up coming EU lead ban

[KenK]

I have heard the EU is implementing a plan to outlaw lead in all consumer products by 2006 I think.

Has there been any discussions among the shooting sports about the effect on ammo, pellets etc? replacements ....

[Len_R]

If the EU bans lead, they might as well not have shooting teams. There is no match quality lead replacement product on the market for smallbore or airguns.

I know a couple countries are moving quicly to limit lead in outdoor shooting events without full encapsulation...but ban all lead? then don't bother shooting.

A lead ban may well be more of a points problem than droping pants from some of the shooting sports (pun intended)

[PaulB]

Is this being presented in the EU as an environmental health and safety issue, or is this just a round about way to eliminate the shooting sports. If it is being presented as a health and safety issue, what evidence has been presented? Recent reports in the US show that we have high levels of lead in some public drinking water supplies, which because of the old piping involved (out of which the lead is leaching) will be very expensive to fix. This is certainly a more dangerous and immediate problem than lead bullets and shot laying outside on the ground. As far as I know there has been no one (for all practical purposes) that has ever been shown to have high levels of lead in their bodies from exposure to lead used in the outdoor shooting sports. What can be done to combat this insanity?

[SteveT]

I can't comment on the evidence presented, but this has been coming for several years (at least). It is not an attack on shooting sports. This is primarily aimed at electronic devices (as far as I can tell).

[Bob Wiard]

http://www.pistolskytte.org/info/Swedis ... ition.html

[PaulT]

Sight of any primary reference material for this legislation with notes for implementation and scope would be interesting, I am mindful that with some EU directives, they are very wide and open to interpretation in as many was as the are EU member states, for example, are air pellets also included?

Looking at information on this board and others, the issue appears to be the use of lead in ammunition or simply the safe collection of lead once fired?

As Eley, RWS, Lapua/S&K et al are EU based, it would be interesting to find out how they feel the legislation impacts their local markets and how they intend, if at all, to address this.

The UK enthusiastically complies with most EU directives; accordingly, a fear of the “worst” is a justified presumption!

[kenk]

I heard out about becsue the company I'm working for will need to eliminate the use of lead solder and have lead free components in electronics products sold into Europe.

The implication for other things like ammunition etc quickly came to mind though.

I haven't been able to find the exact text of new legislation though.

[Pete]

I saw a commercial made by my local waste management (in SoCal.). They no longer wanted people dumping their old monitors in the trash beacuse of the amout of lead in CRT computer monitors.

I guess thats why they weigh a ton.

The office next door where i work had moved out and left alot of computers and parts behind and the guys who refinished and remodeled the place had thrown out the monitors into the rented dumpster bin. Waste management hauled away the trash as usual, but the next morning there was a moutain of about 20 monitors siting in a big pile in the parking lot..

they're really gettin serious about the whole lead thing..al least here in southern California..

and speaking of pollution heres an interesting read....
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s ... 0224205913

-Pete

[Jim B]

I'm not sure about other parts of the US, but I know that the Massachusetts Army National Guard has been baned from using regular ammunition for qualification at Camp Edwards on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, because of supposed lead contamination in the drinking water. They now have to use special plastic bullets, and have to put special one-piece bolt/bolt-carriers into their M-16A2s. The max effective range is about 25-50 yds. I don't know if this has been applied to other National Guard units or the rest of the Army, or if this is Massachusetts specific.