ECHA, the European Chemicals Agency, wants to ban next year the use of lead, which is harmful to people and nature.
But biathlon and sport shooting, which use lead bullets as ammunition, will be exempted.
They do, however, have stricter requirements on the shooting facilities to take care of the lead residues.
90 percent of the lead must be able to be taken care of by mechanical bullet traps or sand dikes, which must then have a roof over them to prevent water from flowing in.
There are approximately 30 biathlon facilities in Sweden, and the majority would have to make large investments to be able to meet the new requirements.
- It could happen to clubs an awful lot if they don't manage to rebuild the shooting ranges, says Johan Hagström, shooting coach in the national team.
The Biathlon Union is critical
ECHA wants to see the changes in place within five years, but both the Swedish and Norwegian biathlon federations have submitted a consultation response in which they are critical of the short time and that ECHA locked in two management systems.
- I think you should be more open to the proposals that come in and see what opportunities actually exist and from what point of view we are doing today and from what point of view we can adapt our facilities, says Ulrika Öberg, national coordinator at the Swedish Biathlon Federation.
3 million for 30 courses
The Norwegian Biathlon Federation has calculated that a shooting ramp with 30 lanes would have to make an investment of at least SEK 3 million to meet the new requirements if it is approved.
ECHA is to submit its final proposal in December and the EU is expected to make a decision on the issue in the first half of 2023.
- Of course we must be careful about the environment and do what we can but in a cost-effective way that is still good enough for the environment, says Ulrika Öberg.