ABOUT

Smart discussion of the latest science and news on toxins in your food, water, and air, and what government agencies should be doing to protect public health. Enviroblog is a project of EWG Action Fund.

About our authors.

FEED

 Subscribe in a Reader

Subscribe by Email

An EWG podcast for environmental health news on the go.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

TIPS

Did we miss something? Email Enviroblg.

BLOGROLL

STAY CONNECTED

Get our monthly eNewsletter, action alerts, & environmental tips. [Privacy policy, About EWG]

Healthy Home Tips for Parents

Eco-nomics, the new kind of economics

Please don't disrupt my endocrines!

Taking pollution personally

FEATURED

Please don't disrupt my endocrines!

Healthy home tips for parents

Consumers to FDA: Be there or be square

Lead: Celebrate its ban, but don't cross it off your list

Cheatsheet: Bisphenol A

7 ways to reduce your exposure to PBDEs

Ask EWG

What can I do about fluoride in my water?

What is new carpet treated with? What can I do?

What is "fragrance"?

Which infant formula is best?

Are stainless steel water bottles safe?

Is mineral-based makeup safer?

SEARCH

ARCHIVE

select month October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004

« To swim or not to swim: childhood asthma and indoor swimming pools | Main | Thanks, Calvin, for focusing the nation on children's health »

Poisonous pastime

By Bill Walker

Since the U.S. banned lead from gasoline and paint in 1978, there has been increasing recognition that even the smallest amounts of lead are extremely hazardous to human health. Basically, scientists and doctors have concluded that there is no safe level of lead exposure. The crusade against lead has gotten it out of faucets, lunchboxes, candies, toys, and many other items. But there's one significant source -- more accurately, hundreds of sources across the country -- of lead exposure that not only is largely unregulated but in some places operates on public land.

Jane Kay recently reported in the San Francisco Chronicle:

For 40 years on clear mornings, avid shooters have turned out at the Petaluma Trap and Skeet Club for the sport of popping away at clay pigeons hurled into the air.

The western Sonoma County range looks idyllic with hawks and golden eagles diving over grazing sheep. But in a year's time, the rural outdoor range is strewn with seven tons of lead, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, which owns the land.

Health officials worry about even trace amounts of lead in gasoline, paint, plumbing, food and consumer products, which is why conservationists and regulators are warning about letting thousands of tons of lead accumulate at shooting ranges statewide.

Despite some cleanups and spotty county inspections, dozens of ranges in California remain under the radar of regulation.

Lead litter endangers wildlife and waterways, scientists say. Lead is so toxic that if consumed, it stunts the growth of animals and plants, and causes the loss of biological diversity, according to scientists at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

How big a problem is lead pollution from shooting ranges? In 2001, EWG and the Violence Policy Center took a close look and found that

. . . [O]utdoor firing ranges put more lead into the environment than almost any other major industrial sector in the U.S. According to EWG and VPC, in just three years a typical firing range can become as contaminated with lead as a five-acre Superfund site, and the amount of waste lead contained in a single .45-caliber bullet is enough to contaminate the daily drinking water supply of a city the size of San Francisco to a level deemed unsafe by the U.S. EPA.

According to the National Rifle Association, there are more than 200 shooting ranges in California, and a number of them operate on public parkland, or in some cases, even receive funding from a local government's parks department. No matter how you feel about guns, even the staunchest defender of the Second Amendment would have trouble arguing that taxpayer dollars should be expended on an activity that is dangerous to the health of the community, of the facility's workers, its customers and their families. As we said seven years ago, that's like passing out cigarettes in school.

« To swim or not to swim: childhood asthma and indoor swimming pools |