In a moment of clarity, the EPA doesn’t ban something. But wait, bigger craziness still looks to be on the horizon. See the end of the story.
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EPA PRESS RELEASE
Brendan Gilfillan giflfillan.brendan@epa.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 27, 2010
EPA Denies Petition Calling for Lead Ammunition Ban
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today denied a petition calling for a ban on the production and distribution of lead hunting ammunition. EPA sent a letter to the petitioners explaining the rejection – that letter can be found here: http://www.epa.gov/oppt/chemtest/pubs/sect21.html
Steve Owens, EPA assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, issued the following statement on the agency’s decision:
“EPA today denied a petition submitted by several outside groups for the agency to implement a ban on the production and distribution of lead hunting ammunition. EPA reached this decision because the agency does not have the legal authority to regulate this type of product under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) – nor is the agency seeking such authority.
“This petition, which was submitted to EPA at the beginning of this month, is one of hundreds of petitions submitted to EPA by outside groups each year. This petition was filed under TSCA, which requires the agency to review and respond within 90 days.
“EPA is taking action on many fronts to address major sources of lead in our society, such as eliminating childhood exposures to lead; however, EPA was not and is not considering taking action on whether the lead content in hunting ammunition poses an undue threat to wildlife.
“As there are no similar jurisdictional issues relating to the agency’s authority over fishing sinkers, EPA – as required by law – will continue formally reviewing a second part the petition related to lead fishing sinkers.
“Those wishing to comment specifically on the fishing tackle issue can do so by visiting http://www.regulations.gov . EPA will consider comments that are submitted by September 15.”
R286
h/t to WUWT reader Michael C. Roberts
Background:
Lead for Shot, Bullets, and Fishing Sinkers
// <![CDATA[// August 3, 2010 — The American Bird Conservancy, the Association of Avian Veterinarians, and a number of other groups submitted a petition (PDF) (2 pp. 92 kb, About PDF) and attachment (PDF) (100 pp. 901 kb, About PDF) to EPA under Section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) asking EPA to “prohibit the manufacture, processing, and distribution in commerce of lead for shot, bullets, and fishing sinkers.” Section 21 of TSCA allows citizens to file petitions, such as this one, and requires EPA to respond to any petition within 90 days of receiving it. EPA has just begun its review of this citizens’ petition and has made no determination on the requested action. Read EPA’s letter acknowledging receipt of the petition (PDF). (1 p. 189 kb, About PDF). To send your comments to EPA about this petition, please visit www.regulations.gov and enter Docket ID# EPA-HQ-OPPT-2010-0681.
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In other news:
The EPA is considering banning lead weights used to balance automobile tires:
http://www.greencarreports.com/blog/1021157_green-groups-ask-epa-to-ban-lead-wheel-weights
Thank the Sierra Club who unbelievably puts this in their press release: (PDF)
“1.6 million pounds of lead from wheel weights is left falling off of cars each year where anyone can find and possibly ingest it,” said Jeff Gearhart, Research Director for the Ecology Center.
Yeah, those people sitting by the side of the road looking for lead weights to eat is a real problem, yesssiree. Too late for California though, a ban is already in effect. Full disclosure: I’m a scofflaw. I have lead wheel weights on my car.
Next I think we should ban dirt. Really, it’s full of nasty stuff just sitting around where anyone can find and possibly ingest it.
From the CDC:
How dangerous is eating dirt? My mother was pretty certain about this—damn dangerous. Soils contaminated by industrial or human pollutants pose considerable threat to anyone who eats them. Reports abound of lead poisoning and other toxicities in children eating contaminated soils. Similarly, we do not have to look farther than the last refugee camp or the slums of Calcutta or Tijuana or Basra to find the dangers of soils contaminated with untreated human waste. But the inherent biologic danger of soil is difficult to assess. Soil unaffected by the pressures of overpopulation, industry, and agriculture may be vastly different from the soil most of us encounter routinely.
Yeah ban dirt, that’s the ticket.
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I am an 85 yearold from the “Greatest Generation”. Let me see, we made toy soldiers with molds sold as toys. We melted the lead and poured it into the molds to make whole armies. We then painted the souldiers with lead paint. Also we took mercury from thermomiters to coat on coins to make them beautiful and shiney. Our six year old cribs were painted with lead paint. I can assure anyone that the top rails of said cribs were well chewed with those new teath. Strange we all grew up, fought in the Great War came home to build a great society and many of us are still here. Is this present hysteria perhaps overdone. By the way every kid in our group participated. Also I am still very healthy!
I can’t imagine a world without lead/tin solder. Ah…the smell of rosin flux. It’s right up there with the aroma produced by a freshly cut sheet of plywood.
Personally, I don’t believe the BS about waterfowl ingesting lead and developing lead poisoning. I’m sure it could happen…in theory…but has it been demonstrated as fact in situ? Elemental lead is not particularly reactive. Human live for years and years with fragments of lead or entire lead bullets in their bodies and never develop lead poisoning.
Banning lead from ammo used to hunt waterfowl seems to be based on “science” about as sound as that used to ban CFCs. Yeah…in THEORY this could be a problem…but has it ever been proven? How many other ways might a waterfowl contract lead poisoning? I don’t hunt so it really doesn’t affect me. Further, I don’t care for wild fowl (pheasant, duck, goose, etc…although quail ain’t too bad). All of my guns are for targets or two-legged varmints and in these cases lead poisoning is not a concern.
I wonder how they expect to prevent the earth from exposing lead?
Probably the same way they plan on stopping the earth from leaking oil in the oceans.
Nuts are easy to find, and define.
Dirt is only dangerous if you don’t follow the 5 second rule. Food dropping on the floor may be eaten provided the floor residence time is <5sec.
The evidence for this assertion is as strong as that for CAGW
Duncan says:
August 27, 2010 at 5:13 pm
“I fear I am not internally consistent on this issue. I feel bad every time I lose a hook on a submerged stump or something, and my lead sinker pollutes the environment. The non-lead sinkers just don’t seem to work as well, though.
On the other hand, I don’t feel bad at all about leaving the lead from a bullet wherever it lodges.”
I learned a long time ago that a rifle or pistol will get you more trout out of a stream than a hook. The only problem is that the game warden car HEAR you fishing! Not very “sporting” but works great, though, in a situation where you really need something to eat.
I don’t normally shoot fish, though.
These are all weapons ban strategies. I buy lead wheelweights and cast my own pistol (and some rifle) bullets. Five years ago I could get 50 to 100 pounds of ww for $40 to $50 dollars and make bullets that cost about 3 to 5 cents each. It’s becoming harder and harder to get ww already and the price is going up. A ban like this could shut off yet another avenue to be able to shoot inexpesively.
Under the US Constitution, Congress is the legislative body of the Federal government and the Constitution does not give Congress the authority to delegate its power to the EPA. But apparently the EPA now passes regulations which carry the force of law without congressional legislation. Clearly this is unconstitutional, but our government no longer gives a hoot about the Constitution. This article demonstrates the potential dangers of allowing a bunch of unelected bureaucrats to create regulations.
The EPA needs to be put on a short leash and told that they may propose regulations but those regulations cannot become effective unless they are enacted into law by congress. They also need to have their budget cut by 90%… or maybe 100%.
Some time ago now, there was a programme on British TV about the practice of eating earth (“geophagy”), surprisingly not that rare. I can remember a seemingly affluent lady praising the relative merits of the tastes and textures different kinds of earth, and comments about trace minerals that could be beneficial for human health.
Never been tempted myself, but live and let live, I say.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geophagy#Current_practice
Most Barnes bullets are made of a copper alloy of some kind, no lead, and work great on larger game. Cost more but are worth it. The Obamanations will be going after all firearms and ammunition one way or the other, soon.
Some years ago, I visited the city of Bath in England. A few hundred years ago an abandoned Roman temple was discovered there, and some 20 feet below ground level was found the hot spring the Romans built there temple/spa around.
The interesting thing is that the Romans had lined the spring with lead, perhaps to channel it to where it was needed. The lead lining was about 1/2 inch thick and looks perfectly intact now. 2000 years of hot water has not disolved it.
Solid lead is quite inert, and it is heavy. If you put lead pellets or sinkers in a pond they are not going to stay on the top surface of the bottom of the pond – they are going to sink into slime and at a higher rate than other debris falling into the pond.
The EPA has an incredible for-side, after demanding to convert ever more food crops to ethanol and grow fuel for biomass powerplant’s and eliminating livestock production due to there known greenhouse gas emitting animals.
There will be not much more left to eat than mud pie, a staple died already in some places of the world like Haiti.
In the EPA’s Utopian version of our future we will run a great risk having lead wheel weights contaminating our food supply.
Antarctic cold snap kills millions of aquatic animals in the Amazon.
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100827/full/news.2010.437.html
This was already opened for comment before it was shut down. In other words the EPA did accept the request ( a single letter from a far left environmental front group). It was only after it was made political did the Obama administration back off. I think the bureaucrats had intended to make a prearranged finding of devastating harm in an attempt to pressure congress. As for the comment period, this was undoubtedly a set-up. There were no doubt dozens of “concerned” scientists and “environmental” groups with prearranged materials ready for submission. For example, from Fox:
“According to the petitioners, who include the Center for Biological Diversity and the American Bird Conservancy, up to 20 million birds and other animals are killed each year due to lead poisoning in the United States, and at least 75 wild bird species — including bald eagles, ravens and endangered California condors — are poisoned by spent lead ammunition.”
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/27/epa-rejects-calls-ban-lead-ammo-fishing-tackle/?test=latestnews
Now that is simply nonsense. Other than the condor, with its barely surviving population, there is no evidence whatsoever of mass avian death anywhere in the world due to lead ingestion. As for the condors, 2 have died. Because they eat birds that have been shot. Find me a woodpecker that does the same!
This is a hoax and a lie. It is designed to destroy the Second Amendment and the scheme was concocted right after the Heller decision. Congress should immediately order Browner (unfortunately a woman who in the past had no compunction to destroy incriminating evidence), to freeze any and all communications between her Department and the petitioners. A conspiracy of sorts will be found.
Lead – Gaia’s revenge on homosapiens.
Christian Bultmann says: “. . .eliminating livestock production due to there known greenhouse gas emitting animals.”
In future the history books will record that the vast herds of American Bison (a single species that alone had numbers equal to at least two thirds of the US domestic cattle population) were slaughtered to “maintain the balance of nature,” and to “save the planet.” Double Think knows no bounds.
Or perhaps, perhaps even more likely, they will record that only AUs (Anthropogenic Ungulates) farted greenhouse gases and that the wild variety only farted sunshine and rainbows.
In any case the food supply can be further cut back by turning a generation to work rooting up the Great Plains in order to sift it for the bullets; and feeding them on dust pies
“calling for a ban on the production and distribution of lead hunting ammunition”
and not one word about velocity………
Pat – IIrc , the ban on lead shot for waterfowl used that particular line of reasoning ,ie that birds of prey would succumb to lead poisoniong after ingesting birds that had either been shot or had ingested lead shot from river or lake beds . The theory was that while the aforementioned birds would not get lead poisoning themselves but that any predator or scavenger that ate them would . It sounded specious at the time and still does .
This post bugged me last night — it has legs (can be interpreted in many ways).
Is the EPA a “few bricks shy of a fully load” on this issue?
It’s pretty easy to answer YES but what’s the alternative?
Based on the table of weight ( http://www.simetric.co.uk/si_metals.htm ) and environmental impact in relation to cost of manufacturing and ROI:
lead is 11,340 kg/cu.m
tungsten is 19,600 kg/cu.m
melting point of lead: 327.46°C or 621.43 °F
melting point of tungsten: 3422 °C or 6192 °F <– 10x the energy needed…
Health effects:
Lead:
– Disruption of the biosynthesis of haemoglobin and anaemia
– A rise in blood pressure
– Kidney damage
– Miscarriages and subtle abortions
– Disruption of nervous systems
– Brain damage
– Declined fertility of men through sperm damage
– Diminished learning abilities of children
– Behavioural disruptions of children, such as aggression, impulsive behavior and hyperactivity
Read more: http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/pb.htm#ixzz0xvdaVKZQ
Tungsten:
"Tungsten metal powder administered to animals has been shown in several studies as not altogether inert. One study found that guinea pigs treated orally or intravenously with tungsten suffered from anorexia, colic, incoordination of movement, trembling, dyspnea and weight loss. This product is not expected to be hazardous for the environment. No specific ecotoxicity data is available for this product."
Read more: http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/w.htm#ixzz0xvcdNXhF
Design Problem:
Select the best alternative to the use of Lead which can be used in manufacture with the same or better ROI and does not negatively impact the environment.
Handing Lead to a group of loons who like to blast the stuffing out of any forest furry that moves is a great idea? No, but what is the solution that corrects the problem?
Give them the solution and the EPA will do the right thing? Probably not but at least the consumer has the option.
Green Ammo (c.: 1994)
http://www.thegunzone.com/green-ammo.html
Green Wheel Balance:
http://www.greenwheelbalance.com/
Note: Iron, out of the ground, melts at around 1510 degrees C (2750°F). Steel often melts at around 1370 degrees C (2500°F) <– about 4x the energy to melt Lead.
People tend to forget why lead is used in bullets. It’s physics, not tradition. Lead is very dense and affords an excellent transfer of energy. Lead is also a very soft metal. Deformability makes it an excellent choice as a projectile. Lead is neither hard nor brittle. What are the options? Ever try to smooth out an iron file with another iron file?
About the only metal I can think of as an acceptable physical replacement for lead would be gold (and we know this ain’t gonna happen). Firearms are amazing machines that have been developed and refined over centuries. I reload my own ammo and have an appreciation of the complex physics that go into the process.
In the practical sense there is no suitable substitute for lead…and the eco-geeks know this.
Dave: August 28, 2010 at 7:11 am
The problem with lead bullets is when hunters leave their kill in the field.
Other animals and birds feed on the carrion and die horrible deaths from lead poisoning.
I have never heard of any hunter leaving his kill in the field, even those only going after trophy heads.
Evidently, someone needs to explain to Jeff Gearhart what the colloquialism, “eat lead,” actually means. He seems to be taking it literally.
I doubt if anyone here underestimates the inanity of the EPA, but I remember one story about the toxic clean-up of a site in southern Louisiana. The natural levels of lead in the soil of the entire area exceeded EPA maximum levels for the restoration of a contaminated waste site, so dirt had to be hauled in from hundreds of miles away. So just how much benefit did society get from that added expense?
@Dale Rainwater Dave, bubbagyro and others.
The ingestion and absorption of lead by ducks has been known for a long long time. The definitive study relating to the US being published by Belrose in 1959.
AFAIK the US Federal Govt banned lead shot over wetlands many years ago.Before the lead ban was introduced it was estimated that lead poisioning accounted for up to 3% of mortality in a hunted population as opposed to roughly 50 % due to hunting. The argument from the shooting community has always been over a practical and safe ( in all senses) alternative. Belrose himself argued against a prohibition as at the time there was no alternative. Personally, I use Bismuth shot where lead is now banned, but it is expensive.
What seems to be happening now is that some groups are attempting to take the real and signifcant (though far from catastrophic) issue that previously existed with wildfowl and are trying to extend it into other areas where, in reality, there is no problem.
Incidently, I do eat what I shoot.
The lead cleanup issues posed by training sites absolutely dwarf any concerns over the use of lead projectiles in hunting, but the danger there is not environmental contamination in situ, it’s exposure when the range is being worked on and/or the lead is being salvaged. Simple protective equipment and the right procedures make it a non-issue, and it’s a cost borne by the facility operators and users.
Finding replacements for lead shot in shotshells is not a serious problem. People have been using alternatives for years. This issue really has nothing to do with hunting, it’s simply a convenient method of legal attack, much like the attempt to ban normal primers and replace them with ones that have a limited shelf life.
When I pull out a round of buckshot, I need it to put holes in things like cars, bad guys, bears, and any number of other things I might lawfully use a 12ga for, and all of which I’ve grabbed weapons for the purpose of shooting. No wildlife is going to come eat any of these things and get lead poisoning.
They want to keep lead out of wildlife, fine. They can regulate birdshot, and butt out of things they don’t understand.