Found this on social media - I think it must be from a producer.
". I went back through my old emails to look at how we handled prop guns on my films. Countless of back-and-forth exchanges to make sure we were using the safest methods possible. So much planning goes into the use of prop guns on set. And I found this advice from someone back in 2010: "There is really no good reason to fire blanks... they blow out the audio gear, and don't really look right without additional doctoring in post. You'll do better with airsoft guns, a good actor doing recoils, and anyone who knows how to use After Effects. I can tell you for a fact that many, many major film and television productions are no longer firing blanks on set, because of all the obvious hazards of deafeningly loud, firebreathing machinery around people."
The fact that this production told the union workers they had to leave or be escorted out by security because of safety concerns so they could be replaced by a non union crew - if that is in fact the case - I cannot comprehend it. Definitely need more facts about how, why and what actually took place.
An article that goes into detail about guns on set:
https://www.manopause.com/entertainm...-safety-44879/
and
https://www.npr.org/2021/10/22/10482...movie-set-rare