Lead leaching in groundwater?

O

Outlaw1

New member
I don't think this has been discussed before and was curious.

About 50 yards to the left and slightly downhill from the bullet impact area of my range, there is a well. This particular well is used to keep the cows' waterin' hole filled, and is not used by humans.
However I DO eat the cows that water from this hole.
Should I be concerned about lead from my range leaching into the groundwater?
Should I periodically "mine" lead from the range to keep the quantity down?

I'm not sure what made me think of this, but I thought it might make interesting discussion. ;)
 
You would have to fire a lot of bullets to cause a problem.

That said, there are too many variables to say.

Depth of well.
Soil type.
Type of well casing.

If you are really concerned have the water tested for lead. It shouldn't be terribly expensive. Look in the yellow pages for a testing lab. If you are in a rural area you can UPS the sample to the lab. Just make sure you follow their instructions for preserving the sample. For metals, I believe it will have to be preserved with an acid. The lab can probably supply you with the proper preservative.

Even if the well is contaminated, I don't think (I am not sure) that the meat would be a concern. If they were dairy cows, their milk could definitely be affected.
 
Sulfuric Acid is the only substance that will cause Lead to leach into the ground water. Acid Rain could be a problem if you have that in your area.

Then Soil type, Well casing, and depth would then play a part.
 
The lead wont "leach" through the soil and into the groundwater on anything less that geologic timescales. Transport of lead bearing sediment may be another issue. You said the well is "downhill" from the impact area. You should make sure that drainage from the range area does not flow and carry sediment to the area surrounding the well. If sediment from the range makes it to the well-head the potential for contamination of the well will be a function of the quality and thickness of the well sanitary seal. Do you have construction logs for the well? How deep is it to the water?
 
While this might not apply in your case, unless you're selling beef products to the
public, this is another spot where the anti's are attacking us.

I have read in several papers where they are shedding crocodile tears over this "threat to the environment" and trying to shut down various ranges because of the "toxic waste polluting ground water/streams".

Depending upon where you live, they could come after you if they get wind that you have an on-site range.

These people are human cancer cells.



------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.
 
I had just gotten outa' bed when I posted this morning, and wasn't thinkin' too clearly. ;)
The "cows" are actually bulls and steers, there ARE two females, but they've got their own spring-fed hole a couple hundred yards over on another hill.

Anyway, I started thinkin' 'bout all the lead I've shot into other waterin' holes directly (sinkin' cans, bottles, etc.), and I realize that it ain't affected me yet.
I gguess I jjust won't worry about about it! :eek:
 
Outlaw1, I'd just like to say I am glad you are the type of person who chooses to care and ask about this type of question.

I suggest you contact your local County Extension Office (a branch of your state AG college) for an appraisal of the situation. They truly need your suppport for funding and are not EPA rats for the most part.

Vegetational buffer zones, mechanical retrieval, perhaps a lock down preservative and containment system.

The cool part of your question is that wells are SYRINGES INTO THE AQUIFER. Sorry, but how many times have I looked into a farmers and homeowners wellhouse and saw every chemical known to man enclosed in the same structure!
This is not the place to store them.

I've done lead abatement work, reload, handle lots of cartriges, and have the same lead baseline blood work from 10 years ago. Perhaps we will all have to get baselines if we want to reload in the future.
 
G-Freeman - I would _strongly_ suggest against calling the county. County regulators have every reason to treat everything as a problem and no reason to take the risk of telling you every thing is fine. This would probably be an issue that would be looked at by the county health inspectors who know alot more about the proper temperature for the storage of coleslaw and sneeze guard heights than lead fate and transport in surface soils and well head protection issues.

Outlaw1 - If you are really concerned make sure that runoff from the range area does not make it to an area near the well head. The lead can move as particles in the flowing water. If that lead bearing sediment gets to be next to the well you have to look at the well surface completion. If the casing is cut of next to the ground so the sediment can flow into the well, this is bad. If the well casing is not properly sealed into the surrounding dirt this is also bad as it can allow the sediment with the lead in it to be washed into the water of the well.

You can also test the water for lead. After all the proof is in the puding. If you are interested I can look up some labs in your area and help you out with the sampling procedure.
 
Thanks for all the input guys, and I found where I can get home test kits for various minerals, including lead, for about $15.00.
I am familiar with how lead particles move downhill and in water, lead being half the weight of gold, and I've been gold prospecting as a hobby for about 18 years.
In fact, that's how I find "hot spots", by beating out various sizes of lead shot, then painting them flourescent orange, and watching where they end up in a stream. ;)

The well housing is concrete down to 6 ft, then rock below that. It also rises about 2 ft above the water-line, and is covered.
 
Bullwinkle, I understand your concerns. It probably varies where we live but extension agents have no regulatory authority here. They are purely informative resources tied to land grant universities. I've had great experiences with mine. I agree though, I would never invite anyone on my land whom I had a reason to distrust.
 
I guess I may underestimate how "cordial" things are in the midwest and south. But here in Ca. taking something like this to the county is bad enough. Taking it to the university might even be worse. Around here you could go in asking for help and end up leaving with a clean up and abatement order and a fine that grows every day. FWIW I do this kind of stuff for a living and I've seen the worst of it.

There was a guy around here who created a pond on his property. Stocked it with fish he bought and got busted by Fish and Game for fishing without a liscense.
 
Wow! :eek: On his OWN property? Luckily here in NC we can fish on anyone's private property without a license, and in salt-water without having to have one. Just state, county owned, or the sounds applies to the rule.
I guess there's another reason never to move there. ;)
 
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