Financial Risk of Hiring Small-Scale Lead Salvagers for Your Indoor or Outdoor Gun Range Lead Reclamation

 

There are many risks involved with hiring inexperienced or unqualified salvagers to remove the spent lead from the traps of your gun range that not only could affect the potential health of your long-term clientele but could affect the financial health of your company as well. When lead has been improperly removed it can become airborne and enter into the bodies of your customers and employees in a myriad of fashions.

This airborne lead can enter the bodies via the lungs or mucus membranes (nasal or tongue), through repeated exposure to the skin, or by ingestion (contaminated drinks or food) and cause many devastating health effects to every organ in the human body. Even low levels of exposure to this mineral are known to have many subtle health effects on the human body, therefore it is vital to limit and prevent all lead exposures.

Children are the most vulnerable to the effects of lead because their brains are still developing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and often these negative health effects are lifelong issues. Yet many firing ranges, in order to attract family members and a younger generation of shooting enthusiasts, have begun hosting birthday parties and similar events where youngsters ingest lead after touching contaminated surfaces.

This is why having a qualified Firing Range Lead Reclamation contractor to properly clean your range is vital to your own, your employees and customers’ long-term health. These ranges need to have a written maintenance procedure that will specify daily, weekly, 6-month, and annual maintenance tasks; range surfaces need to be cleaned with wet mops and vacuums equipped with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters to insure proper lead dust removal.

Because OSHA regulations were created to protect employees and not users of firing ranges, legal requirements for a lead-safety program and adequate range design and operation do not apply to volunteer-run ranges. But an owner of a private run facility is required to provide and follow proper cleaning procedures for the safety of their employees or they and their company are liable for potential health related damages. 

Lead-risk assessments should be conducted by properly trained companies following OSHA approved methods, and ranges with antiquated designs, equipment and maintenance protocols should be encouraged to modernize and adopt published recommendations. Hiring the proper lead removal team is a critical component of this business venture. 

Keep in mind: under certain specific circumstances, range solid waste impacted with lead can be a RCRA Hazardous Waste. What does this mean for your range?

Improperly managed range soil or other backstop material, along with incorrectly collected, containerized and stored lead bullets or shot can trigger RCRA hazardous waste requirements and obligations for your range.

MT2’s proven record of firing range services include: complete range maintenance & improvements, lead remediation services, lead reclamation, OSHA & environmental consulting, operational maintenance and range closure.  Our zero-tolerance for regulatory violations gives range owners the peace of mind that their project will be successfully completed on a guaranteed schedule. No one can complete your project quicker than MT2!

MT2, LLC | 888-435-6645 | Email: info@mt2.com | www.mt2.com