Archive for the ‘Lead’ Category

Lead contamination

praven4

Lead contamination at gun clubs and firing ranges is an environmental problem that requires focused attention. Why is lead a concern at gun clubs and firing ranges? According to the EPA’s Best Management Practices: It is estimated that approximately four percent (4%) (80,000 tons/year) of all the lead produced in the United States in the late [...]

Groundwater contamination

praven2

Lead can leach into soil and contaminate groundwater. According to the EPA’s Best Management Practices: Dissolved lead can migrate through soils to groundwater Acidic rainwater may dissolve weathered lead compounds. A portion of the lead may be transported in solution in groundwater beneath land surfaces. Groundwater may transport lead in solution from the higher topographic [...]

Soil contamination

praven3

Although outdoor firing ranges put more lead into the environment than nearly any other major industrial sector in the United States, they remain almost entirely unregulated. In just two years a typical outdoor firing range can have lead contamination equivalent to a five-acre Superfund site. Lead weathering generally occurs whenever lead pellets come into contact [...]

Wildlife concerns

heron

While it’s not often mentioned, wildlife can be greatly affected by spent lead shot. The following example illustrates the destructiveness that lead shot can cause: Southern Lakes Trap and Skeet Club Site, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, et al. In 1992, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) began an investigation to determine the cause of death [...]

Best Management Practices

praven1

The EPA has developed a set of Best Management Practices for gun clubs and firing ranges. Lead management practices at ranges across the United States remain inconsistent. Some range owners/operators have examined the impact of range operations on human health and the environment and have implemented procedures to manage and/or remove accumulated lead from ranges. [...]