An overview of soil contamination in shooting ranges and chitin as a potential amendment

Soil contamination with heavy metals has become a serious concern all over the globe, threatening the ecosystem and human health. Soil and groundwater pollution near shooting ranges has been observed recently in different regions worldwide. Shooting ranges, where soldiers are trained and people do shooting as a hobby and a sport, are marked with high loading of bullets and partially degraded bulletins. As bullets consist of heavy metals such as lead (Pb), copper (Cu), antimony (Sb), arsenic (As), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn), there is a high risk of releasing these metals into soils and surrounding ecosystem during natural degradation. Several studies found heavy metals at high concentrations at or nearby shooting ranges.