To prevent the air and soil contamination caused by traditional ammunition, the Army this spring will start issuing a lead-free "green bullet."
The environmentally friendly bullet is a copper-jacketed round that contains a tungsten core instead of a lead core, which can contaminate the air and soil around firing ranges. Development of the bullet began in the early 1990s.
Wade Bunting, program manager at the Army's Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J.: "We're going to be able to use this material and not be concerned with contaminating the soil or the groundwater."
Water contamination and concerns about airborne lead have forced the closings of hundreds of outdoor military firing ranges and more than 1,100 indoor ranges. In 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered a halt to live-fire training at the Massachusetts Military Reservation when it was discovered that lead was contaminating Cape Cod's water supply (Andrea Stone, USA Today, 2/23).
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