Abe21 has the report on lead contamination at Peaceful Valley. The results do not support or confirm the alarm raised by shooting range protesters.
Addendum: The Thomassons ECN editorial of 9/13/07 completely misrepresents the conclusions of the Clark study.
A few excerpts containing conclusions:
From: Results, Observations and Interpretations
Section 1(a)
Samples at these sites were literally skimmed off the top one inch of the soil near the back edges of the impact zones in an attempt to accentuate the lead values. Lead concentrations in the surface samples at the shooting stations fall in the same range as the values from the surface samples at the background sites. Therefore, it is very difficult to measure lead accumulation in the soil at nearly all the Impact Zones above natural geochemical background.
Section 1(b)
In summary, no evidence was found of lead migrating by hydromorphic geochemical processes downward in the soil. The most likely location for evidence of geochemical migration is at Site 3, and none was found. Therefore, it is highly improbable that lead will be chemically transported into groundwater or off the range, and the suggested management practices would prevent even this small risk.
Section 1(c)
Lead analyses of sediment samples from the bed of Kiowa Creek show that there is no appreciable difference between the sediment upstream from the shooting facility and sediment downstream. In fact, analyses of both of these samples produced lead results that are quite low. There is no evidence that lead from the Sporting Clays Range is impacting Kiowa Creek.
Section 2
Data for water-extractable lead confirm the conclusion that lead is not being mobilized in solution through geochemical processes on the Sporting Clays Range.
Section 3
In summary, there is no evidence that soluble lead complexes are forming in the slightly more acidic soils on the Sporting Clays Range, as is indicated by the water-extractable lead values.
Discussion
The location of the Sporting Clays Range in a canyon and the surrounding topography generally dispel any concern that lead pellets from the range could fall into Kiowa Creek. Supporting this observation, no evidence was found of lead contamination in the Kiowa Creek sediment samples. Therefore, there is no evidence that lead from the Sporting Clays Range has impacted Kiowa Creek.
In summary, all the data from the Sporting Clays Range confirm a general statement that the EPA makes on one of their web pages: “What happens to lead when it is released to the environment? When released to land, lead binds to soils and does not migrate to groundwater. In water, it binds to sediments.” (http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/dw_contamfs/lead.html)