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Airborne lead and trace elements in an indoor shooting range: A study of the DC national guard armory pistol range
Author(s) -
Olmez Ilhan,
Kotra J. P.,
Lowery Sharon,
Zoller William H.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.5620040404
Subject(s) - environmental science , particulates , range (aeronautics) , guard (computer science) , small arms , environmental chemistry , lead (geology) , chemistry , materials science , geology , computer science , composite material , business , organic chemistry , geomorphology , international trade , programming language
Concentrations of airborne particulate lead in an indoor pistol range far exceeded the recently revised Occupational Safety and Health Administration target standard of 50 μg/m 3 , often by two or three orders of magnitude. A substantial fraction (40 to 50%) of the lead occurred on respirable‐size particles (diameter ≤ 2 μm). Significantly elevated levels of Sb, Cu, As and Ba also resulted from the firing of .38 and .45 caliber pistols. The high levels of respirable, toxic elements observed indicate a potentially serious exposure for users and, in particular, the operators of such facilities.