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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The ban on lead shot was misguided and agenda driven.
Years ago in my hunting days WI banned lead shot. Our first trip out found us wounding a lot more birds than we were dropping with steel shot. The guys not too far away still shooting lead were dropping birds right and left, our shots moved them in flight and they flew away wounded. Lead simply carried the energy better.
To their credit the ninnies are right that a lot less ducks died of lead poisoning from the shot, at least the ones that were destined for my table. Instead they flew off wounded. That is not better. I haven’t been duck hunting since. Maybe if they open a bow hunting season on them where I could actually kill one at 50 yards I’d consider it.
As the gentleman from the Greatest Generation pointed out, they used to have lead toy soldiers. I know, I actually have some dies for them.
There are a generation of people now that think that they simply know better than the generation before them. They think that they have a better way than what evolved the 10 or 20 generations before them, and are simply smarter. There is a huge generational loss of knowledge because of this, and a long path of their failures.
“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.”
Dave,
Does that mean I got double the results while protecting my vegetable garden from woodchucks?
I left the hole riddled carcases out on the back forty away from my chickens?
If so, I also likely reduced the local chicken eater population.
Your making light of lead poisoning doesn’t make lead poisoning easier to bear.
This is the height of irresponsibility, IMHO. Lead poisoning is dangerous to kids. If you have a good case to make that lead weights are required for tire balancing, make it — but your failure to understand the problem, and someone else’s inarticulate framing of it, doesn’t make lead any safer.
A good case in favor of lead, or against regulating lead for public health, is not made by bad reporting and poking fun at it.
REPLY: You are purposely conflating different problems just so you can say things like “This is the height of irresponsibility” .
Conflating lead problems with roads/wheels to one of paint and kids ingesting it is the issue.
The whole point of the paragraph is this sentence which you ignore twice because you want to pin “irresponsibility” when it is you who is the irresponsible one:
““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.”
The whole point you ignore is this. Show a single case of wheel weight lead harming adults or children by ingestion. Show me how the lead travels beyond the roadway as dust, weights, whatever. Show a peer reviewed study that clearly links wheel weights to a health problem (sorry Sierra Club and other activist NGO studies don’t count).
Yes lead paint and children is a real health problem, one that is mostly fixed now.
People “ingesting” (quoting Sierra Club’s PR) lead wheel weights and even the supposed lead dust isn’t a real problem, but an imagined one. Lead is soft and malleable, mostly it smears into the roadway. You can draw on concrete or asphalt with a lead weight. Try it.
But that won’t stop you in your imagined righteousness, I feel another famous Ed Darrell libel coming on. – Anthony
Derryman says:
August 28, 2010 at 4:17 pm
re the effects of lead shot
“…The definitive study relating to the US being published by Belrose in 1959. ”
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Thanks for the information.
Since the study was in 1959, there is a higher degree of probability that it is actually meaningful and not some agenda driven horse puckey.
But…..Can anyone confirm the validity of this report?? (I have become cynical in my old age. I used to believe the so called “scientists”, but I got burned.)
Regards,
Steamboat Jack (Jon Jewett’s evil twin)
Lead from bullets in coyotes and in other dead animals is supposed to have contributed to the near-demise of the California Condor. Ditto for power lines, although no lead there, obviously.
A little-known fact is that commercial airlines were a part of the valiant rescue effort to save the California Condor. When pickings were slim in one part of the condors’ range, the airlines would transport some of these magnificent birds to an area with more dead animals to nosh on. However this worthwhile program was discontinued after a short time. It seems that there was a problem with the carrion baggage. 🙂
Reply: Ouch, and I think you told it incorrectly. I think the airlines were transporting food to the habitats if you’re joke is going to work. ~ ctm
Not to worry! We’re so broke we can’t afford to let the Federal Government go on growing the way it has for the past 60 years. The EPA will be among the first agencies to disappear. Great Depressions do achieve some good in the long run. Now all we need to do is ‘can’ the two major parties and come up with two better ones. Neither one is very good at what they claim to be their function in life – representing the American People. What we need is Voter Imposed Term Limits (VITL) – a max of two terms and it’s Up or Out. (It’ll save a heck of a lot of money on perks and retirement benefits;-)
PS: Pssst… we also need to cut back on courts to. Let’s get rid of the Ninth Circuit for starters and make the ACLU pay their own way. After we scrap the EPA, of course!
I can’t find any corroboration of that. But let’s give you the benefit of the doubt — what’s your source? Why doesn’t lead go into solution in water? Why doesn’t lead dust get blown around like all other dust?
REPLY: My point that you are STILL ignoring is that Sierra Club passage about human ingestion by the roadside where “anyone can find it”. Admit that is ridiculous and I’ll be happy to explain the rest, but your history has shown you generally to be a waste of time trying to explain something to.
I don’t disagree with your points about lead and kids, but as I said that’s a different problem.
– Anthony