Nyclad ammunition

The first serious attempt to solve the problem at source was in 1978 when Smith Wesson encased the entire lead bullet in a coating of black nylon (Nyclad ammunition). This substantially reduced the amount of lead released into the atmosphere from the discharge process, greater than 60% reduction when compared to the cleanest of conventional lead bulleted ammunition. As mentioned previously, most of the lead originates from the bullet, the lead in the primer making a much smaller contribution. 

Analysis of a round of. 38 Special caliber, Smith Wesson Nyclad ammunition revealed that the cartridge case and primer cup are nickel-plated brass, no inorganic additives to the propellant were detected, the primer composition contains lead, antimony, and barium, the bullet core is antimony-hardened lead, and the bullet jacket contains traces of calcium, cobalt, titanium, and phosphorus. 

The Northern Ireland Forensic Science Taboratory (N1FST) was involved in the assessment of such ammunition for the police, and tests were conducted to compare lead levels using Nyclad and conventional ammunition. Unfortunately, the tests results did not survive the terrorist explosion at the laboratory in September 1992, but the overall conclusion was that the claims made relating to the reduction of lead were more than justified. (Other tests involving the examination of the perimeter of bullet holes in cloth that were caused by Nyclad bullets revealed that cobalt was repeatedly and readily detected by FAAS.)... 

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See also in sourсe #XX -- [ ]

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