TUMWATER — State regulators say they have fined a Bellevue gun shop more than $23,000 for exposing workers to lead dust when it remodeled its shooting range last year.
The Department of Labor and Industries cited Wade’s Eastside Gun Shop for 17 violations of worker safety and health rules Tuesday.
Workers can be exposed to lead dust when they clean the range, clean firearms or perform other tasks at gun ranges. But regulators said construction and demolition at a gun range poses even greater risk.
The state said that last summer and fall, blood tests on a number of Wade’s employees and construction workers indicated high blood-lead levels. Several workers had to be sent immediately away from the workplace exposure. Lead exposure can cause long-term health effects.
Wade’s did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
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