![]() This means more than the current adult blood lead reference level of 5µg/dL, or 5 micrograms of lead per decilitre of blood, as recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. We found blood lead levels of at least one of the participants in 31 of 36 studies had an elevated blood lead level. About two-thirds of the studies looked at people who used shooting ranges for work. The studies were from 15 countries, but most were from the US. We reviewed 36 studies that measured blood lead levels at shooting ranges. Shooters’ blood lead levels tend to be higher the more bullets shot, the more lead in the air at shooting ranges and the increased calibre of weapon. Shooters can also ingest lead particles by transferring them from their hands into their mouths when they smoke, eat or drink. Lead dust from the shooting range also sticks to shooters’ clothes and can potentially contaminate vehicles and homes. Once deposited in the lower respiratory tract, lead particles (and different chemical forms of lead) are almost completely absorbed into the bloodstream. from Shooters inhale lead particles emitted during the firing of a gun, whether that’s from the primer or the bullet itself. Lead from bullets can fragment and vapourise, exposing shooters to airborne fragments and particles, which they breathe in or ingest. The extreme heat during the firing of a bullet results in some vapourisation of these lead fragments. Shooters are also exposed to lead from the bullet itself as some parts disintegrate into fragments due to misalignments in the gun barrel. When a shooter fires a bullet, lead particles and fumes originating from the primer discharge at high pressures from the gun barrel, very close to the shooter. The bullet primer is about 35% lead styphnate and lead dioxide (also known as lead peroxide). Shooters are exposed to lead when firing lead bullets. ![]() While the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia says it has 180,000 members, not all use shooting ranges. It’s difficult to estimate how many Australians shoot at ranges and are exposed to lead. Given that lead is the dominant metal in bullets and primers (which initiates the combustion of gunpowder in the bullet cartridge), there are large numbers of people exposed by firing bullets. The Geological Survey calculated that in 2012 about 60,100 metric tonnes of lead were used in ammunition and bullets in the US. Indiana University provides funding as a member of The Conversation US. Macquarie University provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU. RMIT University provides funding as a strategic partner of The Conversation AU. Laidlaw do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. ![]() which is an education and research non-profit organization.Īndrew Ball, Brian Gulson, and Mark A.S. I am the unenumerated President of Lead Lab, Inc. Howard Walter Mielke receives funding from ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) and HUD (Housing and Human Development) and the Greater New Orleans Foundation. Gabriel Filippelli receives funding from Indiana University through the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane University Professor of Environmental Microbiology, RMIT University Vice Chancellors Postdoctoral Fellow, RMIT University
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