Lead pollution closes club

[ladder13]

A number of clubs have been closed or are in trouble because of lead pollution, another front to be fought on the battle to retain our rights.
The club I belong to has been very active in controlling it's effects on the environment, constant lime applications and monitoring. We don't have the millions it would cost us to fight the battle, especially since we're just 200 yards away from a tributary to the big city's water supply.

This club, not so lucky.

Gun club closed because of pollution from spent bullets | Fox News

 

[Hillbilly77]

All I had to see was "California".

From the article:

Lead from bullets is leaching into groundwater and creeks that flow into Lake Chabot, which is supposed to provide a backup drinking-water supply for the East Bay Municipal Utility District. A Park district spokeswoman said no trace of lead has been found in the lake.

No lead in the lake, eh?
Never let the truth interfere with a good story.

 

[rwsmith]

That is frinkin' ridiculous....

All I had to see was "California".

From the article:


No lead in the lake, eh?
Never let facts interfere with an argument.

The hazard comes from aquatic life (birds, fish) INGESTING lead shot, which I can buy. Yer right. Another ploy to limit the usefulness and usability of guns to the point where they would be impractical to own.

 

[amazingflapjack]

Our range-Ocala sportsmans assoc.-had someone come in and use a machine to "mine" he lead out of the berm.

 

[Fishinfool]

When I was a kid growing up in CT, I was luck enough to live about an hour from the old Remington Trap & Skeet club, overlooking Long Island Sound. Open to the public, it had pro level trap and skeet fields, as well as a dinner, club house, and gun shop. You could rent a 3200 O/U, or an 1100, along with a box of shells for something like $6.00, including a round of skeet. I remember watching Remington factory pro shooters on the skeet field, blindfolded, hitting 25 out of 25. Would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it.

Spent many an enjoyable day there with my father, friends, and a couple of high school teachers who were serious shooters. We would often spend the mornings hunting ducks in the nearby salt marshes around Lordship, then hit the club for an afternoon round of skeet & lunch.

Then one day, out of the blue, maybe 1980 or so, shut down by the EPA due to the lead shot being deposited in the sound. Sat vacant for years, and today, I would guess its all million dollar condos on that site.

Progress.....

Then to add insult to injury, a couple years ago I was out on Long Island Sound, fishing a blue fish tournament, when we spotted a huge smoke cloud over Bridgeport CT. Turned on the radio. It was the huge, old abandoned Remington Arms factory burning to the ground. Anyways, that's my 2 cents about lead contamination...

Larry

 

[arjay]

The trap club I shot at 30 years ago was redeveloped into a golf course community.The trap range has been replaced by a strip mall.They hauled off the top 6' of soil before building it

 

[italiansport]

Many of you may remember the trap and skeet club overlooking Lake Michigan in Chicago off Lake Shore Drive. Well the lefties got it closed based upon the premise that the shooters were polluting Lake Michigan, killing birds and who know what else. Years later someone finally did an actual study and found that the lead had sunk about 20 feet into the mud at the bottom of the Lake and posed no threat whatsoever.
Jim

 

[PatriotX]

I shudder to think of the number of split shot crimped with my teeth, fishing as a kid.

 

[JSR III]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't lead come out of the earth as ummm lead???

 

[Grip_Maker's_Wife]

We used to live near that area and John used to shoot matches there. The anti-gunners had been trying to close it for at least a decade. Sadly, this time it worked even though their arguments were baseless. They tried to use the lead argument, and as the article says, they never found lead traces in the lake. They also said the shooting scared and traumatized the animals. Matches were often stopped for turkeys and other animals that were clearly frightened as they calmly stolled into the firing range. I'm sure we'll read soon that the Los Altos Rod & Gun in Saratoga will close since they have been trying to close that one for years too followed by Sunnyvale Rod & Gun Club, both of which were moved to "the boonies" decades ago due to complaints at the time. Urban sprawl has now made those places less rural. Unfortunately the people that build their homes next to the ranges complain about noise. Duh

 

[DWalt]

It is fairly simple to prevent lead leaching in soil by amending it with one of several different substances, and there has been quite a bit of research done on it. One is ground fish bones, also phosphate fertilizer. Both bind with lead and immobilize it. Acidic soils are prone to causing lead corrosion and leaching into storm water runoff. Alkaline soils usually do not have any leaching problems, as lead does not corrode in an alkaline soil environment. One of these days, I believe that it may well become an EPA regulation that only lead-free ammunition can be used anywhere. And you think ammunition is expensive now? The military is now using non-lead projectiles in many applications. The Army's (relatively) new 5.56mm M855A1 round uses a lead-free bullet. The USAF has been using completely lead free 5.56mm and 9mm ammunition (bullets and primers) for quite a few years in training applications. I think some civilian indoor ranges are now requiring the use of only lead-free ammunition, but more for the purpose of eliminating human exposure to airborne lead than for controlling lead in storm water runoff.

 

[tops]

If lead was half as dangerous as some people make it out to be us old shooters and fishermen would have never lived to be old. Larry

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

And.........How many lead shot have we digested by eating small game that we've taken with the shotgun?..........Sounds like more BS to me.

 

[Grip_Maker's_Wife]

One of these days, I believe that it may well become an EPA regulation that only lead-free ammunition can be used anywhere.

Non lead ammo is required for hunting in CA except for certain birds but in 2019 will be required for all hunting.

 

[DWalt]

The hazards associated with Lead are grossly overstated. Witness the current water supply situation in Flint, Michigan. There is so much obfuscation being thrown around which is driven by political motives that it is impossible to believe anything which is being put out to the public by the news media. Most of the public has no idea of the science surrounding lead poisoning, and they simply accept without question whatever the news media feeds them.

 

[jcelect]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't lead come out of the earth as ummm lead???

Not in the USA anymore! The EPA shut down the last mine a few years back!
jcelect

 

[DWalt]

Not in the USA anymore! The EPA shut down the last mine a few years back!
jcelect

I think that it was the last lead smelter in the U.S. which was closed. But of course, without a lead smelter, you can't turn Galena (lead ore, which is mined) into lead, so there is no need for a lead mine. Has anyone noticed how the price of lead storage batteries for your car has risen? Wonder why?

 

[BC38]

I don't get it. How does the "regional parks district" close someone's business by voting on it? Is it on city land? Does it have to get some sort of permit from the parks department?

If it was the City refusing to issue a business license, then I could at least understand the means (not the reason) that they are using to shut it down. But what legal authority does the PARKS district have to force someone to close their business?

 

[Salty RI]

I shudder to think of the number of split shot crimped with my teeth, fishing as a kid.

Was there any other way to do it.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Not in the USA anymore! The EPA shut down the last mine a few years back!
jcelect

Incorrect. Doe Run Mining in eastern Missouri, south of St. Louis, is the second largest lead producer in the world. They recently announced a 10% production cutback. Lead waste and lead contamination have been a chronic problem in that area of the state for years, but mining continues . . .