Just when you think things can not get any more stupid coming from the EPA,they put this out
EPA To Regulate Bullet Emissions From Private Firearms
Washington DC
The Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it would take action
to regulate the emissions that occur when a firearm is discharged. The current proposal
calls for ammunition sold to private individuals to meet minimum clean air standards by
mid 2016, and even stricter standards by the year 2021. Richard Shuckers, spokesperson for the EPA said "it's imperative that this agency take action to minimize a source of pollution that most haven't considered to be detrimental to air quality."
Shuckers also stated that currently, there are no plans to regulate emissions for ammunition used by the military or law enforcement agencies. He further added "the amount of ammunitiondischarged annually in the US by the public adds a measurable decrease to air quality, especially in urban areas where gang violence not only takes lives, but aggravates breathing problems that children and the elderly may already have."
Cathy Munoz, Vice President of Let The Children Breathe, told us that her group has
suspected that the burning of explosive powders in ammunition were a detriment to healthy air, but the money for research was lacking until recently. Munoz stated LTCB received funding in January to conduct live research trials and were astonished to find that
even .22 shells pose a threat to air quality. She went on to say "People have no idea the pollutant that are release when firing guns. Not only could a person die, but their asthma could be aggravated as well."
Several ammunition manufactures were reluctant to talk to us in person, but a representative for Horneydy, on condition of anonymity, said his company was already working with firearm manufacturers on a solution and said they expected to meet the standards well ahead of the deadlines. He stated "Although different types of powders and primers have been explored, our researchers feel the solution to the problem would be to equip firearms with a catalytic converter. Even older weapons could be retrofitted. We are going to go a step further and add a muffler to the firearm to cut down on noise during drive by shootings in cities."
Shuckers told us he was aware of the solutions being worked on by manufactures, and that he agreed their current solution seems to be the best way to go. He added "In the future,
states will have firearm emission testing centers." He detailed they would operate similar to auto emission testing facilities. "A gun owner or gang banger would simply come in and pop off a few rounds and we would measure emissions." "It would be a fairly straight forward procedure." "We aren't going to be checking for outstanding warrants or illegal firearms, all we want is to breath
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