Element concentrations in the air of an indoor shooting range.

Elemental emissions during firing in a shooting range were measured for different types of ammunition. When using Hirtenberger bullets, lead, barium, antimony and to a lesser extent copper and arsenic were the primary metal pollutants. Stationary sampling at three locations in the range did not reveal large concentration gradients. Large concentration variations were observed by sampling before, during and after shooting. Lead and antimony concentrations peak at 5060 and 119 micrograms m-3, respectively. Soil elements such as aluminium, sodium and calcium are enriched during shooting, probably due to soil resuspension by the shooters and the bullets hitting the sand backstop. After shooting has ceased the concentrations fall to within pre-shooting levels within a couple of hours. Measurement of the aerodynamic particle size shows low mass median diameters for the elements emitted during firing and larger diameters for the soil-associated elements. The peak airborne concentrations measured by stationary sampling, and human exposure measured by a personal sampler carried by an instructor were compared with threshold limit values. During the shooting the TLV is significantly exceeded for lead.