res45,
The subject of shelf life didn't come up, but if I can remember to ask in January at the next show, I'll see if they have any information. It's only been a few years that they've been using the NT primers, so they may not know yet.
ranger335v,
Lead exposure and global warming are two different issues. Lead exposure is real, while the other issue is mostly hype and money. All that's really needed as far as lead exposure is a proper cleaniness routine, i.e.; wash your hands, don't smoke or eat while shooting, etc.
The NSSF (National Shooting Sports Foundation), which puts on the SHOT Show, and I'm a member of, has done extensive study work on the lead issue and has printed several manuals on the subject. The biggest problem is indoor ranges where they don't do the proper house cleaning. Some don't have adaquate ventilation and they still use a broom to clean the floors. A broom is probably one of the worst things that can be used on an indoor range, since it just stirs up the accumulation of both lead residue and unburned powder in front of the firing line. Indoor ranges need to be wet mopped and a vacuum with hepa filter used. There shouldn't be any carpet anywhere on the range, especially on the shooting benches, as carpet has been found to retain more lead than just about anything else and it can't be properly cleaned.
I agree that the whole lead issue has been overblown, led by California's Proposition 65, which declared lead a "hazardous material". It's a naturally occuring substance, and the hype isn't warranted. There does need to be caution taken with children, since they have been proven to retain higher levels of lead in their blood than adults exposed to the very same amounts. Most of these cases are from shooting .22's on indoor ranges, with the most recent case in Vancouver, WA, where the county Health Dept. got involved and tested all participants in the .22 matches. Some of the kids tested really high, and the tragic part is they got Child Welfare involved, claiming that if the parents didn't do something to solve the blood lead levels of the kids, they would remove them from their parents' custody. Now that's getting serious! And there is no need to debate whether or not they had the right to get involved, since we can't solve that issue, and it's already happened, and out of the purview of this forum.
The range completely changed their maintenance routine and got rid of all the carpeting, etc. They had a couple of couches in the area behind the shooting line that had been there for years. When they tested the cloth of the couches, they found extremely high levels of lead in both of them, so they were removed, too. They now wet mop their range and shooting benches, and have purchased a hepa vacuum. In their last test, the lead levels were way down on all surfaces and the kids' blood levels are coming back down with treatment.
So the issue is real, but like I said, in most cases it's overblown. Simple hygiene will take care of most of it. There is no need to wear masks or rubber gloves when reloading or shooting, etc.
I've gone on too long in this post, so I'll just end it here.
Hope this helps.
Fred