Reducing Exposure to Lead and Noise at Indoor Firing Ranges

Details

• Personal Author:
  Afanuh, Susan E. ; Kardous CA
• Description:
  Workers and users of indoor firing ranges may be exposed to hazardous levels of lead and noise. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends steps for workers and employers to reduce exposures. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 1 million Federal, State, and local law enforcement officers work in the United States [DOJ 2004]. They are required to train regularly in the use of firearms. Indoor firing ranges are often used because of their controlled conditions (see Figure 1). In addition to workers, more than 20 million active target shooters practice at indoor firing ranges. Law enforcement officers may be exposed to high levels of lead and noise at indoor firing ranges. NIOSH estimates that 16,000 to 18,000 firing ranges operate in the United States. Several studies of firing ranges have shown that exposure to lead and noise can cause health problems associated with lead exposure and hearing loss, particularly among employees and instructors. Lead exposure occurs mainly through inhalation of lead fumes or ingestion (e.g., eating or drinking with contaminated hands). [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Dust Engineering Environmental Monitoring Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Law Enforcement Lead Metals, Heavy Noise Noise, Occupational Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Radiation Dosimeters Safety Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Auditory-system Dosimetry Engineering-controls Environmental-control Heavy-metals Impulse-noise Law-enforcement-workers Lead-dust Noise-analysis Noise-control Noise-exposure Noise-induced-hearing-loss Noise-levels Noise-measurement Personal-protection Personal-protective-equipment Police-officers Protective-equipment Sound Soundproofing Work-environment

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• Series:
  NIOSH Numbered Publications
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHPUB2010113
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Periodical
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; EID - Education and Information Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20036498
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2010-107334
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2010-113, 2010 Jan; :1-4
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction ; Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:799f677e08108e3ea7d5be681236b22f536849f53a58fca7007af6ae4e5801e54c01d4883b25ac4b720985304b1d73f78311d2a99d85e65e62e7eb11f6251773
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/209932/cdc_209932_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 251.30 KB ]