Scientists: New method can remove lead in blood

From Newsmax, reporting on a new method to remove heavy metals such as lead from the bloodstream:

South Korean scientists may have found a way to remove dangerous heavy metals such as lead from blood by using specially designed magnetic receptors.

The receptors bind strongly to lead ions and can be easily removed, along with their lead cargo, using magnets, they wrote in an article in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, a leading chemistry journal.

"Detoxification could theoretically work like hemodialysis: the blood is diverted out of the body and into a special chamber containing the biocompatible magnetic particles," they wrote in a statement.

"By using magnetic fields, the charged magnetic particles could be fished out. The purified blood is then reintroduced to the patient."

Article here. For those who handle and shoot firearms with traditional (lead-based) ammo, a certain amount of lead exposure is probably inevitable. Proper precautions can reduce the exposure to acceptable levels, but blood lead levels should be monitored regularly.