Originally Posted by
SortaGrey
Bold mine.
[acute led poisoning]That is rare.. very. Unless one gets said slug shot into them... the kind of instant 'lead posioning' that kills.. slug's effect. Sometimes slugs are left inside a body.. with no apparent ill effects. I know of the old timers who shot tons of lead bullets in an ENCLOSED environment.. and they all tested LOW for lead levels.
The phrase
acute lead poisoning doesn't refer to a toxic event. It's a play on words referring to being shot, ie. infused with lead and suffering immediate ill effects or death.
In any case metallic lead is rarely toxic. It's various oxides and organic compounds of lead that toxic. If lead is left in the body, it tends to become encapsulated and not dissolve into tissues or the bloodstream. Generally lead poisoning is a slow chronic process as small doses accumulate in the body. You can do this ingesting lead shot, but the more likely causes are lead dust, or ingestion of lead oxides. Dust is a problem because the small particle size is easy to inhale and the increased surface area makes for rapid oxidation.
An interesting occupational lead risk is to dive shop employees. The constant stacking and banging of lead dive weights flakes the surface oxide into fine dust which is then inhaled.