Lead poisoning is a major threat at America’s shooting ranges

sixbrx wrote: post #5

INDOOR ranges, to be clear. I don't know how people can stand shooting in them because of the increased percussion, regardless of lead poisoning.

In Cambridge, MA, I'm pretty sure the only range within any reasonable travel time is an indoor one.

Re: Lead poisoning is a major threat at America’s shooting ranges

#7

Post by chrisbennet » Sat, Oct 18, 2014, 1:22 AM UTC

wycx wrote: post #4

Anyone know in what form lead occurs in the residue/vapour at gun ranges? Is it all native Pb, or are other more soluble compounds formed during firing?

There is lead styphnate in primers though I think there are lead-free ones now.

Re: Lead poisoning is a major threat at America’s shooting ranges

#8

Post by hga » Sat, Oct 18, 2014, 2:02 AM UTC

Just skimmed it (about to go to bed), but I'm not impressed:

For starters, as others have noted, the danger is from the lead styphnate in primers when used in indoor ranges. They ought to have made that clear ... especially since there's an obvious solution which is good for ranges (we don't entirely trust lead free primers yet, but unless one causes a squib misfire that lodges a bullet in the barrel, it's not a serious problem).

They invoke the eeeeevil NRA ... which is the organization of gun owners. Not a word about the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the organization for the gun industry, including ranges.

Don't know if they went into it for real, but this danger has been generally recognized for as long as 3 decades. The NRA has certainly been telling its members about it. Just like we're told not to eat or smoke while reloading. Of course, there's more than one compelling reason to not smoke while reloading ^_^.

Re: Lead poisoning is a major threat at America’s shooting ranges

#9

Post by hga » Sat, Oct 18, 2014, 2:13 AM UTC

sixbrx wrote: post #5

INDOOR ranges, to be clear. I don't know how people can stand shooting in them because of the increased percussion, regardless of lead poisoning.

If you're at all interested in self-defense, getting used to the percussion, albeit with hearing protectors, is a very good idea, since you might have to use a gun inside a building.

(There are earmuffs that'll receive, or even amplify outside noise except of course for gun shots. They're very useful for instruction.)

Re: Lead poisoning is a major threat at America’s shooting ranges

#10

Post by astrodust » Sat, Oct 18, 2014, 6:10 AM UTC

hga wrote: post #8

Just skimmed it (about to go to bed), but I'm not impressed: For starters, as others have noted, the danger is from the lead styphnate in primers when used in indoor ranges. They ought to have made that clear ... especially since there's an obvious solution which is good for ranges (we don't entirely trust lead free primers yet, but unless one causes a squib misfire that lodges a bullet in the barrel, it's not a seri…

Inspecting barely a fraction of the facilities and having very limited power to prosecute the most flagrant violators is the take-away from this.

You're obviously reading something into this. I didn't get a "guns are bad, NRA is evil" vibe at all. Instead I read about how people in this industry, customers and employees have little to no protection from potentially hazardous environments and perhaps no idea how severely contaminated some of these ranges are.

It would seem that if one of these ranges had an elevator in it, the elevator would be inspected far more frequently than the range itself would be.

Maybe you've been informed about the potential risks of an indoor range, but it seems that those risks are severely compounded when an operator flagrantly ignores any reasonable safety standards like filtering recirculating air.