Environmental Risks at Finnish Shooting Ranges—A Case Study

Antimony retention and release from drained and waterlogged shooting range soil under field conditions

“…The United States has about 3000 military and 9000 civilian shooting ranges with an estimated annual Sb deposition of 1900 tons (Wan et al, 2013a). Shooting ranges have recently come into the focus of public concern also in other countries, notably Finland (Sorvari et al, 2006;Sorvari, 2007), Norway (Stromseng et al, 2009), andCanada (Laporte-Saumure et al, 2011). Antimony concentrations in ground (Wersin et al, 2002) and stream water samples (Stromseng et al, 2009;Heier et al, 2010) in the vicinity of shooting ranges have been found to exceed background concentrations by a factor of more than 20 in some studies, indicating a potential risk of uncontrolled Sb release from such sites.…”

Phytoavailability of lead altered by two Pelargonium cultivars grown on contrasting lead-spiked soils

“…Recently, battery manufacturing and recycling (Uzu et al 2010) and shooting ranges (Strømseng et al 2009) have emerged as major contributors to soil contamination, as bullets contain about 90 % Pb (Sorvari 2007). Unlike organics, Pb is non-degradable, and its persistence can result in its accumulation in the terrestrial and aquatic biota, threatening human and environmental health (Dixit et al 2015).…”

Determining the bioavailability and toxicity of lead contamination to earthworms requires using a combination of physicochemical and biological methods

“…In the United States, 60,000 t of Pb is being deposited each year in shooting range soils (Ahmad et al, 2011). Lead accounting for 95e97% of the bullet material at shooting ranges (Cao et al, 2003) is of increasing concern in many countries (Lin, 1996;Sorvari, 2007) since it is known to be hazardous to human and environmental health. Therefore, the United State Environmental Protection Agency has classified Pb residues in shooting range soils as hazardous materials (USEPA, 2001).…”