SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) Fifty years of research has shown that the presence of lead in the environment poses an ongoing threat to the health of the general public, whether at the workplace, the home, or in recreational endeavors.
(b) The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines lead as toxic to both humans and animals. Lead can affect almost every organ and system in the human body, including the heart, bones, intestines, kidneys, and reproductive and nervous systems. It interferes with the development of the nervous system and is therefore particularly toxic to children, causing potentially permanent learning and behavior
disorders.
(c) Lead is a potent neurotoxin, for which no safe exposure level exists for humans. The use of lead has been outlawed in and removed from paint, gasoline, children’s toys, and many other items to protect human health and wildlife.
(d) In order to limit wildlife exposure to lead ammunition, California banned the use of lead ammunition for hunting in AB 711 (Chapter 742 of the Statutes of 2013), which was fully implemented on July 1, 2019.
(e) Ammunition that does not contain lead is readily available. Studies have shown that nonlead ammunition performs as well as, or better than, lead ammunition.
(f) A shooting range, especially an indoor shooting range, is a location that is a high-risk area for exposure to toxic lead. There are multiple
documented examples of employees, patrons, and people in adjoining properties being exposed to lead dust from shooting ranges.
(g) Lead is spread through the vapor when a gun is fired and by the dust that comes off the bullet when it is fired. While some ranges have filters and other devices to remediate the lead dust, containment of lead dust in shooting ranges varies considerably between facilities. The only means to ensure that there will not be exposure to those inside and outside of the range is to stop using lead ammunition.