Particles from lead-free ammunition

Anticipating its use in casework it was decided to look at the nature of discharge particles from lead-free ammunition. Typical results are presented in Table 23.3. 

Table 23.3 Discharge Particle Types from Lead-Free Ammunition...

L. Gunaratnam, and K. Himberg, The Identification of Gunshot Residue Particles from Lead-Free Sintox Ammunition, Journal of Forensic Sciences 39, no. 2 (March 1994) 532. 

Juhasz (1977) qualitatively demonstrated that lead-based ammunition was associated with the generation of particles ranging from under 0.3 to 100 pm most of the particles were smaller than 1 pm. That observation is similar to results regarding the particle size of copper associated with the use of lead-based or lead-free frangible ammunition. For example, the Air Force Institute for Occupational Health (AFIOH 2008) reported that most airborne copper particles associated with an M4 rifle muzzle blast have an aerodynamic diameter under 5 pm. The committee was unable to obtain similar quantitative data on particle size distributions associated with lead-based ammunition used in different small-arms weapons. 

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