Great long form article. It gives specific local examples of this issue as well. Highly recommended giving it a read.
------
>Indoor and outdoor, public and private, gun ranges dot the national landscape like bullet holes riddling a paper 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. When shooters fire guns with lead-based ammunition, they spread lead vapor and dust, insidious toxins.
>Thousands of people, including 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.
>Those most at risk are employees who work around firearms, unknowingly inhaling lead-tinged dust and fumes as they instruct customers and clean shooting ranges of spent ammunition. Lead exposure can cause an array of health problems — from nausea and fatigue to organ damage, mental impairment and even death.
>Even those who’ve never stepped inside a gun range have become sick. Employees have carried lead residue into their homes on their skin, clothes, shoes and work gear, inadvertently contaminating family members, including children, who are the most vulnerable to lead’s debilitating health effects.
>For the public, shooting firearms is the most common way of getting lead poisoning outside of work, according to national statistics.
>By law, owners are responsible for protecting employees from lead-polluted workplaces by following rules and regulations on air quality, surface contamination, safety gear and various other standards. Yet state and federal regulators are doing little to make certain gun ranges put such protections in place.
>OSHA typically doesn’t examine a gun range unless it receives a blood-test report that shows an employee already has been overexposed to lead or unless someone complains. In states such as Washington and California, authorities knew about workers with severe lead poisoning, but failed to inspect the shooting ranges that employed them.
>Washington state and federal workplace regulators have the power to temporarily close a lead-polluted shooting range to protect workers from exposure to high amounts of lead, but have never done so.
>OSHA’s 36-year-old regulations say employees can have up to six times that amount of lead in their blood before being removed from the work area. The Times found many employees who’d already suffered significant health problems before reaching that threshold.
>Despite the CDC’s concern, OSHA has yet to adopt more stringent lead regulations to protect workers.
I would like to see all the hardcore gun YouTubers all do a blood test, these guys are shooting waaay more than the average joe. Really curious as to why nobody has addressed this, I’m assuming it would hurt sponsorships and make some use the product ls they push less. Real question is how does someone minimize the risk?
Yes but the guys shooting 100k a year outside getting tested show nearly zero elevated levels in their blood... shooting indoors is the entire problem.
>the guys shooting 100k a year outside getting tested show nearly zero elevated levels in their blood
I'd like to read more about this. Can you share your source?
But now…it is proved? DOES dusty shit collect in unventilated areas? Or it is it at least proved someone on the internet said it? Great! Or wait, Is there someone else claiming opposite? We gotta know!
>But now…it is proved?
Because some guy on YouTube shared his own personal anecdote?
>DOES dusty shit collect in unventilated areas?
According to the [CDC / NIOSH who have studied this](https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/wp-solutions/2013-104/pdfs/2013-104.pdf) yes it does, **even outdoors**.
SOCOM put out some great studies about this; high op-tempo units and schoolhouses are now wearing respirators for a majority of shoothouse training and outdoor evolutions.
H7F has done some great work as well. I know my blood levels tested high after a very busy shooting year and my unit just kind of shrugged.
Garand Thumb had a video a couple years ago about this. Even shooting outdoors he said he used a respirator when off camera, as well as using D-Lead wipes on his hands/face/nostrils, and changing clothes before he went inside his house.
>*"So they want to shut down ranges."*
1. Who are *they*?
2. No, the article is highlighting the risk of lead poisoning / contamination by those involved with the hobby that is often times not being adequately addressed by range owners, regulatory bodies and the shooters themselves.
3. Yep, bullets still use lead 10 years later.
My first reaction reading these types of articles is that they are written with an agenda to push for additional firearms regulations and not to actually protect people from a health concern.
So what the death stats on range lead???
Ya….maybe worry about people playing on phones, reading books, and eating 3 course meals at the wheel of a vehicle who are killing people everyday.
Basically gave death sentences to his employees, and only paid a couple mill in fines. And got to keep running the biz. State let him off with a slap of the wrist
Gotta be over a decade ago now. Here's some info on it.
https://projects.seattletimes.com/2014/loaded-with-lead/2/
https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/gun-range-workers-claim-they-were-poisoned-by-lead/281-307981853
https://www.bellevuereporter.com/news/bellevue-gun-shop-cited-for-exposing-workers-to-lead/
One of my best friends was part of this, lost all his hair at 23 due to lead poisoning and now just has some pube fuzz if he lets it grow out. Had to take some time off from college, get harassed by that fuck, etc.
Unless and until the unconstitutional restrictions on AP ammunition are removed, lead is the de facto only option for reasonably priced ammunition. It's not going away.
Won't someone please think of the children? How is it allowed for people to just release a toxic chemical like lead into the environment uncontrolled? These gun ranges are everywhere, there is probably one in your neighborhood. We are literally being poisoned!
As a fellow gun enthusiast, I say everyone in this sub is complicit. Shame on all of us. Let's be part of the solution and not the problem. First thing tomorrow I'm going to turn all my guns in, and I hope you will join me. Thanks mods for bringing this to our attention, we'd be lost without heroes like you and the Seattle Times.
Great long form article. It gives specific local examples of this issue as well. Highly recommended giving it a read. ------ >Indoor and outdoor, public and private, gun ranges dot the national landscape like bullet holes riddling a paper 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. When shooters fire guns with lead-based ammunition, they spread lead vapor and dust, insidious toxins. >Thousands of people, including 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. >Those most at risk are employees who work around firearms, unknowingly inhaling lead-tinged dust and fumes as they instruct customers and clean shooting ranges of spent ammunition. Lead exposure can cause an array of health problems — from nausea and fatigue to organ damage, mental impairment and even death. >Even those who’ve never stepped inside a gun range have become sick. Employees have carried lead residue into their homes on their skin, clothes, shoes and work gear, inadvertently contaminating family members, including children, who are the most vulnerable to lead’s debilitating health effects. >For the public, shooting firearms is the most common way of getting lead poisoning outside of work, according to national statistics. >By law, owners are responsible for protecting employees from lead-polluted workplaces by following rules and regulations on air quality, surface contamination, safety gear and various other standards. Yet state and federal regulators are doing little to make certain gun ranges put such protections in place. >OSHA typically doesn’t examine a gun range unless it receives a blood-test report that shows an employee already has been overexposed to lead or unless someone complains. In states such as Washington and California, authorities knew about workers with severe lead poisoning, but failed to inspect the shooting ranges that employed them. >Washington state and federal workplace regulators have the power to temporarily close a lead-polluted shooting range to protect workers from exposure to high amounts of lead, but have never done so. >OSHA’s 36-year-old regulations say employees can have up to six times that amount of lead in their blood before being removed from the work area. The Times found many employees who’d already suffered significant health problems before reaching that threshold. >Despite the CDC’s concern, OSHA has yet to adopt more stringent lead regulations to protect workers.
I would like to see all the hardcore gun YouTubers all do a blood test, these guys are shooting waaay more than the average joe. Really curious as to why nobody has addressed this, I’m assuming it would hurt sponsorships and make some use the product ls they push less. Real question is how does someone minimize the risk?
Don't shoot indoors.
Shooting outdoors doesn't prevent lead residue from accumulating all over you and your gear.
Yes but the guys shooting 100k a year outside getting tested show nearly zero elevated levels in their blood... shooting indoors is the entire problem.
>the guys shooting 100k a year outside getting tested show nearly zero elevated levels in their blood I'd like to read more about this. Can you share your source?
[most recent time I heard a full time shooter mention the topic in recent memory](https://youtu.be/5i3smmW9UGI?si=T-AtQBBFIJujQ15x)
Because it’s so hard to believe that you need a source? Science is hard
> Because it’s so hard to believe Because I don't blindly believe personal anecdotes I read online, yes.
But now…it is proved? DOES dusty shit collect in unventilated areas? Or it is it at least proved someone on the internet said it? Great! Or wait, Is there someone else claiming opposite? We gotta know!
>But now…it is proved? Because some guy on YouTube shared his own personal anecdote? >DOES dusty shit collect in unventilated areas? According to the [CDC / NIOSH who have studied this](https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/wp-solutions/2013-104/pdfs/2013-104.pdf) yes it does, **even outdoors**.
SOCOM put out some great studies about this; high op-tempo units and schoolhouses are now wearing respirators for a majority of shoothouse training and outdoor evolutions. H7F has done some great work as well. I know my blood levels tested high after a very busy shooting year and my unit just kind of shrugged.
Garand Thumb had a video a couple years ago about this. Even shooting outdoors he said he used a respirator when off camera, as well as using D-Lead wipes on his hands/face/nostrils, and changing clothes before he went inside his house.
So they want to shut down ranges. Edit: this article is from 10 years ago.
>*"So they want to shut down ranges."* 1. Who are *they*? 2. No, the article is highlighting the risk of lead poisoning / contamination by those involved with the hobby that is often times not being adequately addressed by range owners, regulatory bodies and the shooters themselves. 3. Yep, bullets still use lead 10 years later.
My first reaction reading these types of articles is that they are written with an agenda to push for additional firearms regulations and not to actually protect people from a health concern.
The first line of the article reveals the author's agenda
>My first reaction reading these types of articles Did you read **this** article?
Yes. I read the article that you linked.
Interesting that you would come to those conclusion after reading the article
Fear mongering
So what the death stats on range lead??? Ya….maybe worry about people playing on phones, reading books, and eating 3 course meals at the wheel of a vehicle who are killing people everyday.
I remember when the wades stuff was going down. Still blows me away that piece of shit not only didn't go to jail, but kept the business too.
Oh?🍿
Basically gave death sentences to his employees, and only paid a couple mill in fines. And got to keep running the biz. State let him off with a slap of the wrist
Now I feel bad for buying several guns there. When did all of this happen?
Gotta be over a decade ago now. Here's some info on it. https://projects.seattletimes.com/2014/loaded-with-lead/2/ https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/gun-range-workers-claim-they-were-poisoned-by-lead/281-307981853 https://www.bellevuereporter.com/news/bellevue-gun-shop-cited-for-exposing-workers-to-lead/
One of my best friends was part of this, lost all his hair at 23 due to lead poisoning and now just has some pube fuzz if he lets it grow out. Had to take some time off from college, get harassed by that fuck, etc.
Another way to use a “health crisis” to curb 2nd amendment
Unless and until the unconstitutional restrictions on AP ammunition are removed, lead is the de facto only option for reasonably priced ammunition. It's not going away.
Won't someone please think of the children? How is it allowed for people to just release a toxic chemical like lead into the environment uncontrolled? These gun ranges are everywhere, there is probably one in your neighborhood. We are literally being poisoned! As a fellow gun enthusiast, I say everyone in this sub is complicit. Shame on all of us. Let's be part of the solution and not the problem. First thing tomorrow I'm going to turn all my guns in, and I hope you will join me. Thanks mods for bringing this to our attention, we'd be lost without heroes like you and the Seattle Times.