FeedsFirearms can be green, too
Police officers’ duty to qualify annually to carry a firearm just got a little greener.
Officers at the Wayne County Airport Police Department began firing off copper rounds after the grand opening of the lead-free public safety firearm training range at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus last week.
The product of a $2 million investment backed by airport improvement bonds and drug seizure dollars, the new training range is part of a four-part public safety works on the grounds of the largest state airport.
“Public safety and security is always the Airport Authority’s top priority,” said airport CEO Lester Robinson. “We are proud to have the best-trained public safety officers possible, and this new facility enhances our ability to provide the very best training more efficiently and sustainably.”
The 8,215 square foot range provides airport police with one of the safest, and most convenient facilities in the area, said Scott Wintner, a spokesman for the airport police.
“Every airport in the country has certain law enforcement needs, and we have added security concerns,” he said. “Just like any other police department, we have a need to make sure officers are well-trained. In the past, we were using other people’s facilities – mostly the county’s (range) at Henry Ruff (Road) and Michigan Avenue.”
In Michigan, police officers are required to qualify with a trained firearms specialist each year to carry a firearm on duty.
Though the airport police are not a municipal force, there are several officers on site who need to complete this task, Wintner said. In all, about 100 sworn and civilian individuals are employed by the Airport Police. They police an airport that sees about 36 million people pass through the gates, or about 100,000 individuals per day.
The new facility is outfitted with state of the art equipment, but another concern was in mind at the airport: the possibility of lead exposure from the constant firing of bullets. To ensure the safety of officers who use the range and those who work inside full-time, the building is set-up to be entirely lead-free.
“We used to have to send employees to be tested for lead,” Wintner said. “We don’t believe anyone was put at risk. The officers who used a range aren’t likely to be exposed, but you have to be concerned about the range officer. The way this facility was built, it’s not even a concern.”
Conventional training ranges utilize traditional lead-based ammunition. Officers training at the new airport range will use special, lead-free equipment that reduces exposure to toxic metals and precludes the need for cumbersome, expensive cleaning and maintenance procedures. The bullets used at the site will be made entirely of copper, which Wintner said is more expensive, but also safer.
The special frangible ammunition—known as Reduced-Hazard Training Ammunition (RHTA)—turns to copper dust upon impact with ballistic steal paneling on the back of the range. That copper dust can then be collected and recycled.
Because no toxic materials are present, maintenance of the facility can be accomplished by Airport Authority maintenance crews rather than requiring service by special HAZMAT crews.
Robinson said the building is an example of forward-thinking environmental and fiscal initiatives at the airport.
“Although the RHTA costs about 30 to 40 percent more than traditional ammunition, the savings in operation and maintenance expenses it provides will reduce the total cost to operate the facility in the long run,” he said.
