There is no safe level of exposure to lead; it's considered toxic at the smallest detectable levels in air, water, soil and the food chain.
| | | quote | | There is no level of lead exposure to children known to be without deleterious effects (CDC, 2012). Exposure in childhood to even slightly elevated levels of lead produce lasting neurological deficits in intelligence and behavior. |
|
Lead is an extremely toxic element that we’ve sensibly removed from water pipes, gasoline, paint and other sources dangerous to people. Yet toxic lead is still entering the food chain through widespread use of lead hunting ammunition and fishing tackle, poisoning wildlife and even threatening human health . . .
That’s why the Center for Biological Diversity’s Get the Lead Out campaign in March 2012 organized more than 150 groups to petition the Environmental Protection Agency to take toxic lead out of hunting ammunition. Our coalition, calling for a transition to nontoxic bullets and shot, included groups from 38 states representing conservationists, birders, hunters, scientists, veterinarians, American Indians and public employees. In April 2012, the EPA denied our request — but in June, the Center and six other groups filed suit against the agency for refusing to address the problem of toxic lead in hunting ammunition that frequently poisons and kills our wildlife.
Animals that scavenge on carcasses shot and contaminated with lead bullet fragments, or wading birds that ingest spent lead-shot pellets or lost fishing weights mistaking them for food or grit, can die a painful death from lead poisoning, while others suffer for years from its debilitating effects. In the United States, an
estimated 3,000 tons of lead are shot into the environment by hunting every year, another
80,000 tons are released at shooting ranges, and
4,000 tons are lost in ponds and streams as fishing lures and sinkers — while as many as 20 million birds and other animals die each year from subsequent lead poisoning.
The iconic California condor . . .
Lead ammunition also poses health risks to people. Lead bullets explode and fragment into minute particles in shot game and can spread throughout meat that humans eat.
Studies using radiographs show that numerous, imperceptible, dust-sized particles of lead can infect meat up to a foot and a half away from the bullet wound, causing a greater health risk to humans who consume lead-shot game than previously thought. State health agencies have had to recall venison donated to feed the hungry because of lead contamination from lead bullet fragments. Nearly 10 million hunters, their families and low-income beneficiaries of venison donations may be at risk . . .
Sources:
