Report: Police officers face lead exposure from gun ranges

SEATTLE (AP) — A newspaper investigation has found that city, county and federal police agencies across the country have put their officers at risk of lead poisoning from unsafe gun ranges.

The Seattle Times reports the agencies have failed to clean their indoor ranges, replace dilapidated ventilation or educate their employees about lead risks.

The newspaper says officers fire lead-based ammunition and unknowingly spreading lead vapor and dust, which can be inhaled, ingested or absorbed through skin contact.

Federal regulators rarely inspect police-operated ranges, the report says, and usually only after a complaint is filed.