Is lead facing ban under EU proposals?

The shooting and fishing industries may no longer be able to sell lead products – ammunition or fishing weights – within five years if proposals by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) are approved.

A six-month consultation period on the plans, designed to “address the risks of lead in these activities to protect people, wildlife and the environment” looks likely from March 24th.

But, while organisations and manufacturers are moving towards some form of self-regulation with regards to lead, it is still unclear whether or how the UK will be subject to the latest REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) legislation – which is designed to protect human health and the environment from chemicals – now it has left the European Union.

After a meeting in Helsinki earlier this month, the ECHA proposed:

• A ban on the sale and use of lead gunshot (with a five-year transition period). As current Olympic rules specify the use of lead ammunition for certain disciplines, ECHA also considered an optional derogation for use of lead gunshot for sports shooting only under strict conditions, i.e. when releases to the environment are minimised.
• A ban on the use of lead in bullets and other projectiles (small calibre: five-year; large calibre: 18-month transition periods). Derogations for continued use if releases to the environment are minimised, i.e. when sports shooting ranges are equipped with bullet traps.
• A ban on the sale and use of fishing lead sinkers and lures (with transition periods depending on weight: 50g or less in three years and over 50g in five years)
• An immediate ban on the use of lead sinkers when the sinker is deliberately dropped to water (lead drop off techniques).

Conor O’Gorman of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) said: “BASCsupports sustainable shooting and we are now entering the second year of an industry-led voluntary five-year phase out of lead shot for all live quarry shooting in the UK.

“The change-over from lead to more sustainable types of ammunition is a complex matter, particularly as we are also encouraging a transition away from single-use plastics in shooting. Restrictions on lead ammunition production in the EU could have an impact on trade in the UK. Our voluntary transition is progressing and we will argue against it being interrupted.”

Meanwhile, Angling Trades Association chairman Andrew Race, who has been involved in many of the discussions, commented: “Much of the proposal put forward by ECHA follows the structure that ATA proposed. There is some divergence in terms of initial scope and awareness but that was to be expected as we have one standpoint, and they have another. Further submissions and discussions will take place before the final proposals are submitted, and the ATA will be an integral part of that process.

“We have to remember that lead reduction in the environment is fact. The UK will likely follow the REACH environmental programme even outside the EU and a phasing out of lead is an inevitability at some point. The position of the ATA is to lobby for an effective transitional period that benefits both the industry, angling, and the environment.

“The timeframe set out by ECHA is in line with what we expected however some proposals are called into question especially around policing and awareness. Our fear is that some elements of manufacture and import could either be driven underground, or unaffected altogether making some targets unachievable from a practical standpoint.”