Charlotte, NC –-(Ammoland.com)- In December, the final primary lead smelter in the United States will close. The lead smelter, located in Herculaneum, Missouri, and owned and operated by the Doe Run Company, has existed in the same location since 1892.
The Herculaneum smelter is currently the only smelter in the United States which can produce lead bullion from raw lead ore that is mined nearby in Missouri’s extensive lead deposits, giving the smelter its “primary” designation. The lead bullion produced in Herculaneum is then sold to lead product producers, including ammunition manufactures for use in conventional ammunition components such as projectiles, projectile cores, and primers. Several “secondary” smelters, where lead is recycled from products such as lead acid batteries or spent ammunition components, still operate in the United States.
Doe Run made significant efforts to reduce lead emissions from the smelter, but in 2008 the federal Environmental Protection Agency issued new National Ambient Air Quality Standards for lead that were 10 times tighter than the previous standard. Given the new lead air quality standard, Doe Run made the decision to close the Herculaneum smelter.
Whatever the EPA’s motivation when creating the new lead air quality standard, increasingly restrictive regulation of lead is likely to affect the production and cost of traditional ammunition. Just this month, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that will ban lead ammunition for all hunting in California. The Center for Biological Diversity has tried multiple times to get similar regulations at the federal level by trying, and repeatedly failing, to get the EPA to regulate conventional ammunition under the Toxic Substances Control Act.
At this time, it’s unclear if Doe Run or another company will open a new lead smelter in the United States that can meet the more stringent lead air quality standards by using more modern smelting methods.
What is clear is that after the Herculaneum smelter closes its doors in December, entirely domestic manufacture of conventional ammunition, from raw ore to finished cartridge, will be impossible.
About:
Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the “lobbying” arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Visit: www.nra.org
Is this another way that Obama is in-directly infringing on the People’s Constitutional Rights?
Just like when Obama ordered all once fired military brass be destroyed and sold for scrap metal rather than selling it to ammunition companies to reload.
The government won’t run out of ammo – didn’t they just corner the market on most of it over the past two years? More than enough to do away with most of us if they wanted… or China told them to do it…
NAW the AdamHenrys running the EPA and this administration will just issue a proclamation exempting the gov’ment for that requirement (See health care for the congress and Obummers business friends)
Well this is going to be an interesting thing. Not having bullets available is going to hurt law enforcement, the military, the private shooter the list goes on. The military, according to the Constitution, can not use anything that is not manufactured in the U S. Looks like DHS will have to give up a few billion rounds of ammo.
So much for National Security Interests when it comes to the EPA.
It appears the lead that is mined in that area will be sent to China for the smelting process and then shipped back to the U.S. I think it’s fair to assume that products that contain lead such as bullets, batteries, etc. will increase in cost. Again, we will be at the mercy of another country for yet another product will need and use. How amusing it is to watch all of the collective body of people in this country who work tirelessly to cripple America’s industry to the point of extinction, but still buy the products they have flushed… Read more »