End of lead going to be all over? From Huntnetwork

John Gryphon

Well-Known Member
[h=3]USA Hunting : End of the line for the lead bullet? Regulations, bans force switch to 'green' ammo[/h]
on 2013/12/23 13:50:00 (5 reads)
When the last bullet-producing lead smelter closes its doors on Dec. 31, it will mark a major victory for those who say lead-based ammunition pollutes the environment, but others warn 'green' bullets will cost more, drive up copper prices and do little to help conservation.

The bid to ban lead bullets, seen by some as harmful to the environment, started slowly more than a decade ago. But with two dozen states, including California, banning bullets made of the soft, heavy metal, the lead bullet's epitaph was already being written when the federal government finished it off.

First, the military announced plans to phase out lead bullets by 2018.

Then the federal Environmental Protection Agency, citing emissions, ordered the shutdown of the Doe Run company's lead smelter in Herculaneum, Mo., by year's end.

Whether by state or federal regulation, or by market forces, lead bullets will be all but phased out within a few years in favor of so-called green bullets, experts say. While many believe that this will help the environment by keeping lead from contaminating groundwater, others say switching to copper-based bullets will cost hunters and sportsmen more and have little effect on the environment.

"Whatever the EPA's motivation when creating the new lead air quality standard, increasingly restrictive regulation of lead is likely to affect the production and cost of traditional ammunition," the National Rifle Association said in a statement

Critics of lead bullets say that in addition to lead finding its way into the water supply and food chain, people who handle ammunition have been found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood. Lead poisoning harms organs and tissues and can result in brain damage.

"Switching to nontoxic lead ammunition will save the lives of eagles, condors and thousands of other birds every year – and, importantly, will keep hunters and their families from being exposed to toxic lead," the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement after California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a phaseout of lead bullets for hunting by July 2019.

 
I think we have all known it would happen for a few years now John.
Sadly apathy on our side of the fence has allowed this happen.Over here we have been forced to use non toxic shot for ducks and geese for some years, something that was allowed without to much opposition from our representatives.
I wish government had been more pro active about lead when i was an apprentice plumber. the lead count in my body is that high i struggle to stay afloat when i go swimming. lol
Paul
 
What will happen to the muzzle loaders, the black powder shooters, etc, I belong to a club that has several members that shoot cap and ball, deerwarden
 
Alarmist talk! That they don't SMELT lead form ore in the USA is all this says. I doubt that we smelt copper from ore in the UK and we certainly don't mine diamonds in the UK either. But I've no problem buying either.

Simply put, as discussed on USA Forums most bullet lead alloy in the USA is made from re-claimed lead, that which is sold to scrap metal merchants, or is imported. I doubt that here in UK we've smelted lead for a long time either. Or made buggy whips.
 
We do smelt lead here in wales my brother works in the furnaces & it's a H&S shithole it's aged him drastically however someone has to do it.
Alarmist talk! That they don't SMELT lead form ore in the USA is all this says. I doubt that we smelt copper from ore in the UK and we certainly don't mine diamonds in the UK either. But I've no problem buying either.

Simply put, as discussed on USA Forums most bullet lead alloy in the USA is made from re-claimed lead, that which is sold to scrap metal merchants, or is imported. I doubt that here in UK we've smelted lead for a long time either. Or made buggy whips.
 
We do smelt lead here in wales my brother works in the furnaces & it's a H&S shithole it's aged him drastically however someone has to do it.

I think that you are talking about a lead recovery plant there that recovers lead including from lead acid batteries. It's supposedly the largest such plant in the U.K. half as big again as a rival plant in Derbyshire that burned down causing major environmental concerns. Yes H & S didn't appear to be their top priority when I visited the plant a few years ago but they were being monitored carefully by both the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency. Not a place I would like to work however the plant does provide a very necessary service.
 
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