Gun club closed because of pollution from spent bullets

[Goliathan]

There's been a push to eliminate lead solder in electronics in recent years as well, because of the possibility of lead leaching into groundwater from discarded electronics in landfills. In Europe that's known as the "RoHS" initiative and a lot of electronics you buy are labeled with a symbol for it.

Science marches on. We used to think that small concentrations of stuff that couldn't hurt anybody; now we find out that yeah, they actually do do quite a bit of harm. I know environmentalism is a thing of the left but let's be real. We can't treat the planet like a toilet and we can't shove the costs of disposal and cleanup and so forth onto succeeding generations.

I remember when RoHS was beginning to become a thing in the US. Tin whiskers and all of that. Retrofitting workstations, cleanup and all the rest. Ridiculous. There was a report at the time that electronics accounted for 0.00something percent of the lead waste on the US. The largest lead polluter was, and remains today, the auto industry. Orders of magnitude more pollution comes from car batteries than any amount of lead solder, or bullets, for that matter.

 

[Christian]

The environment nazis are an amusing lot being the typical nimbys that they are. They enact regulations to "deal" with waste disposal that creates an entire industry in other less(more often than not far less) regulated countries. Nowadays these products are sold and shipped off to third world shitholes where those in the business can't even be bothered to try and hide their activities, at least Boston Whaler buried most of their shit they dumped out the back door in the 80s'. At the end of the day they get to pat themselves on the back for championing a cause which in reality causes more harm than good, just so long as it's done in some brown persons backyard(mostly) and not theirs.

 

[Waher]

Didn't lead shot actually land in the water at that range though? How much lead pollution has occurred in the water sources around Civil war battlefields which are loaded with lead? As I said I remember reading a research paper that stated once oxidization occurs the lead stops leaching, whether that is actually the case or not I don't know.The problem with shot and lead sinkers that got in the water was that waterfowl was swallowing them which is a different situation.

http://www.messynessychic.com/2015/...nce-a-forbidden-no-mans-land-poisoned-by-war/

It can happen.

This is the easy way but slow way to clean up closed ranged:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoremediation
" using Indian mustard (Brassica juncea), ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia), hemp dogbane (Apocynum cannabinum), or poplar trees, which sequester lead in their biomass."

 

[TayNinh_66]

It is long past time that we take our head out of the sand (or other places) and realize that under certain conditions lead from shooting ranges can indeed cause lead pollution.

Nahhhh, let's wait for the EPA. They'll tell us what to do.

 

[drgrant]

Which is why I only shoot solid copper projos on my property. Except for 22lr which is only shot into railroad ties that capture the round and can easily be removed for disposal. I'm in the unincorporated part of the county so everyone in the area, myself included, has wells for our water supply. It's also why, in the past, I have volunteered my time to help w/ lead cleanup at local pistol houses and ranges.

If you build the bunkers/backstop right on your home range its not that difficult to excavate most of the bullets.

-Mike

 

[TayNinh_66]

If I remember correctly when stuff like this has been brought up before, the research showed that once the lead had oxidized that it didn't leach out into its surroundings.

Lead corrodes and forms a layer of hydrocerrussite which slows corrosion. Lead is not mobile and does not wash away with surface water. It stays in the first few inches of the soil. Information was developed during studies at military and USPS rifle ranges. Don't eat the dirt at your range.

Don't try to convince the people of Flint or CA of the above. Flint had untreated corrosive water and the lead leached into the water supply. Their problems could have been prevented by treating the water with Phosphoric Acid (or by replacing the lead service lines.) People in CA are way beyond listening to Scientists or Engineers and are out burning candles and singing chants to to get rid of the evil demonic place of lead.

 

[Keeper]

I do my part keeping lead levels low. I only shoot trap with 7/8 oz loads.

 

[Zappa]

I went to tech school in Ohio back in the early 80's and I remember a trap range that was open to the public, where the field was on the edge a pond. The targets, shot and wads all landed in the water and nobody had a problem with it.

 

[mac1911]

In the 5 years I've been a EPA contractor, we've cleaned up 2 ranges in MA (Athol rod & gun club and Agawam Sportsmens Club). Currently we're cleaning an abandoned range (Mukluk Preserve) in Baltic, CT with lead being the driver/contaminant of concern in all 3 of these sites. The lead pellets from shotguns is the biggest "issue" as well as PAHs from clay pigeons.

I wasn't involved in these sites but my coworkers were. I can't speak on any groundwater contamination but I could certainly look up the files to find out (or if you do a quck google search of these site names you should find some info from EPA). I think it was pretty much excavating the contaminated soil and using a XRF and fixed labs to confirm where the contamination ended.

I wish I was working at my current employer when they did the site investigation at Dan Wesson Arms in Monson. From the photos I've seen and reports I read, it was a former elementary school lol. Had a firing range in the basement

back before everyone became afraid of guns many schools had ranges,teams,hunting groups ectect. My neighbor showed me a pickture of his Kinston high school days had a rife rack on the bus. so they could go hunting right after school or target practice.

its funny though where does the excavated material go. We had contaminated soil removed and some involved in the process says they sell the soil to the asphault companies..... great way to get rid of it?
the epa is probably the biggest polluter we have. when it comes to gun clubs "they" will find any reason to shut gun clubs down. wouldn't surprise me one bit though if the range in CA gets the ok for LEO or .gov training of sorts.

 

[Cabinetman]

I looked at the map where that range is and it's in the middle of nowhere, not really close to any big bodies of water, either.

I wonder if that council would treat a junk yard or scrap yard differently? Ever wander into a auto junk yard? There are thousands of cars leaking all kinds of fluids into the ground. There are a number of them surrounding the club; not too close but there non the less. Seems to me those salvage and junk yards would pose a larger and more imminent problem than a shooting range.

Rome