Army Public Health Center, Occupational Health Sciences, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
Army Public Health Center, Toxicology Directorate, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
J Occup Environ Hyg. 2020 Nov-Dec;17(11-12):598-610. doi: 10.1080/15459624.2020.1836375. Epub 2020 Nov 17.
The training of soldiers for urban conflict involves marksmanship instruction on outdoor flat ranges and the teaching of close-quarter battle techniques in indoor facilities, referred to as shoot houses, where intense firing exercises can generate high air lead levels from small arms ammunition, flash bang grenades, and explosive devices. Levels of lead and copper in air were evaluated during five training activities of a 45-day training course using both stationary general area and breathing zone sampling over a 2-year period. Individual blood lead values were determined prior to and at course completion. Mean breathing zone lead concentrations for the five training activities ranged from 0.014 on the outdoor flat range to 0.064 mg/m inside shoot houses; with a change to lead-free ammunition the values were reduced to a range of 0.006-0.022 mg/m. Isolated flash bang grenades generated very high general area lead concentrations (2.0 mg/m), which in training were associated with the highest measured breathing zone concentration (0.16 mg/m). For copper, mean breathing zone concentrations increased from 0.010 to 0.037 mg/m with the change to lead-free frangible ammunition on the outdoor range, but remained below the permissible exposure limit for copper fume. Inside shoot houses, mean breathing zone copper concentrations exceeded the permissible exposure limit with ball and lead-free frangible ammunition, ranging from 0.077-0.13 mg/m. With the introduction of lead-free ammunition, when comparing the blood lead differences between start and finish of the course, there was a significant reduction in the mean blood lead difference from 13.3 µg/dL to 5.4 µg/dL. Options for mitigation of potentially high exposure areas using improved ventilation designs are discussed. These results advocate for improved designs for shoot house training facilities, stress the importance of removing lead from ammunition and explosive devices for training, and promote the continued need for implementation of controls to mitigate and manage metal exposures during training.
士兵在城市作战的训练包括在户外平坦靶场进行射击指导，以及在室内设施（射击屋）中教授近距离战斗技术，在射击屋内，高强度的射击训练会使小口径武器弹药、闪光弹和爆炸装置产生高空气铅水平。在 2 年期间，使用固定的一般区域和呼吸区采样，在为期 45 天的培训课程的五次培训活动中评估了空气中的铅和铜含量。在课程开始前和结束时，分别确定了个体血液铅含量。五次培训活动的平均呼吸区铅浓度范围为 0.014（户外平坦靶场）至 0.064mg/m（射击屋内）；改用无铅弹药后，浓度范围降至 0.006-0.022mg/m。孤立的闪光弹会产生非常高的一般区域铅浓度（2.0mg/m），在训练中，这与测量的最高呼吸区浓度（0.16mg/m）有关。对于铜，在户外无铅易碎弹药的情况下，呼吸区平均浓度从 0.010 增加到 0.037mg/m，但仍低于铜烟尘的允许接触限值。在射击屋内，呼吸区平均铜浓度因使用球和无铅易碎弹药而超过允许接触限值，范围为 0.077-0.13mg/m。使用无铅弹药时，与课程开始和结束时的血液铅差异相比，平均血液铅差异从 13.3µg/dL 显著降低至 5.4µg/dL。讨论了使用改进的通风设计减轻潜在高暴露区域的措施。这些结果提倡改进射击屋培训设施的设计，强调从弹药和爆炸装置中去除铅的重要性，并促进继续实施控制措施，以减轻和管理培训期间的金属暴露。
