When state inspectors visited the Baltimore County Police Department's shooting range in Lutherville, they found that officers ate lunch on desks contaminated with lead. Employees had not been adequately trained on the hazards of lead, and they were exposed to levels far above federal standards, according to state records.
A year after that Maryland Occupational Safety and Health inspection, county police say they're preparing to spend $500,000 to install a new ventilation system that they, and police union leaders, hope will alleviate the problem at the facility off Dulaney Valley Road.
The range, which is used by thousands of officers each year for training and certification, was cited for 16 lead violations in the MOSH inspection, according to the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.
"We didn't know until then that there were problems," said Elise Armacost, a spokeswoman for the county Police Department. "The vast majority of the citations were things that were extremely fixable immediately. The ventilation system was a serious issue, and we recognized that we had to address that."
Installation of the system is scheduled to start in early June and be completed in September, county police say.
Overexposure to lead can cause anemia, weakness and damage to the kidneys and brain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms can include abdominal pain, fatigue, headaches, memory loss and pain or tingling in the hands and feet. But lead poisoning can be overlooked because these signs can appear slowly, the federal agency says.
For shooting-range employees, exposure occurs by inhaling lead dust, handling ammunition, or eating and drinking with contaminated hands, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
The county range was built in 1966 and had never been inspected until last year, after someone who worked there submitted an anonymous complaint to the state, county and state officials say. About a dozen people work there.
Michael Penn, chief of compliance for MOSH, said the county range is the only police shooting range in the Baltimore region that has been cited for lead problems in recent memory.
An investigation published this month in the Seattle Times found that over the past decade, the Baltimore County range had the most lead violations of any law enforcement agency in the nation.
Gun range employees told MOSH that "the ventilation had been a concern for years," according to a state report.
"Employees indicated that the ventilation system was dated and at times black dust could be seen on surfaces inside of the indoor range," the report says.
The state report doesn't detail any lead-related illness suffered by employees. But it notes that gun range staff told state investigators their blood tests had shown rising lead levels.
Since the state investigation, employees have been spending most of their time in the outdoor range, Armacost said.
"We are optimistic that this new ventilation system is going to correct the problem," she said.
Baltimore County FOP Lodge No. 4 President Cole Weston said the MOSH investigation revealed the importance of keeping the facility up to date. The union is monitoring progress on the ventilation project, he said.
"If that is all done correctly and if it's budgeted for appropriately, then that should satisfy the concerns that were listed in the [MOSH] report," Weston said.
Gun range employees have their blood tested regularly. Armacost said that's the main safeguard against lead poisoning.
State officials said gun ranges are not required to have regular inspections, but employers are responsible for ensuring that working conditions are safe.
When Christina White, industrial hygienist for MOSH, looked into the anonymous complaint, she found a number of problems. Some related to noise hazards and flammable chemicals, but most of the problems dealt with lead, White said in an interview.
Air monitoring showed that employees were exposed to lead levels between about 63 and 154 micrograms per cubic meter — far above the federally permitted level of 50 micrograms, according to state records.
Gun range staffers told the state agency that lead levels in their blood had increased since the Police Department began using a new type of gun, a switch that required all officers to visit the range for qualification. Up to 24 officers visited daily, each required to shoot 300 rounds to qualify to carry the new weapon.
The employees said they had been getting their blood tested every six months, but the doctor wanted them to increase testing to once a month because of their rising blood lead levels.
Employees were not trained on the hazards of lead and didn't receive proper protective equipment, MOSH found.
They also often placed their lunches "on a desk where wipe sample detected presence of 95 micrograms of lead." The report added, "Employees indicated officers had eaten inside the classroom for years."
The state cannot fine a government agency for violations, Penn said.
The county has corrected many of the problems, but will still need to provide documentation of the ventilation renovations, White and Penn said.
"It's not a closed case," Penn said.
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