Actually, it was the LAST primary lead smelting plant in the United States. And it was in Herculaneum, Missouri and had been in operation for around 120 years.
The EPA instituted stricter restrictions that would have cost $100M for the plant to meet. Therefore, they decided to close down operations.
Keep in mind, this is the LAST primary lead smelting plant in the country... which means no other plant can take lead ore mined out of the earth and turn it into lead ingots or lead bullion for use in things like ammunition. All new lead will either have to be mined, shipped out of the country to be smelted and brought back in, or just purchsed from a foreign source.
And what foreign source has the majority of the lead market? That's right... China. Seems like it would be pretty easy for the .gov to strangle the firearms enthusiast community by cutting out the availability of affordable ammunition a lot easier than by banning the guns, doesn't it?
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