My other hobby is electronics. The European Union Directive 2002/95/EU has mandated the elimination of lead in electronics components. The RoHS compliance statements are commonly found from various US and other international electronics parts suppliers.
The EU is attempting to eliminate lead in most, if not all, consumer products.
I'm already seeing some non-lead pellets on the market. GAMO, for example, is advertising a new pellet made with Performance Ballistic Alloy (PBA).
I see this as having significant implications to our sport:
These non-lead mixes tend to have lower mass so pellets weigh less.
These mixes tend to be much more expensive than lead.
These mixes are harder than lead, which may result in greater barrel wear and the need for more barrel maintenance. (Some barrels are made of soft materials, in some cases, brass, which may not survive when firing harder mix projectiles.)
The best competition pellets are coming from Europe. I find it difficult to believe they will continue to produce lead products just for the USA which has not signed up for the "no lead" standard.
What do others know?
Will Lead Pellets Continue to be Available?
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Bob LeDoux
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Jose Rossy
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wrc
I wonder if the EU lead directive, re: RoHS, is aimed strictly at electronics due to boards being considered "mixed waste" or "hazardous mixed waste". Which is costly for proper disposal, recycling, or disassembly. It's not just lead that RoHS is addressing, it's other hazardous substances too.
One would think that there ought to be a proper area in the regulations for stand-alone lead, ie: not in a mixed use with other materials. There have to be instances where the use of lead is necessary (radiation shielding, for one), and guidelines other than RoHS must exist. If lead pellets are regulated away, what will EU do with lead bullets?
One would think that there ought to be a proper area in the regulations for stand-alone lead, ie: not in a mixed use with other materials. There have to be instances where the use of lead is necessary (radiation shielding, for one), and guidelines other than RoHS must exist. If lead pellets are regulated away, what will EU do with lead bullets?
I read several years ago that Sweden has already enacted a lead bullet ban that will go into effect sometime in the next few years. Does anyone know if this is true or not? I believe that their sport shooting association was appealing to the manufacturers to quickly come up with a reasonable substitute.
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James Hurr
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RoHS
The purpose of RoHS does seem to be to remove lead from a mixed waste stream.
Used consumer products, which have short lives now, are hard to separate out.
Pure lead where it can be largely recovered at end of life, eg roofing, is not such a big deal.
I doubt target shooting, if it can be shown the lead is recovered, would realy be affected.
I do work in electronics where RoHS is a big isse. Removing lead has its benefits, but the alternatives, gold plated boards (cyanide or mercury used in production of Gold, and huge amounts of energy hence the cost) and often conductive epoxies (Silver or Gold, see earlier plus carcinogenic epoxy) don't seem much better.
Still, the Cornish tin miners are doing better :)
Used consumer products, which have short lives now, are hard to separate out.
Pure lead where it can be largely recovered at end of life, eg roofing, is not such a big deal.
I doubt target shooting, if it can be shown the lead is recovered, would realy be affected.
I do work in electronics where RoHS is a big isse. Removing lead has its benefits, but the alternatives, gold plated boards (cyanide or mercury used in production of Gold, and huge amounts of energy hence the cost) and often conductive epoxies (Silver or Gold, see earlier plus carcinogenic epoxy) don't seem much better.
Still, the Cornish tin miners are doing better :)
If you search back to last year you will see this exact subject was discussed then. Lead will be removed, it's just a matter of time and it doesn't really matter what you or or I think of the science. The ISSF have had meetings on the subject and if my memory serves me right I recall 2010 as the deadline.
I don't recall much discussion amongst the ammo makers but then they are probably playing their cards tight to their chests looking at new alloys etc.
Rob.
I don't recall much discussion amongst the ammo makers but then they are probably playing their cards tight to their chests looking at new alloys etc.
Rob.
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Bill Poole
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I work in electronics too, and have tracked this Pb-free stuff for a few years. My company is removing lead and the need for lead to the EU legal level in all our products. and I have come to the following conclusion:
LEAD IS A MIRACLE METAL!
this is industry -wide, there are articles in almost every issue of almost every industry magazine, here are some comments:
the hardest part is not getting rid of the lead, but getting rid of the water... plastic ICs absorb a tiny bit of moisture from the air, Pb-free solder takes a higher temperature, the absorbed moisture flash vaporizes and the plastic IC cracks, so all the plastic developed over decades of integrated circuit production had to be changed to tolerate the higher temp, absorb less moisture or be shipped in airtight packing. AND some very nice flame retardent (for safety) additives suddenly also violate some RoHS (reduction of hazardous material) rule so new additives had to be developed.
Then once they soldered the parts down, the companies that make consumer products (my company does not, but this is industry-wide issue) started doing "drop tests" and the ICs would break right off the circuit board, an IC is piece of thin plastic about 8 or 10mm square with a hundred or more solder connections on the bottom, this new fragile tin based "solder" would just break off, so they had to work out new shapes and sizes and procedures for soldering
Now it really gets complicated.
in order to keep track of older Pb parts and newer Pb-free parts, the companies had to come up with differential part numbers (for parts that are electrically identical) for many companies this meant clearing an inventory and tracking date codes and lot numbers, for other companies it meant to renumber EVERY part in the porfolio thousands of products in some cases, and changing the text in certain sections on every data sheet in the catalog.
all to prevent a naturally-occuring substance from returning to nature.
many products are exempt, such as vehicle batteries, because it is so easy to set up a recycling stream, and so easy to impose a fee that the consumer pays.
Our bullets and pellets for target shooting should be exempt, for a while anyway, since we know where the lead goes and can set up recycling schemes (hunters are probably at greater risk of being affected, as waterfowlers already have)
I spent my teenage years and many hours of my working career with a soldering iron in my hand and my adult years shooting bullets and exposed to the vapor of primers and have my blood lead tested every year and its well within proper limits.
My father pointed out once that in the decades that they eliminated lead as a gasoline additive, blood lead level in US children dropped 80% (a symptom of lead poisoning is decreased intelligence they say) during that same time frame, performance on standardized educational test scores among those same children DROPPED!!!!!!!!
oh, I am trying to recycle my air gun pellets into balls for my cap and ball revolver, what is the hardness of the alloy pellets are made of? how does one make it purer lead?
Poole
http://arizona.rifleshooting.com/
LEAD IS A MIRACLE METAL!
this is industry -wide, there are articles in almost every issue of almost every industry magazine, here are some comments:
the hardest part is not getting rid of the lead, but getting rid of the water... plastic ICs absorb a tiny bit of moisture from the air, Pb-free solder takes a higher temperature, the absorbed moisture flash vaporizes and the plastic IC cracks, so all the plastic developed over decades of integrated circuit production had to be changed to tolerate the higher temp, absorb less moisture or be shipped in airtight packing. AND some very nice flame retardent (for safety) additives suddenly also violate some RoHS (reduction of hazardous material) rule so new additives had to be developed.
Then once they soldered the parts down, the companies that make consumer products (my company does not, but this is industry-wide issue) started doing "drop tests" and the ICs would break right off the circuit board, an IC is piece of thin plastic about 8 or 10mm square with a hundred or more solder connections on the bottom, this new fragile tin based "solder" would just break off, so they had to work out new shapes and sizes and procedures for soldering
Now it really gets complicated.
in order to keep track of older Pb parts and newer Pb-free parts, the companies had to come up with differential part numbers (for parts that are electrically identical) for many companies this meant clearing an inventory and tracking date codes and lot numbers, for other companies it meant to renumber EVERY part in the porfolio thousands of products in some cases, and changing the text in certain sections on every data sheet in the catalog.
all to prevent a naturally-occuring substance from returning to nature.
many products are exempt, such as vehicle batteries, because it is so easy to set up a recycling stream, and so easy to impose a fee that the consumer pays.
Our bullets and pellets for target shooting should be exempt, for a while anyway, since we know where the lead goes and can set up recycling schemes (hunters are probably at greater risk of being affected, as waterfowlers already have)
I spent my teenage years and many hours of my working career with a soldering iron in my hand and my adult years shooting bullets and exposed to the vapor of primers and have my blood lead tested every year and its well within proper limits.
My father pointed out once that in the decades that they eliminated lead as a gasoline additive, blood lead level in US children dropped 80% (a symptom of lead poisoning is decreased intelligence they say) during that same time frame, performance on standardized educational test scores among those same children DROPPED!!!!!!!!
oh, I am trying to recycle my air gun pellets into balls for my cap and ball revolver, what is the hardness of the alloy pellets are made of? how does one make it purer lead?
Poole
http://arizona.rifleshooting.com/
Non-lead pellets
Checked out a link (in UK for www.cityairguns.com) and found they offer lead free pellete in pkgs of 400 for approx. $.036/@; this price may be slightly lees in bulk , but there is no question of being more expensive than current lead offfering.
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Jose Rossy
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Gotta love being ruled by Europeans........RobStubbs wrote:If you search back to last year you will see this exact subject was discussed then. Lead will be removed, it's just a matter of time and it doesn't really matter what you or or I think of the science. The ISSF have had meetings on the subject and if my memory serves me right I recall 2010 as the deadline.
I don't recall much discussion amongst the ammo makers but then they are probably playing their cards tight to their chests looking at new alloys etc.
Rob.
Since that ruling does not affect the overwhelming majority of air rifle competition in the United States (NRA, CMP, 4H, NCAA), European pellet makers will continue to sells us what we want or an enterprising American firm will step into the breach.
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Bob LeDoux
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Not a problem. We will just use what the rest of the world uses. I think this is a non issue. Just another evolution in the sport.Bob LeDoux wrote:The market for competition grade pellets is small. There are no USA manufacturers producing this quality of product right now. All the pellets I shoot with are imported from Europe. I don't believe an American firm will fill in the void. We have no equivalent to Vogel or RWS products.
Hi all,
I am not sure what people in USA do. But in most of the countries where air pellets, or small bore bullets are used, after firing we never think of recycling those. we never think what will happen afterworlds.
I have seen many times small kids pickup those pellets and put in mouth and ... we all know what happens...
To protect environment I think we must now think about the consequence and recycle Pb properly. Pb is a poison and we should know how to protect ourself and our environment from danger.
With best regards.
I am not sure what people in USA do. But in most of the countries where air pellets, or small bore bullets are used, after firing we never think of recycling those. we never think what will happen afterworlds.
I have seen many times small kids pickup those pellets and put in mouth and ... we all know what happens...
To protect environment I think we must now think about the consequence and recycle Pb properly. Pb is a poison and we should know how to protect ourself and our environment from danger.
With best regards.
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Bill Poole
- Posts: 435
- Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2004 10:50 pm
- Location: Scottsdale, AZ
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what happens?I have seen many times small kids pickup those pellets and put in mouth and ... we all know what happens...
the pellet come out the other end?
another of my (raised on a farm in the 30's-50's) father's comments was.... in those days, EVERYONE ate stuff that was hunted and EVERYONE had a shotgun pellet or two working its way thru their digestive system.....
i did see a science show where a bullet was lodged in a knee joint and the chemical composition of the joint fluid desolved enough lead to cause fatal lead poisoning...
here in the US, a lot of pistol shooting folks (at least used to) cast their own bullets and many lead items such as linotype and wheel weights went thru at least one recycling cycle before ending up in a backstop.
Poole
Sir,
You are 100 % right. But do you think if i love to play with nails I will put it on road and come home?
We plant trees today. May not we but our children will get some thing out of it. About lead poison.. you can find many things related to this in the following website.
http://www.lead-poison.com/
I believe our future should not blame us.. the sport is for fun.. I am not telling to stop using Lead.. but lets recycle..
Collect it from the target trap and recycle.
Regards
Mishradk
You are 100 % right. But do you think if i love to play with nails I will put it on road and come home?
We plant trees today. May not we but our children will get some thing out of it. About lead poison.. you can find many things related to this in the following website.
http://www.lead-poison.com/
I believe our future should not blame us.. the sport is for fun.. I am not telling to stop using Lead.. but lets recycle..
Collect it from the target trap and recycle.
Regards
Mishradk
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Jose Rossy
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- Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2004 8:17 am
- Location: Troy, Ohio, USA