Experimental Study of Steel Shot and Lead Shot Transformation Under the Environmental Factors

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an experimental study of the patterns of steel and lead shot transformation under the impact of environmental factors (two types of shot exposed alone and in combination with each other). The analyzed environmental factors include atmospheric precipitation of various acidity and soil solutions with a higher content of organic acids. This research demonstrated that steel shot is characterized by a high transformation rate that is an order of magnitude higher on average than the transformation rate of lead under the same conditions. The prevalence of the suspended iron form (excluding the interaction with organic acids) presents risks for such environmental components as soils and sediments and may be hazardous to the ambient air and natural waters in case of wind erosion and surface runoff from the catchment area. Furthermore, the joint presence of steel and lead shot mutually accelerates the corrosion of both metals, thus increasing the environmental risks.

Steel Shot as a Risk Factor for Soils at the Area of Shooting Activity

“…When both steel and lead shot are deposited in soil, the maximum amount of iron accumulated in the fine fraction (taking into account the fraction's weight percentage) is higher than in the case of the deposition of steel shot alone (5.8-6.5% and 4.7% of the deposited shot mass, respectively). This confirms the information about the faster destruction of steel shot in the presence of metallic lead presented in the paper by Lisin et al (2022).…”

“…Earlier, it was established that the presence of metallic lead and the increased content of organic acids intensify the processes of steel shot destruction (Lisin et al, 2022). It is known that an increased relative humidity and the presence of condensate on the metal surface increase the steel corrosion rate (Akimov, 2021).…”

“…The steel shot transformation under environmental factors results in the formation of suspended (flocculent) and mobile soluble iron compounds and complexes which can become irreversibly assimilated by the soils and migrate in soil solutions (Lisin et al, 2022). The impact of environmental factors on the iron behavior in soils was analysed by assessing the following parameters: 1) the dynamics of the total iron content in soils in the case of steel shot deposition onto the soil surface; 2) the maximum amount of Fe that can be irreversibly assimilated by the fine soil fraction; 3) the weight percentage of Fe forms in soils; 3) the dynamics of iron removal and the distribution of the forms of iron migration in soil water.…”

“…The risks associated with the presence of steel ammunition in terrestrial ecosystems, which can occur in the case of steel transformation under the atmospheric and soil corrosion factors, were also not analysed in the proposal for a restriction (ECHA, 2021). At the same time, the paper (Lisin et al, 2022) has demonstrated that steel shot is characterized by a high rate of transformation under environmental factors, and the joint presence of steel and lead shot accelerates the corrosion of both metals.…”

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This study is follow-up of the steel shot transformation under the influence of environmental factors research (Lisin et al, 2022) and is the initial stage of investigating the iron behavior in soils during steel shot corrosion under a number of factors: the metallic lead in soils, atmospheric precipitation, excess organic matter. The results obtained show that corrosion of steel ammunition is a continuous process, including the formation of a poorly soluble rust crust on the surface of the steel and the mineralization of the metal until it is destroyed.

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