By Sid Perkins
From Denver, at a meeting of the Geological Society of America
The lead used in bullets and shotgun pellets can be a threat to the environment near rifle ranges, but many of its hazards are manageable, a new study suggests.
During the 20th century, U.S. hunters and target shooters fired ammunition that contained a total of about 4.5 million metric tons of lead. Most of that lead is concentrated at shooting ranges, says J. Donald Rimstidt of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg. Although many jurisdictions today restrict the use of lead shot, Rimstidt estimates that shooters still pump about 60,000 metric tons of lead into the environment each year.