Lead Astray

JROTC Shooting Programs are Dangerous to the Health and Safety of American School Children.

Research compiled by Pat Elder pelder@studentprivacy.org www.studentprivacy.org

1,871 high schools have marksmanship programs affiliated with the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Program and the congressionally-chartered Civilian Marksmanship Program, (CMP). Children as young as 13 are regularly taught to fire air rifles that are classified as lethal weapons. http://www.studentprivacy.org/high-school-firing-ranges-by-state.html

The Civilian Marksmanship Program

The CMP creates and disseminates curriculum for marksmanship and safety instruction. It also publishes “The Guide to Lead Management for Air Gun Shooting,” a widely distributed document that rules out the use of non-lead ammunition and is based on questionable science that purports to minimize exposure to toxic lead.

The CMP was established by Congress in 1903 to teach marksmanship skills to the public with an emphasis on youth. In 1996, the organization was privatized by Congress. The legal name for the CMP is the Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety, Inc. It had total net assets of $220.8 million (greater than the NRA) and holds $184.7 million in publicly traded securities. It received more than $17 million from the federal government for 2013. The CMP, a private organization, sells warehoused Army weaponry to private citizens. The corporation’s 2013 990 states,

“JROTC and active Army programs — at no cost to the government, develops curriculum for marksmanship and safety instruction, trains and certifies JROTC coaches, inspects high school range facilities, organizes, administers, and conducts JROTC Air Rifle competitions for all military services, subsidizes JROTC travel to CMP events, awards significant scholarships to deserving JROTC and other high school marksmanship competitors, provides

annual grants to state 4-H shooting programs. At no cost to the government CMP produces and provides marksmanship safety videos and literature, admin-isters Army and USMC rifle competitions. “

The corporation spent just $410,000 on the above items, slightly more than the compensation received by its Chairman and CEO, Judith A Legerski.

Despite the objections of Sen Paul Simon, who called the program “An incomprehensible, irresponsible, baffling boondoggle for the NRA,” Congress failed to include a mandatory annual financial audit to examine the corporation's internal controls regarding compliance with the 1996 act.

For the first time in its 115-year history, the CMP has been authorized by Congress to sell semiautomatic handguns to the public. While the National Defense Authorization Act granted transfer of a maximum of 10,000 1911s per year to the CMP, the Secretary of the Army allowed only 8,000 1911s to be transferred to the CMP for sale and distribution this fiscal year. http://thecmp.org/cmp_sales/1911-information/ These pistols may sell for $500 to $1,000 apiece.

The CMP website added this on May 9, 2018, “CMP 1911 is an FFL governed operation and is a separate entity from CMP and has its own record keeping operation with no ties to the existing CMP records.”

Airguns Sound Harmless

JROTC programs across the country are run by the four military branches and regulated by the CMP. The marksmanship programs use the Daisy Avanti 887 CO2 air rifle and similar Daisy rifles. These rifles shoot a lead .177 caliber flat-nose airgun pellet weighing 7.9 grains at speeds up to 600 feet per second. Its maximum shooting distance is 257 yards. The pellet has a diameter of .177 inches, just like a .22 cal. bullet has a diameter of .22 inches.  A .22 pistol, the kind that was used in the attempted assassination of President Reagan, fires at about 900 feet per second. They are both lethal weapons. 

Between 2001 and 2011, non-powder guns injured 209,981 people nationwide, including 145,423 children age 19 or younger. In 2011 alone, 16,451 injuries—including 10,288 injuries to children age 19 and younger—resulted from the use of non-powder guns. State-level data suggests that non-powder guns are far more lethal. For example, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported that

between 2007 and 2009 in Texas alone, 124 people (including 23 children under the age of 18) were killed in accidents involving BB guns, pellet guns, and other non-powder guns. http://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/child-consumer-safety/non-powder-toy-guns/

These tragedies are highly preventable through laws that treat non-powder guns like the potentially lethal weapons they are. Twelve states, including Florida, impose age restrictions on the possession, use, or transfer of air guns like the Daisy Avanti 887.  Most of these states and a few others specifically prohibit carrying air guns into schools. Incredibly, almost half of the states have no laws regulating air guns. http://smartgunlaws.org/non-powder-guns-policy-summary/

++++++++++++

JROTC airguns that shoot lead projectiles cause lead contamination

Many schools allow shooting to occur during school hours in classrooms, cafeterias, and gyms that are contaminated by lead fragments that become airborne and are deposited on the floor at the muzzle-end and at the target backstop. Loose enforcement of regulations creates a health hazard for students and custodial staff.  Kids are walking through lead-contaminated areas and are routinely tracking poisonous lead particulates throughout their schools. 

See this story from Fairfax County, VA: “Lead Contamination at Five County High Schools.”  Connection Newspaper, http://bit.ly/2fgU5TT. Fairfax banned the use of lead ammunition in its schools.

When confronted by parents concerned about lead contamination in a school with a JROTC shooting range, officials in Montgomery County, Maryland, (next door to Fairfax), cited the Civilian Marksmanship Program's “Guide to Lead Management for Air Gun Shooting” while telling parents there was no threat from the lead. Officials said they were satisfied that students were only being exposed to small amounts of lead.   

The Civilian Marksmanship Program’s “Guide to Lead Management for Air Gun Shooting,” is a publication that relies on outdated and faulty science to downplay the harm caused by lead. The CMP says airguns do not produce airborne lead particulates.http://thecmp.org/wp-content/uploads/LeadMgtGuide.pdf?ver=-09122017

Airgun use has been shown to produce airborne lead particulate matter, while the Civilian Marksmanship Program relies on the work of a discredited Colorado firm to maintain that firing airguns do not contribute to airborne lead.  This is important because high school cafeterias and gyms do not have appropriate ventilation systems to handle minute lead particulates.

The CMP’s 2013 Guide to Lead Management relies on the findings of Health & Environmental Technology LLC (HET), an environmental testing firm in Colorado Springs, Colorado to dispel the notion that air guns shooting lead pellets create airborne particles. The sole employee of HET is Mr. Robert Rodosevich.

Rodosevich came under scrutiny in Colorado in 2012 for “gross technical incompetence in technical compliance.” Meanwhile, HET’s work performed for the CMP is cited by high school officials across the country who are forced to defend the presence of indoor firing ranges in their schools by parents concerned about the potentially harmful effects of lead contamination. 

++++++++++++++

Science

A Swedish study in 1992 analyzed the air in an indoor firing range that was used exclusively for air guns and found the air had lead levels an average of 4.6 μg/m3 (range 1.8 - 7.2 μg/m3). (micrograms per cubic meter)  The study documents the presence of airborne lead as a result of air rifle shooting and calls for special ventilation systems. 

In 2013, the California Department of Public Health recommended that the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health lower the permissible exposure limit for lead in air to 0.5  - 2.1  μg/m3 to keep BLLs below the range of 5–10 μg/dL

Studies of shooters who only fired airguns report blood lead levels of 1.8 - 12.7 ug/dl.   (Demmeler, Matthias; Nowak, Dennis; Schierl, Rudolf. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health; Heidelberg Vol. 82, Iss. 4,  (Mar 2009): 539-42.) 

According to research on the health effects of blood lead levels on pregnancy and fetus in utero, (Journal of Gynecology and Women’s Health Volume 5 Issue 5 June, 2017),  Blood lead levels of   2.0 - 10.0 μg/dl  (2-10 micrograms per deciliter) cause gestational hypertension and reduced fetal growth and low birthrate. There is

limited evidence that this degree of lead poisoning causes pre-term birth, decreased post-natal growth, reduced cognitive function in prenatally exposed infants, ADHD & behavioral problems, and decreased auditory function. Larger amounts of lead have been linked to all of these horrible things. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/ACCLPP/blood_lead_levels.htm

CDC says children should have no exposure to lead.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention says there is no safe blood lead level in children. Protecting children from exposure to lead is necessary to insure lifelong good health. Even the tiniest levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention and academic achievement. Effects of lead exposure cannot be corrected.  

Lead is a big deal. Many historians claim lead poisoning was a major contributing cause of the fall of the Roman Empire.

When children as young as 13 are brought to filthy and largely unregulated commercial firing ranges through their participation in JROTC marksmanship programs, they come into contact with much higher levels of lead contamination on surfaces and in the air, compared to what they might encounter in their contaminated cafeterias and gyms.     

According to the Seattle Times, the U.S. has an estimated 6,000 commercial indoor and outdoor gun ranges, (other estimates are 2-3 times higher) but only 201 have been inspected in the past decade.  Of those inspected, 86% violated at least one lead-related standard. In 14 states, federal and state agencies did not inspect a single commercial gun range from 2004 to 2013. http://projects.seattletimes.com/2014/loaded-with-lead/3/  

The CMP says airguns and powder-fired .22 caliber rifles are safe

The CMP’s guide to lead management asserts, "Target shooting with air rifles and small bore (rim fire) rifles does not create real health risks for shooting sports participants." Real health risks? There is substantial scientific evidence to refute the CMP’s stance. The CMP firmly opposes using non-lead pellets stating they have not "proven capable of producing ten-ring accuracy on air rifle targets."

It is tough dislodging cavalier attitudes held by the military, school officials, and the CMP regarding the safety of lead ammunition in use in the nation's high schools.  As one high school coach in rural Pennsylvania stated, "High blood lead levels are going to exist." An often-repeated joke in gun industry chat rooms, like this one on the CMP site, is that the only way JROTC cadets could be sickened by shooting air guns is by eating the pellets. http://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=13629

Don’t expect the NRA or the CMP to acknowledge that airguns cause airborne particulates. Doing so would threaten the existence of high school-based shooting programs because schools do not have the special ventilation systems in their cafeterias and gyms. Admitting the existence of airborne lead might also threaten commercial youth shooting programs that provide firing ranges for JROTC, Young Marines, 4-H, and Boy Scouts. Even so, these programs use filthy private ranges with surfaces caked with lead.

+++++++++++++++++

NPR looks at filthy conditions in commercial gun ranges where JROTC children also shoot.

NPR - “When the gun fires, the primer ignites, the gunpowder lights, and some of the lead on the bullet boils. When the casing snaps out of the ejection port, lead particles trail behind it. As the bullet hurtles down the barrel of the gun, a shower of lead particles follows. If a gun range isn't ventilated well, lead dust collects on shooters' clothing and hands and lingers in the air, where it can be inhaled.”

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/05/10/527648768/lead-dust-from-firearms-can-pose-a-silent-health-risk

+++++++++++++++

Today, a new source of lead poisoning in the U.S. is menacing the 19 million folks who go to indoor shooting ranges annually.

When fired, lead-based bullets and primers shed a cloud of toxins. Poor sanitation and inadequate ventilation let lead dust hang in the air and settle on surfaces, contaminating workers and shooters. The dust also settles on range-visitors' skin, clothing and hair, and in car interiors. It's then transported home, where it exposes family members to dangerous levels.

There are around 16,000 to 18,000 indoor firing ranges in the United States. But only 201 were inspected in the past decade, according to a report from the Seattle Times. That explains the more than 2,000 police and firing range workers who were found to have elevated blood lead levels from 2002 to 2012. Almost 3,000 more folks also were affected just by visiting ranges.

Time to get the lead out Telegraph Herald, Dubuque, IA, November 20, 2014 Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz

++++++++++++++

 What to wear at the gun range?

Style Me Tactical is a gun industry website that caters to the gun crowd.

As you are standing in your range lane, the ejected brass is basically flying at/or around you. All of those lead particles end up on your person & clothing.. It's a good practice to wash your hands, face, and blow your nose immediately after. You might not think you are inhaling much lead but if you blow your nose after a range session, you'll see black particles - that's lead that you've been inhaling.”

http://www.stylemetactical.com/blog/2015/8/28/what-to-wear-to-the-shooting-range

+++++++++++++++

The NRA says lead exposure is caused by air rifle firing but attributes this primarily to handling lead pellets.

The NRA writes in its Airgun Safety Guide, “Each time someone handles pellets, a small trace of lead is left on their hands and can be transferred to other parts of their body or to food. Airborne particulates landing on your skin will transmit only minute amounts of foreign substances into your blood stream. The areas of the body that let in the most germs and foreign substances are the nose and mouth. The foreign substances in larger amounts are transmitted to the face by the hand that contacted contaminated surfaces. That is why refraining from eating, drinking, smoking, applying makeup, or placing your hands in proximity to your mouth or

nose while on the range or cleaning guns is highly recommended.” The NRA advises children and spectators to wash with cold water after leaving the range/cleaning area before eating and drinking.

Since air guns do not use powders or primers to propel pellets and the pellets strike the traps with much lower energy than do powder-driven firearm bullets, the concern for airborne lead particulates is not a concern.

p.54 https://coach.nra.org/media/4259/airgun_safetyguide.pdf

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

CMP-affiliated commercial shooting ranges, where JROTC, Boy Scout, Young Marine, and 4-H shooting teams shoot, are often deadly poisonous.

CMP-affiliated Vancouver Rifle and Club, where JROTC teams shoot, sickens 20 Children. Lead on the floor was a thousand times higher than federal guidelines

The Vancouver Rifle and Pistols Junior Program is affiliated with USA Shooting, the CMP, and the NRA. Junior team members travel to local, state, and national competitions. Age requirements are 8-19 years old. The Boy Scouts and the Young Marines shoot there. https://www.vrpcjuniors.club/

The Battle Ground High School Air Force JROTC Air Rifle team also practices at the Vancouver club. https://www.facebook.com/events/210168895779663/

Vancouver has been cited for lead contamination and 20 children were sickened: http://projects.seattletimes.com/2014/loaded-with-lead/3/

Lead analyzed on the floor of the armory was 993 times higher than a federal housing guideline for allowable lead on surfaces.

The CMP-affiliated Sebastopol Rifle & Pistol Club in Sebastopol, CA shuts down because of lead contamination

Sebastopol is in search of a new home after its shooting range was declared contaminated from years of lead poisoning.

The EPA has ordered Sebastopol to undertake a study of the contamination at a cost of between $50,000 and $150,000, an amount the club cannot afford without help., according to press reports. The Sebastopol Gun Club is affiliated with the Civilian Marksmanship Program and has a junior division for children as young as 8.

https://www.thecourier.com.au/story/4720141/sebastopol-gun-club-shut-down-over-lead-contamination/

+++++++++++++++++++++++++.

The CMP-affiliated Prescott Sportsmen’s Club in Chino Valley, AZ. shut down over massive lead contamination.

Children as young as 8 would shoot at the CMP-affiliated Prescott Sportsmen’s Club. The shooting range on public land has been shut down due to extreme lead contamination and designated as an EPA Superfund site.

The contaminated soil contained an astronomical amount of lead. In some locations the lead contamination was almost 40,000 part per million. The land at the shooting shooting range drains into Willow Creek.

The Yavapai Group of the Sierra Club was ignored by the U.S. Forest Service, (USFS) when it submitted testimony on the contamination and cleanup procedures. The environmentalists urged the USFS to examine its management practices for other shooting ranges on public lands The Prescott Sportsmen’s Club continues to operate at an Arizona Game and Fish Department shooting range.

Shooting range cleanup questions The Daily Courier Doris Cellarius and Gary Beverly January 8, 2017

https://www.dcourier.com/news/2017/jan/08/column-shooting-range-cleanup-questions/

CMP-affiliated Aurora Sportsmen’s Club Shut down because of massive lead contamination

Last summer, the president of the Aurora Sportsmen's Club took full responsibility after the Illinois attorney general's office filed a lawsuit against the club over lead shot contamination in Bliss Woods Forest Preserve and Blackberry Creek. The charges carried a potential of $18 million in fines.

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20150325/news/150329238/

CMP-affiliated Purdue University Rifle and Pistol Club in West Lafayette. Indiana was shut down because of deadly lead contamination

The Marion HS JROTC Marksmanship team and 29 other schools competed at Purdue University in 2017

http://marion.k12.in.us/index.cfm?event=news&pageid=1217

The Purdue University Rifle and Pistol Club in West Lafayette, Indiana was evicted from the campus armory building in 2017 because of dangerous lead contamination. The club is affiliated with the Civilian Marksmanship Program.

https://www.purdueexponent.org/campus/article_5b153d76-aade-11e7-8305-37e047b94c69.html

CMP-affiliated Cooper Landing Gun Range in Kenai, Alaska, shuts down because of massive lead contamination

The Cooper Landing Gun Range in Kenai, Alaska, about 50 miles south of

Anchorage, is vacating its heavily contaminated shooting range, hoping for an

NRA grant to clean up the lead left behind.

http://peninsulaclarion.com/news/local/2018-01-30/cooper-landing-gun-range-

looks-move-out-town

Indiana Law Review recognizes the central role of the CMP in maintaining an armed citizenry

“All across America, individuals practice the art of the gun at ranges that are, to various degrees, sanctioned, supported, and protected by state legislation, regulation, and dollars. They are the primary places where citizens gather in groups to learn and practice gun safety and develop proficiency. Many of these ranges operate in partnership with the federal government through the longstanding Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP).

The range is where the community of armed citizens comes together and where core principles of an armed citizenry are communicated.”

Indiana Law Review Vol 38. No. 3 2005

https://mckinneylaw.iu.edu/ilr/pdf/vol38p689.pdf

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

National Guard exposes communities to lead, threatening JROTC students and the public

Seattle Times does a great job in this reporting!

The issue of lead dust in gun ranges gained attention in 2014 when The Seattle Times published an investigation  about the dangers. The Times focused on privately owned commercial ranges, some that have youth programs that allow JROTC, Boy Scouts, and 4-H to shoot.

The Oregonian reported, “In a former Montana National Guard armory where more than 20 workers got sick, lead-laced dust bunnies the size of tangerines clogged the ventilation system. In two Oregon armories where parents unwittingly let infants crawl, the neurotoxin blanketed floors at levels as high as ten times the federal safety standard. In a Wisconsin armory classroom where pregnant women and mothers with infants learned about nutrition, the poisonous powder coated a desktop.”

The Oregonian is the first to examine the nation's armories. The problems in National Guard firing ranges stand out because armories have routinely doubled as community event centers that bring in countless young children, including JROTC marksmanship programs. Inspectors found lead in 424 armories in the past four years, or nearly 90 percent of the places for which results are available.

The Oregonian/OregonLive did what the Guard failed to do, obtaining more than 23,000 pages of public records from 41 states and building a database from scratch. The database of 1,304 current and former sites offers the nation's most comprehensive accounting of toxic armories.

35 armories in New York appear on the database, although most entries say the existence of lead is unknown.

The National Guard was put on notice about the lead problem in the 1990s. Guard officials pledged to identify which of their roughly 1,800 firing ranges were polluted, but they never followed through.

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/page/visitors_soldiers_children_exposed_to_lead_dust_in_armories.html

Army National Guard Regulation: Clean up lead in shooting ranges when there is visible accumulation – an obvious violation of OSHA standards

Chapter 5 Range Operation and Control of Potential Lead

Poisoning 5-1. Control of Potential Lead Poisoning [Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Lead Standard] The requirements of the OSHA lead standard shall be followed.

5-4. Housekeeping: a. Periodic cleaning (5) Cleaning should be performed every three months, or when there is a visible accumulation of lead dust.

3 November 2006 Safety Policy and Responsibilities for Inspection, Evaluation and Operation of Army National Guard Indoor Firing Ranges By Order of the Secretaries of the Army and the Air Force: H STEVEN BLUM Lieutenant General, USA Chief, National Guard Bureau Official: GEORGE R. BROCK Chief, Plans and Policy Division

http://www.ngbpdc.ngb.army.mil/pubs/385/ngr385-15.pdf

OSHA says surfaces shall be maintained as free as practicable of accumulations of lead

Occupational Safety and Health Administration – Toxic and Hazardous Substances - 1910.1025(h) Housekeeping

(1) Surfaces. All surfaces shall be maintained as free as practicable of accumulations of lead.

https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=10030

JROTC kids have sleepover then shoot at contaminated Fredericktown, MO Armory

The Fredericktown (MO) High School JROTC Rifle Team regularly competes against other high school JROTC programs at the Fredericktown National Guard Army. The armory hosts sleepovers for the JROTC youth.

The Fredericktown Armory was found to have 883 Micrograms of lead per square foot of lead detected on its surfaces. The EPA considers lead to be hazardous to human health when floor surfaces have 40 Micrograms of lead per square foot of lead. The CDC says children should have no exposure to lead.

https://dailyjournalonline.com/democrat-news/news/local/school-news/fhs-jrotc-varsity-rifle-team-tops-nmcc/article_2939a7c8-4f85-581a-b0f3-805fc5a7025f.html

16 JROTC Teams compete at North Little Rock National Guard Armory, but we don’t know how contaminated it is.

Apr 2, 2015 - Newport High School JROTC Air Rifle Team wins 2015 American Legion Junior Olympic Competition for State of Arkansas. The JROTC precision

air rifle team, competed against 96 shooters and 16 teams at the North Little Rock National Guard Armory on March 21.

http://www.newportindependent.com/article/20150402/NEWS/150409921

There is no data on contamination for Arkansas or eight other states. The data for many other states in largely incomplete. See the database of contaminated National Guard Armories here: http://www.studentprivacy.org/toxic-armories.html

Journal article on blood lead levels in children as young as eight who participate in Boy Scouts and 4-H shooting programs. Children are easily poisoned through their exposure to lead at firing ranges.

Essentials of Public Health Ethics Bernheim, Ruth, et. al. Jones & Bartlett Learning 2015

National 4-H Shooting Sports Guide fails to address potential for lead contamination

4-H Shooting Sports Programs are open to all youth 8 to 18 years of age (as of Jan. 1 of the current year) without regard to race, color, sex, handicap, religion, age or national origin. 4-H Clovers (age 5-7) are not eligible for any aspect of 4-H shooting sports programs as these are not age appropriate activities.

This document discusses lead laden muzzle loading guns as well as lead pellet air guns. Although there is a discussion of safety practiced and eyewear protection, there is no mention of lead exposure.

National 4-H Shooting Sports - Minimum Standards & Best Management Practices for a Shooting Sports Program - Revised May 2013

Minimum Standards & Best Management Practices 12/17

US National Toxicology Program reports tiny amounts of lead are more dangerous than thought.

In 2012, The United States National Toxicology Program (NTP) published evidence regarding health effects associated with BLL exposure in adults and children. For adult men and women there is “sufficient evidence” that BLLs <10 μg/dL are associated with essential tremor, hypertension, cardiovascular-related mortality and electrocardiography abnormalities, and decreased kidney glomerular filtration rate. For women there is “sufficient evidence” that BLLs <5 μg/dL are associated with reduced fetal growth.

https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-017-0246-0#CR30

Healthy Children.org sounds warning on JROTC marksmanship program regarding dangers of lead contamination

In many parts of the country, it is common for teens to participate in school pistol and rifle clubs, compete in shooting sports, participate in JROTC, or work at indoor firing ranges. Lead poisoning has long been associated with firearms. Numerous studies since the 1970s have found high blood lead levels (BLLs) among people who use or work in indoor firing ranges – including teens and young adults.

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-play/Pages/Lead-Safety-for-Teens-Involved-in-Rifle-Shooting-Sports.aspx

Lead-poisoned ROTC officer cannot sue because he didn't give notice prior to his diagnosis

Michael Brewer was assigned as a shooting instructor in the ROTC program at Central Michigan University while on active duty with the U.S. Military.  He developed symptoms of lead poisoning that eventually led to a medical retirement.  Three months after he was diagnosed with lead poisoning in May of 2011, he sent a notice to CMU, advising the State of his intent to sue for the negligent management of the shooting range (which had been closed after Brewer left, due to lead poisoning contamination).

The State argued that Brewer's case must be dismissed because he failed to give notice of his injury within six months of the injury occurring.  The trial judge agreed and granted summary disposition.  Brewer appealed unsuccessfully. 

http://www.thompsononeillaw.com/our-blog/wrongful-termination-and-discrimination/lead-poisoned-rotc-officer-cannot-sue-because-he-didnt-give-notice-prior-to-his-diagnosis.html

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Children often clean high school firing ranges

The CMP’s Guide to Lead Management says it is not necessary for anyone other than range maintenance personnel to go downrange. But CMP-affiliated clubs often allow children to clean the ranges.

http://thecmp.org/wp-content/uploads/LeadMgtGuide.pdf?ver=-09122017

Boca Ciega HS (FL) has cadets clean the ranges.

Students are responsible for range maintenance; cleaning the range, filling their air rifle cylinders and target boxes prior to each class dismissal. Any student that fails to comply with the range maintenance policy this will receive a Zero for a weekly grade.

https://sap.pinellas.k12.fl.us/.../hsss/.../1_Marksmanship_Class_Syllabus_2016-2017.doc

Maintenance of the range is conducted by students at West Montgomery HS, NC

Cadets also clean the lead-laden rifles.

https://www.montgomery.k12.nc.us/cms/lib/NC01000976/Centricity/Domain/33/(7)_US_Air_Force_WMHS_Agreement.pdf

Western Alamance High School Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadet Handbook says a Cadet may clean the range

P. 37 Hazards Identified - Lead poisoning - spent ammunition cleanup will be supervised by the range officer and assistant range officer. The range officer will handle expended lead pellets. Warn cadets about the hazards of placing hands or pellets in mouth and need to wash hands after practice and competitions.

https://www.abss.k12.nc.us/cms/lib02/NC01001905/Centricity/Domain/4788/Cadet%20Handbook%202015-2016.pdf

The Assistant Range Officer may be a cadet.

https://sites.google.com/a/navyjrotc.us/vhs-njrotc/home/unit-teams/rifle-team/shooters-contract-1

From the CMP - HOW CAN THE POTENTIAL RISKS FROM EXPOSURE TO LEAD DEPOSITS ON THE RANGE FLOOR BE MITIGATED?

A key to minimizing the risks of lead exposures from any residues that are deposited between the firing line and the targets is to minimize requirements for coaches or shooters to go downrange in order to prevent lead residues from migrating back to the firing points or area behind the firing line.

When it is necessary to go downrange to retrieve or change targets, minimize these exposures by: 1) reducing the number of people authorized to go forward of the firing line, 2) controlling the paths used to go downrange so that no one walks in the area immediately in front of the firing line, 3) if possible, using pellet traps that are behind the target holders so that any lead deposits fall behind the targets, or by using combination target holders and pellet traps that are especially effective in keeping lead fragments within the trap itself, 4) using disposable plastic shoe covers when going downrange and 5) regularly and properly cleaning the range floor so that lead residues do not remain there

http://thecmp.org/wp-content/uploads/LeadMgtGuide.pdf?ver=-09122017

++++++++++++++++++

The Army’s JROTC Command Contradicts the CMP on the necessity of allowing cadets to walk downrange.

“On most ranges, it is necessary for cadets to go downrange to hang, change or retrieve targets.”

MEMORANDUM FOR JROTC Units with Marksmanship Programs DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY HEADQUARTERS, UNITED STATES ARMY CADET COMMAND FORT MONROE, VIRGINIA 23651-5000 JAN 1 2005

http://www.ajrotc.us/cdt_tng/marksmanship_moi.pdf

++++++++++++++++

JROTC Cadets in Flint, MI not following CMP lead regulations

A photo of cadets at Northwestern High School in Flint, MI shows students remove their targets after a session at the school’s indoor shooting range on Monday, Feb. 3, 2014. Unenforced CMP regulations call for designated target changers to wear disposable shoe covers before walking over any residues that may be in front of the targets. A complaint filed with the EPA went nowhere.

http://www.studentprivacy.org/complaint-filed-with-epa-over-alleged-lead-contamination.html

There are hundreds of videos and photos that document loose enforcement of CMP regulations. See this powerpoint on lead contamination.

Despite Evidence, Lead Standards to Protect More Than a million in Shooting Ranges Stalled Under Trump

OSHA standards meant to protect shooters and others from lead, haven’t been updated since 1978, despite growing evidence that even very low levels are dangerous.

OSHA lead standards allow for the return of the employee to former job status at a BLL < 40 µg/dL. This is 20 times greater than levels shown to cause gestational hypertension and reduced fetal growth and low birthrate. The NRA and the CMP may be credited with stalling OSHA’s introduction to the modern world.

In 2016 OSHA  issued notice it was beginning the process to update its regulations but the effort has stalled during the Trump Administration.

Currently, OSHA standards for lead exposure decree that employees must stop working if they have a blood lead level of 60 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood, and workers can return to the job if their blood lead level drops below 40 for two consecutive tests. But adverse effects on cardiovascular health, brain function and kidney function have been connected to blood lead levels as low as 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood

Shooting ranges are one of the key workplaces that would be affected by higher standards; they are likely to affect tens of thousands of workers in ranges alone, and many more working at places like battery manufacturers. More than one million law enforcement officers regularly train in shooting ranges, according to the CDC.

Any effort by OSHA is likely to face fierce opposition from the NRA and the NSSF.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethmacbride/2018/04/26/lead-exposure-rules-would-protect-more-than-1m-americans-they-havent-been-updated-since-1978/#1b74e2186770

Legislation co-written by the NRA and enacted in Florida in 2004 essentially exempts gun ranges from environmental liability.

The legislation makes lawsuits and other legal actions against gun ranges a "last-resort option" for addressing environmental impacts at the ranges and creates a rule that relies on the industry to define the standards for performance of gun range owners and operators.

Florida's legislation gives the ranges immunity from all state and local governmental legal actions if the range has made a good faith effort to implement site specific management plans based on a best practices manual issued in 2004, regardless of the environmental impact. This manual did not go through any kind of regulatory review process. In addition, there is no constitutional or legislative guidance for determining what the terms "best management practices" and "good faith efforts" mean in an environmental regulatory process. Moreover, it is unclear who will be responsible for cleaning up contamination when "good faith efforts" with "best management practices" are insufficient to protect the environment.

Florida citizens may retain the ability to bring lawsuits to enforce federal laws in the absence of state action, but those actions are costly and the lack of judicial precedent makes their success uncertain.

The Second Amendment v. The Environment: Florida's Transformation of Gun Range Environmental Liability 2018 Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law, Inc. Colorado Natural Resource, Energy, and Environmental Law Review Winter, Rachel E. Deming

The NRA Wants to Squash Washington State’s Push to Reduce Gun-Range Lead Exposure

The National Rifle Association is protesting plans by officials in Washington State to crack down on lead exposure at shooting ranges.

In a recent post on its website, the gun rights group declared that draft regulations released earlier this summer by the state’s Department of Labor, meant to keep ranges from poisoning customers, employees, and the environment, “will impose complicated and expensive burdens on shooting ranges and retailers, potentially making it difficult for many to continue operations.”

August 22, 2017, The Trace, Washington State https://www.thetrace.org/2017/08/gun-range-lead-washington-nra/

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Air rifles are largely unregulated killing machines.

The Gamo Air Rifle, available at WalMart, shoots .177 cal. pellets at 1650 fps., almost twice the speed of a typical .22 cal. long rifle.

https://www.gamousa.com/family.aspx?familyID=98

Although there are no federal laws regulating their transfer, possession, or use, non-powder guns are, unlike firearms, regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Hence, non-powder guns are subject to generalized statutory limitations involving “substantial product hazard[s]” and articles that create “a substantial risk of injury to children.” The CPSC has not adopted specific mandatory regulations.

See 15 U.S.C. § 2052(a)(5)(E) (exempting firearms from the definition of “consumer product” subject to the authority of the Commission); Rev. Rul. 67-453, 1967-2 C.B. 378 (stating that air rifles and air pistols are not part of that exemption); CPSC Advisory Opinion No. 127; CPSC Safety Alert: BB Guns Can Kill, (Jan. 1, 2012), at http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/5089.pdf; 

State non-powder laws.

http://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/child-consumer-safety/non-powder-toy-guns/#state

The science of the speeding lead pellet

A hunting airgun is one that produces 12 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. That equates to a .177-caliber pellet gun, the kind used by JROTC, shooting a lead pellet weighing 7.9 grains at 827 f.p.s. at the muzzle (or a .22-caliber air gun shooting a 14.3-grain pellet at 615 f.p.s. at the muzzle.) This could kill a deer at 35 yards.

JROTC programs use airguns that shoot at 600 fps. The Gamo rifle described above may be purchased freely by children in many states. Depending on the circumstances, it’s pellet may travel through the deer. The Gamo is popular in a sport that targets wild pigs.

There are no federal laws regulating these lethal weapons. https://www.pyramydair.com/article/Airgun_Hunting_April_2012/83

CMP uses words like: “modest”, “ease”, “only by CO2”, “zero recoil”, and “gently” to describe airgun shooting

“The quiet, modest airguns are perfect for those wanting to ease into the sport. Powered only by CO2 compressed air, the airguns deliver zero recoil and only a tiny puff of sound after firing small lead pellets – making them perfect for both young and mature-aged marksmen. Those in the Monthly Bench League will be firing with rifles placed gently upon “bean bags” or blocks, to provide a steadier hold and to allow the participant to rest without having to worry about holding the airgun.”

http://thecmp.org/cmp-establishes-monthly-bench-leagues-designed-ages/

Broward County Public Schools has the largest JROTC cadet program in the nation

The school system has more than 7,500 students participating. Stoneman Douglas HS, where the Army taught Nik Cruz to shoot, has 300 in the JROTC program, more than some states.

https://www.browardschools1.com/cms/lib/FL01803656/Centricity/Domain/6346/ParentGuide_2016_v7.pdf

+++++++++++++++++++

New York Consolidated Laws, Penal Law - PEN § 265.05 Unlawful possession of weapons by persons under sixteen

It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of sixteen to possess any air-gun, spring-gun or other instrument or weapon in which the propelling force is a spring or air, or any gun or any instrument or weapon in or upon which any loaded or blank cartridges may be used, or any loaded or blank cartridges or ammunition therefor, or any dangerous knife;  provided that the possession of rifle or shotgun or ammunition therefor by the holder of a hunting license or permit issued pursuant to article eleven of the environmental conservation law and used in accordance with said law shall not be governed by this section. A person who violates the provisions of this section shall be adjudged a juvenile delinquent.

https://codes.findlaw.com/ny/penal-law/pen-sect-265-05.html