DEC Announces Plan to Train with “Green Ammo”

• by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

ALBANY, NY (12/31/2007)(readMedia)-- New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis announced today a new initiative to switch to “green ammo” from lead-based ammunition for Departmental firearms training to help reduce the impact of lead at firing ranges.

Commissioner Grannis said: “DEC is committed to leading the way in finding new ways – large and small – to reduce the amount of contamination that is released into our environment. DEC’s 464 Environmental Conservation Officers and Forest Rangers are leading the state by implementing a common-sense change to use non-toxic ammunition in order to protect public health and the environment from the effects of lead.”

The ammunition DEC will be using is considered “green” in comparison to standard ammunition because it is lead-free and includes non-toxic primers. This combination greatly reduces the impact of firearms training on the environment. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, lead from ammunition can be introduced into the environment in one or more of the following ways: lead oxidizes when exposed to air and dissolves when exposed to acidic water or soil; lead bullets, bullet particles, and dissolved lead can be moved from firing ranges by storm water runoff; and dissolved lead can migrate through soils to groundwater.

Lead poisoning is a serious human health risk and inhalation or ingestion of lead dust while firing or handling lead-based ammunition is a potential pathway for exposure. Because of the detrimental effects lead in the environment can also have on animals, DEC has taken several initiatives to prevent wildlife from being exposed. These include state requirements that only non-toxic shot be used in waterfowl hunting and a ban on the sale of lead sinkers (for fishing line) weighing less than half of an ounce. Excessive exposure to lead, primarily from ingestion, can cause increased mortality rates in cattle, sheep and waterfowl.

DEC is currently phasing in the new ammunition with the agency’s 330 Environmental Conservation Officers and 134 Forest Rangers, all of whom are highly trained police officers. The DEC expends over 150,000 rounds of ammunition annually, including during regional in-service training exercises, as well as at the Department’s 26-week residential basic training academy. While it will cost slightly more to purchase the green ammunition, the state will realize long-term benefits including the elimination of hazardous material exposure to humans and the environment, as well as eliminating the possibility of costly lead removal at DEC police training ranges.

For more information about lead in bullets and specifically, details on protecting public health and the environment by implementing best management practices at firing ranges, go to EPA’s website at: www.epa.gov/Region2/waste/leadshot/index.html .

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