TOXICITY EVALUATION OF TRAP AND SKEET SHOOTING TARGETS TO AQUATIC TEST SPECIES

Large quantities of trap and skeet clay targets are used in shooting a ctivities around the United States. For example, the number of targets used since 1970 has averaged approximately 560 million a year. A numb er of acute and chronic tests were performed to determine the toxicity of Remington Arms Company Blue Rock(R) trap and skeet target fragment s upon selected freshwater and marine organisms. These studies were un dertaken in support of an environmental impact study of trap and skeet shooting activities at a major gun club in the northeast United State s. Targets were composed of approximately 67% dolomitic limestone, 32% petroleum pitch and 1% fluorescent aqueous paint (painted targets onl y). The majority of samples were painted, new targets obtained from th e manufacturer and painted and aged targets collected around a shootin g range. Additional tests were conducted using non-painted, new target s and leachates prepared from both painted, new and aged targets. Targ ets were crushed to small fragments and were either directly added to the test vessels at extremely high concentrations ranging from 670 to 600000 mgl(-1) or used in leachate tests. In direct tests all target m aterials were essentially non-toxic to marine and freshwater organisms , except for the non-painted new targets which exhibited minimal acute toxicity to Daphnia magna (48 h EC(50) = 2200 mgl(-1)). In leachate t ests, the leachate was not-toxic to mysid shrimp, the only organism te sted. Additional samples of crushed targets were analysed for the pres ence of selected priority pollutants (EP toxicity test) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The targets did not exhibit the charact eristics of toxicity as determined by the EP toxicity test but did con tain substantial amounts of PAHs. However, results from new and aged t argets suggest that PAH are tightly bound in the petroleum pitch and l imestone matrix and are unlikely to be readily available in the enviro nment. The potential impact of targets on the environment is further d iscussed.