Monday, October 20, 2014

Lead Poisoning at Gun Ranges

GUNMONEY05-NE-091114-CCS

The Charlotte Observer reports

A confused 38-year-old father in Kentucky rarely crawled out of bed.

A conservation volunteer in Iowa lost feeling in his hands and feet.

A 5-year-old girl in suburban Seattle doubled over in pain and vomited.

The cause of their suffering: lead poisoning. The source: dirty gun ranges.

Indoor, outdoor, public and private, gun ranges dot the national landscape like bullet holes riddling a target, as the popularity of shooting has rocketed to new heights with an estimated 40 million recreational shooters annually.

But a hidden risk lies within almost all of America's estimated 10,000 gun ranges: firing lead-based ammunition spreads vapor and dust filled with lead, an insidious toxin.

Thousands of workers, shooters and their family members have been contaminated at shooting ranges due to poor ventilation and contact with lead-coated surfaces, a Seattle Times investigation has found.




Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/10/19/5248781/lead-exposure-at-gun-ranges-a.html#storylink=cpy

18 comments:

  1. We've discussed this before--this isn't a problem at outdoor ranges where ventilation isn't exactly a problem. It's a problem with some indoor ranges that don't keep up their ventilation system. This is a consumer safety issue just like if a rental company didn't maintain their vehicles or heed recalls, if a restaurant didn't follow proper food safety, or if a company like Terminex used chemicals improperly in your home.

    This doesn't require banning lead ammo, just ensuring that ranges keep their ventilation systems in good repair and up to code.

    And no, we're not in denial about it--which indoor ranges have proper ventilation is an important topic of discussion for those of us who go to them.

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    1. Yeah, keep discussing it and keep coming up with the genius conclusion that there's no problem.

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    2. That was almost as trollish a reply as the gun control anonymous gives.

      Of course, the idea of us discussing the issue to warn others away from ranges with sub-par ventilation wouldn't fit your narrative.

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    3. The problem is not limited to poorly ventilated indoor ranges. All the others are emitting lead particles into the atmosphere. It doesn't disappear.

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    4. The others are emitting particles into the open, well mixed atmosphere where they are diluted down to trace amounts. These are not the ones causing these instances of lead poisoning. I've known of two cases of such poisoning--both were linked to the same range with the same bad ventilation system.

      Even your cohorts on the ban lead side are talking about the residual lead ammo in the environment becoming a problem because of animals eating them, not because of the trace amount of particles put into the atmosphere. This doesn't even come close to the problems created by leaded gasoline.

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    5. Correction/clarification, wasn't quite lead poisoning when discovered--was elevated levels which were dangerously close to causing the deleterious effects of lead poisoning.

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    6. MikeB: “All the others are emitting lead particles into the atmosphere. It doesn't disappear.”

      I didn’t think I needed to point out that lead particles are heavier than air and are not part of the atmosphere. Led Zeppelin is an oxymoronic name for a band- it’s not a real thing.

      Do not confuse elemental particulate lead with the organic compound Tetraethyllead used as an additive in fuel. Not the same thing.

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    7. TS, it's not very comforting to imagine that the lead particles emitted by gun ranges are falling to earth and entering the environment that way. You guys keep telling us it's no problem, but you don't know that. As shooting ranges increase in numbers, the problem (the one that already exists) will only increase.

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    8. You mean the problem of mining elemental lead from the ground, and then putting it back in the ground at gun ranges?

      If you're so afraid of elemental lead, you should be glad the industry is taking it from the earth and concentrating it in places where you don't go.

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  2. The tort system is able to address this problem with no government regulations. What is the problem, exactly?

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    1. You expect people to get sick, that's OK because they can sue for damages in court? No thought of preventing the problem in the first place?

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    2. What's the problem exactly. People are getting sick.

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    3. And those places are opening themselves up for huge judgments against them--get a few of those and the bad actor ranges will start fixing their lead problem and bringing them up to par with the majority of ranges.

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    4. People get killed by falling air conditioners too. Should we ban DIY mounting of AC's?

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  3. Strange how these cutting edge reporters didn't mention what is being done to make things better,

    "In a continuing effort to help existing and prospective ranges gain the knowledge they need to successfully operate within full compliance of existing laws, the National Shooting Sports Foundation has organized several range workshops that cover many of the issues range owners face."

    "NSSF's Lead Management & OSHA Compliance Workshops
    Workshops aimed at helping ranges ensure their business practices are in regulatory compliance while determining ways to improve management practices. Learn from a team of experts with hands-on experience in the fields of environmental law related to shooting ranges, OSHA compliance and inspection, and lead reclamation and range maintenance."

    http://www.nssf.org/ranges/rangeWorkshops/index.cfm#item11

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    1. That sounds great so why are people getting sick?

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  4. It's extremely rare. So rare that most clinicians look at you puzzled when you request a blood lead level test.

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  5. If lead is such an insidious toxin, why do democrats spend my money painting roads with it?

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