Bullets as Environmental Hazard

I have to admit, I enjoy guns and ammunition. Talking guns with people is one of my favorite things to do and nothing brings a smile to my face quite like a good action movie, but with everyone else in the world who uses a gun--whether it be on the shooting range or on the battlefield--massive amounts of lead have been thrown about and pose a danger to the environment. A standard bullet is composed of a lead slug encased in a thin sheath of copper. The copper protects the bullet from the grooves on the inside of the barrel and allows it to hold shape under the conditions presented when fired. This casing, however, often breaks away and flattens out upon impact, especially if the shell was a hollow point. This leads to the exposure of the lead to the environment in which it is newly situated, whether it is a hillside or a person.
With the popularity of guns among Americans as collectibles and shooting as a hobby, shooting ranges are seeing more traffic than ever. Thousands upon thousands of rounds are fired every day in sport, seen as harmless since the only results are holes in paper targets and puffs of dust from the hillside behind them. What the shooters don't see, though, is that when the stockpile gets wet, it leaches small amounts of lead from the bullets in the ground. A single bullet won't really produce much for volume, but when the entirety of a range is exposed, the runoff becomes significant. Rivers near shooting ranges have reported enhanced lead levels, which can be dangerous to wildlife and people who may depend on the river as a water supply. Aquifers are also at risk and the threat of lead poisoning is one that is gaining more attention daily. Of the first to respond, ammunition manufacturers have begun making rounds with zinc along with lead, decreasing the amount of the latter while creating another potential barrier against leaching by the prior. The shells are more expensive, but the slowing of lead leaching is considerable. This, of course, will most likely stay on the shooting range, leaving former battlefields as a completely different problem to be dealt with.