Both the Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies and the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey found that there are about 461,000 police officers in America today. These officers must train at shooting ranges, which could potentially place them at risk of lead poisoning.
While most people are aware that high-velocity lead may cause health concerns, what they don’t know about is the lead at the firing ranges is also something to be aware of. This is because of the dust that comes from the shooting activities, especially when it’s not properly contained. Most people don’t understand that proper lead cleanup and restoration of the environment is important in protecting people from lead’s hazards.
What Lead Does to the Environment
When it comes to the environment lead remains there indefinitely. This causes air pollution, especially in urban areas. Also, it’s important to understand that this lead builds up more when located by highways, freeways, and smelting facilities. There it gets into the soil, which is why it accumulates over time.
What Lead Does to Your Health
When lead gets into the soil it also may cause long-term health hazards for the humans who come into contact with it. This includes high blood pressure, kidney damage, and cancer. If a pregnant woman comes into contact with high levels of lead they risk miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, low birth weight, and other malfunctions to their baby.
Clearly this isn’t a risk any shooter deserves simply because they’ve gone to practice at a firing range. As such, gun ranges must take steps to clean up their ranges, making them safer for their shooters, employees and community and we applaud all of the firing ranges that we see every day who take a proactive initiative to protect their shooters and environment!
MT2 is the Leading and Largest Nationwide Professional Lead Reclamation & Maintenance Contractor for BOTH Indoor & Outdoor Firing Ranges and has served over 1,200 public and private firing ranges nationwide since 2000. MT2’s firing range services include complete range maintenance, improvements and lead remediation services.
MT2’s extensive list of clients includes over 400 law enforcement agencies such as NYPD, State Departments of Corrections, and the US Military. Since 2006, MT2 has been implementing a BMP Program for lead management and maintenance that successfully reduces lead hazards at the NYPD training range where over 40,000 officers and recruits train annually. The NYPD BMP Program includes removal and recycling of lead bullets and bullet fragments; sampling, analysis and monitoring of soil and groundwater conditions; and chemically converting potential leachable lead fines remaining in range soils utilizing MT2’s patented ECOBOND® lead treatment technologies so that treated soils are considered non-hazardous and can be replaced back onto range berms.
Contact us today to see how we can help your range and shooters stay safe
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