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The Seattle Times has been taking a hard look at dirty gun ranges across the U.S. and found that a startling number of people shooting at these facilities have been sickened with lead poisoning.

How? Through poor ventilation and exposure to the villain itself: lead. When shooters fire guns with lead-based ammunition, they spread lead vapor and dust – deadly toxins that can be inhaled or absorbed through the skin.

This player was created in September 2013 to host a graphic on the SeaChange project page.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shooting firearms is the most common way to get lead poisoning outside of work. But what if shooting is a vital part of a person’s work?

On our Law and Disorder Part 1 episode, we hear stories from police who got sick on the job.

Julia B. Chan can be reached at jchan@revealnews.org. Follow her on Twitter: @juliachanb.

Julia B. Chan worked at The Center for Investigative Reporting until June, 2017. Julia B. Chan is a producer and the digital editor for Reveal's national public radio program. She’s the voice of Reveal online and manages the production and curation of digital story assets that are sent to more than 200 stations across the country. Previously, Chan helped The Center for Investigative Reporting launch YouTube’s first investigative news channel, The I Files, and led engagement strategies – online and off – for multimedia projects. She oversaw communications, worked to better connect CIR’s work with a bigger audience and developed creative content and collaborations to garner conversation and impact.

Before joining CIR, Chan worked as a Web editor and reporter at the San Francisco Examiner. She managed the newspaper’s digital strategy and orchestrated its first foray into social media and online engagement. A rare San Francisco native, she studied broadcasting at San Francisco State University, focusing on audio production and recording. Chan is based in Reveal's Emeryville, California, office.