The James G. Mangan Rifle and Pistol Range in Mangan Park, Sacramento, was closed 15 months ago, with only a small notice taped to the door to alert people of the closure. The Sacramento Bee reports that since the range closed its doors, lead dust from decades of gunfire has not been cleaned, indoors or out, by the city or the state.
The city did not test the soil around the range until local reporters began to ask questions.
Between 2006-2014, lead levels at the range consistently tested well over the California Department of Public Health’s maximum limit, sometimes by a factor of hundreds.
“If you don’t clean this place up and you don’t check the soil afterward, you are just leaving a problem that could be far larger,” Peter Green, a civil and environmental engineering researcher at the University of California, Davis, told the Sacramento Bee. “Either they clean it up or they are at risk of later consequences. The effects of lead have been clear for 40 years; lead is not a new, surprising problem. And this is right amongst people.”
“It’s really unforgivable,” Green said.
An assessment conducted in 2012 found that an outdated ventilation system was not filtering lead dust, and city consultants reported that the dust had been forced out into the surrounding air. The area around the range was not tested for another two years, and, when tested, was found to be at levels 70 times over the legal limit.
