep the stuff off of my hands.



When loading moly coated bullets, I wear a thin cotton glove -- the kind designed to be worn when dealing with photographic film -- on my left hand and use that hand to take the bullets out of the box and position them on top of the case in the loading die.