First and foremost, unlike previous drafts, lead bullets have been excluded from the draft. The focus is now exclusively on lead shot. This easy-to-read strategic decision by the European Commission aims to avoid weakening the security and defense production department while pursuing the additional rationale of a differentiated environmental impact, since data seem to show that the dispersion of single lead bullets in the environment is minimal compared to shot. The quantities indicated for comparison over 20 years are approximately 8,232 tons of bullets versus 558,000 tons of pellets.
Goals and deadlines of the ban
Once the legislation enters into force, the expected deadlines for the hunting and sporting sectors will be a total ban on lead shot within 3 years for hunting and a ban within 5 years for outdoor sport shooting.
Exemptions will only be made for those shooting facilities that can guarantee certified lead recovery systems.
Critical points and cost of lead alternatives
The industry and hunting/shooting associations remain on high alert. The main concerns relate to the ballistic performance of lead alternatives, which have not yet achieved satisfactory standards with most alloys, both in terms of effectiveness and in terms of costs of production and inevitable price increases for end users.
The cost of conversion
Estimates of the costs needed to adapt shooting ranges show large differences in forecasts. ECHA (the European Chemicals Agency) in fact assumes a cost of approximately 1.094 billion euros for the conversions, while industry insiders anticipate necessary investments of between 5.5 and 6.2 billion euros at European level.
Since the text is not yet final, the next three steps will be: first, Discussion in the REACH Committee with technical analysis of the restrictions; then, the European Commission vote to formally approve the proposal; and finally, the submission to the European Parliament with political debate and final vote.
Everyone in the industry is working to make such a drastic transition more sustainable for the industry. We will continue to keep you updated.
