NRA TV Interviews Jim Barthel President of MT2 Firing Range Services the #1 Gun Range Lead Maintenance Contractor

MT2 was asked to be interviewed on the environmental impact of lead on firing ranges and soil lead remediation techniques. MT2 Firing Range Services is the #1 largest most cost-effective nationwide professional indoor & outdoor firing range lead reclamation, maintenance and construction contractor providing the highest value for your recycled lead. Now in our 18th year in business, MT2 is a recent Inc. 5,000 fastest growing company and is well-known industry wide for being the nation’s #1 largest professional provider of the full scale of outdoor/indoor firing range environmental/maintenance/construction services at over 2,500 ranges nationwide for Law Enforcement, Military and Commercial ranges in all 50 states. No one reclaims more lead or finishes a project faster than MT2!

• Comprehensive OSHA training program
• Knowledge of EPA regulations
• Our “Never Generate Hazardous Waste Guarantee.”

Specializing in:
• Lead: Treatment, Screening & Reclamation to MAXIMIZE Your Lead Value!
• Environmental: EPA & OSHA Consulting, Remediation, Closure.
• Maintenance: Filters/Ventilation, Rubber, Traps, Decontamination
• Construction: Renovation, Design/Build, Improvements, Dismantling.

MT2’s 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 an Environmental or firing range lead reclamation project quicker and safer than MT2. NEVER Generate Hazardous Waste GUARANTEED!

NRA-TV Interview transcript:

NRA-TV: Environmentalists have a history of pursuing very weird agendas under the guise of environmental protection and it appears that gun control is no exception. So, now there are environmentalists, and there’s a huge difference between environmentalists and conservationists by the way, environmentalists targeting gun ranges and identifying them as environmental liability saying that they pose contamination risks to the environment and to employees and customers at gun ranges. The environmentalists making these claims probably know far less than my next guest. James Barthel is the President and MT2 the leading firing range maintenance gun range, lead recovery, environmental remediation service provider in the United States and he joins me now to talk about this. James, thank you for being here and dispelling some of this nonsense. I’m always, whenever I hear that ranges, etc. are dangerous to the environment I always think well if you’re talking about lead don’t we get lead from the very ground that we’re standing on? I mean none of this makes any sense to me. Talk to me a little bit about what in the world these people are, why do they think that a gun, it’s lead, lead comes from the earth. What am I missing?

James Barthel-MT2 Firing Range Services: Well, that’s true. Lead comes from the earth and I think that it’s an avenue to pursue a policy or an agenda that’s not genuine, that most ranges, most range owners, most shooters are very careful with shooting and very careful with how we handle lead. And, part of our business is just to come alongside the range owners and the shooters and just pursue Best Management Practices, just common-sense things that keep the environment safe, keep the shooters safe, and protect the air and the water. These things have been done for a long time and we’re just proud to be able to help this industry continue to be safe and to minimize any impact to its neighbors.

NRA-TV:  Right and I mean we see some of the clean up there and I can’t imagine, I mean I would of especially considering how there is such a strong advocacy out there. I can’t imagine any gun range not following best practices when it concerns clean up. I mean I’ve never been to a range, I’ve never even heard of a range that wouldn’t follow the proper protocol and the proper regulations for it. So, it seems kind of a strong argument and another way to go after again law-abiding gun owners. But, I mean this is your industry, I mean you tell me. I mean I’ve never seen an occurrence where a range did not behave, did not follow regulations where it concerned clean up or disposal etc. Have you?

James Barthel-MT2 Firing Range Services: Well,  our business goes back and deals with ranges from a long time ago as well as current ranges. And, I think certainly in the last 20 years we’ve been doing this now for 18 years and I think in the last 20 years there’s been a recognition that you need to manage lead and you need to keep the lead on the range. And, perhaps 50 years ago, I mean just look at battery sites and mining sites. 50 years ago, there were a lot of practices that weren’t very good, that contaminated land, but in ranges in particular lead doesn’t go anywhere. What we find is that if it’s in an indoor range that with a ventilation system the ranges, the lead’s going to stay in the traps. And, if it’s a trap and skeet club then the range is going to fall in the shot-fall zone and it’s not going to migrate very much. And, certainly shooting into berms the lead’s not going to migrate. So, it’s really a very rare instance where there’s been neglect or avoidance of falling regulations that’s for sure. 

NRA-TV:Yeah, the complaints that I hear especially just as of late it just seems to be kind of more fear mongering. Well, James I appreciate you joining us. MT2.com is the website. James, thank you so much for your expertise on this. Thank you for your time.

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