Diversified Equipment Distributors L.L.C.
80 Morristown Rd. PMB387
Bernardsville NJ, 07924
Phone (908) 953-0002

Dedusa.com would proudly like to republish the "Facts about the Bioval BBB" complements of Bioval.

Bioval is committed to providing players with state-of-the-art products that will allow Airsoft to become a more environmentally friendly activity in the eyes of ever skeptical public and ever critical legislators.

Articles from SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN and the INTERNATIONAL PLASTICS TASK FORCE prove that the competitions bb’s are not what they seem.

The new BBB are made of an especially hard bio-resin which allows us to grind the BBB into perfect spheres. Bioval does not use any chemicals to smooth, polish or help in the grinding process and has decided to use a 100% bio-resin with NO toxic synthetic additives. The white BBB is more of a "coffee and cream" color since we do not bleach our BBB to make them white. The BBB will degrade in the environment in just under a year depending on the annual average humidity of your play area. Typically 8 to 15 months.

Bioval would like to make it absolutely clear to those who have not as yet received our message. There is heavy pressure in many places in Europe and North America to use the Biodegradability problem as a tool to attack our sport Airsoft. Environmentalists have produced reports of various animal species eating the plastic white pellets and have submitted their findings to many local governments. Wild birds, most notably water foul, have been found eating normal Airsoft bbs and some of the hunted variety has been found with bbs in the stomach! Many environmental associations are petitioning their local government to force Airsoft groups to clean up after playing unless a certificate can be produced showing that the bbs used are biodegradable AND non toxic. Imagine picking up bbs after using them on 20 acres of forested land!

Plastic is NOT inert it is TOXIC but don't take our word for it, read what the experts say:
The International Plastics Task Force: "Studies have found that all the plastics commonly used for food packaging can leach, so the safest bet is to store foods in Pyrex-like glass or Corning ware-type ceramic when possible and to avoid heating or microwaving foods in plastic. Also, since most grocery stores use PVC for their cling-wrapped cheeses and meats, you may want to trim off the outer layer of these pre-packaged foods to reduce ingestion of DEHA, which has caused reproductive effects and liver tumors in test animals. Canned foods, which can contain traces of bisphenol-A from the plastic inner lining of the can, may also be a source of concern. Only bottles and containers are identified by recycling codes, but we have received information about plastics used from manufacturers of some unlabeled packaging as well."

Starch based bbs are NOT eco-friendly: SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN August 2000 Issue
Most of us will agree that biodegradable non-toxic is necessary since apparently normal bbs are not inert but leach toxins into the environment. At the moment, though, most if not all of our competitors use polylactic acid (PLA) or polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) to make biodegradable bbs. Basically fermented plant starch. This stuff is absolutely not acceptable to the Green Pressure Groups, Why? Don't take our word for it read what Scientific American has to say:

From Scientific American August 2000 Issue
"When we calculated all the energy and raw materials required for each step of growing PHA in plants--harvesting and drying the corn stover, extracting PHA from the stover, purifying the plastic, separating and recycling the solvent, and blending the plastic to produce a resin--we discovered that this approach would consume even more fossil resources than most petrochemical manufacturing routes [normal plastic]. In our most recent study, completed this past spring, we and our colleagues found that making one kilogram of PHA from genetically modified corn plants would require about 300 percent more energy than the 29 mega joules needed to manufacture an equal amount of fossil fuel-based polyethylene (PE) [normal plastic]. To our disappointment, the benefit of using corn instead of oil as a raw material could not offset this substantially higher energy demand."

The bbs you are buying from the competition are biodegradable or require recycling of a special kind BUT they are not environmentally friendly! Let's read on:

Genetically Engineered Agriculture for Plastic Production, Paul Goettlich 1 August 2002
"When the subject is genetically engineered crops, whether used for food, plastics, or specifically designed to produce an ingredient for plastic, they are totally unnatural and have no precedence in the history of the agriculture or that of the Earth. And when it comes to the genetic engineering industry, it is quite similar to other industries, whether they make plastics, pesticides or almost anything. In many cases, they are the same industries that make many other products that have left our Earth in shambles already. They are the Monsanto’s, the Aventises, and the ADMs of the world. They will say and do anything to accomplish the goal of profit above all. And yet, they expect people to believe them when they proclaim GMOs as safe. In January 2001, a Canadian newspaper article quoted a prominent industry consultant as saying, "GM crops may soon be so prevalent that there may be no turning back, despite the cost. The hope of the industry is that over time the market is so flooded that there's nothing you can do about it. You just sort of surrender." - "Star Link fallout could cost billions" Toronto Star 9 January2001"

So now we know. But what about toxicity? The actual PHL used in medical applications have had results that vary from "no adverse clinical effects" to "toxic substances produced". Depends who did the test and how. Have a look for yourselves in the Elsevier Science report "Biomaterials, Vol. 17 (2) (1996) pp. 93-102 © Elsevier Science B.V.".

ONLY BBB are made of a completely non toxic biodegradable resin.
We do not use chlorine to make them white! We do not add toxic powders to color them! We do not use solvents to produce the resin! We do not use any sort of synthetic material to smooth them and polish them. BBB are polished using bamboo chips harvested from renewable plantations. These are then composted and used as fertilizer. In effect manufacturers who do not follow these rules do not make Biodegradable non-toxic environmentally friendly bbs:
1. Do not allow the dissipation of degradable toxics
2. Close the materials loop by reuse and recycling
3. Make use of environmentally appropriate materials
4. Prevent the use and manufacture of bio-accumulative toxins

Bioval is committed to providing the market with state-of-the-art products that will make Airsoft a more environmentally friendly activity in the eyes of an ever skeptical public and ever critical legislators.

WHAT'S IN THE BBB?
Many customers have asked us to reveal the ingredients of the BBB. As you know there have been many attempts at producing a truly Biodegradable BB but without much success. The greatest difficulty is creating a biodegradable BB that will efficiently resist humidity. Most bio-products will absorb great quantities of humidity and this causes them to increase in volume. This problem can cause expensive ASG failures in Airsoft applications or a very short shelf life for the BB. In other words, gun jams and broken gears and lots of unused BBs wasting away.
The BBB is produced using a biodegradable resin reinforced with natural hardening agents. All the ingredients are non-toxic. Moreover, the production process does not employ any sort of synthetic chemicals. For example the BBB are polished using bamboo chips harvested from renewable sources; no chemicals, no wax and no silicon oil. The BBB resists humidity and is tough enough to go through the mechanical parts of an ASG without deforming. We are not sure why but we found our BBB to be about 5m/s faster and with a smaller grouping than Marui or Maruzen using a brand new Tokyo Marui ASG on an indoor test bench for the test. We encourage you test the BBB yourself and let us know your results.

CHARACTERISTICS
The BBB is produced in three basic colors and two basic weights:
0.20g Olive Drab and Beige White
0.25g Military Brown and Beige White

Any question or to purchase the Bioval BBB visit
Web Page: www.DEDUSA.COM
E-mail: Sales@dedusa.com
Phone (908)953-0002