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Get the Lead Out
By Marty Birrell, Head of Wildlife Rehabilitation
Two experiences with toxic lead metal in the same week in early
January made me take note of the often overlooked sources of this
dangerous environmental hazard. The first encounter I had with lead was
during the home processing of a small deer that I had, after many
frustratingly cold hours in the field, managed to harvest for my freezer. I
chopped and ground the meat in my kitchen, bagged and labeled it. When I
went to clean the grinder, to my horror I discovered, trapped next to the
blade, was a small piece of lead shrapnel. After all of that effort, I
discovered that at least 10 lbs of burger had to be thrown away, from the
contamination of that small piece of lead bullet. I was horrified at the
thought that I might have overlooked it.
The very same day, I answered a phone call from the local natural
resources officer. He was bringing me a very sick bald eagle found at a
nearby reservoir. On admitting this desperately ill bird, I became
suspicious that it might be suffering from lead poisoning. Barely able to
stand, its head twisted bizarrely, its tail caked with green diarrhea, the bird
looked close to death. Lab work confirmed the worst. Despite a short
term improvement with treatment, the bird died 8 days after its arrival, with
twice the lethal dose of lead in its system, the source of its exposure still a
mystery.
Based on what bald eagles in the winter are likely to eat, we concluded
that she either ingested a fishing sinker, or had consumed the remains of
a deer carcass contaminated with lead shrapnel. The evidence had
passed through her digestive tract, leaving no trace behind on x rays.
A single lead sinker is enough to cause lead poisoning in an eagle.
Birds of prey are often good indicators of environmental health or
problems. Increasingly, high lead levels are being recorded in hawks,
eagles, waterfowl and vultures. These are the birds most likely to eat lead
contaminated carrion or fish.
In May of 2008, a conference was convened by a group of agencies,
including the National Park Service, the Peregrine Fund, the US
Geological Survey, Tufts University and Boise State University. The
purpose was to review research on the exposure of humans and wildlife
to lead from ammunition and its implications to public health. Fifty two
research papers were presented, among which documented lead found in
game meat donated to food programs for the homeless, elevated lead
levels in Alaskan peoples who ate primarily game meat, high lead levels in
wild eagles, condors, and waterfowl.
Several studies documented that microscopic lead was found in
higher concentrations in game meat due to the tendency of the soft metal
to break apart into a spray at impact. Photographic evidence of this was
taken with high resolution CT scans of game meat and carcasses.
The conference sponsors summed up the results very simply. Lead
has long been known as a deadly environmental contaminate. Federal
agencies have regulated exposure in paint, chemicals, and many products
to insure the public health. This obviously serious problem has a simple
solution. Sports men and women can replace toxic lead bullets with non
toxic substitutes such as all copper. The lead free ammunition is already
available. Fishermen can purchase less toxic tin weights and sinkers,
instead of the lead varieties. It is a simple, but desperately important
choice, to protect human health environmental health, and perhaps the
health of our own families.
Some proponents of lead ammunition have charged that the non lead
substitutes are being promoted by the “anti-hunting” lobby. How many
deer hunters or fishermen would wish to feed their families on meat that
carries such a high risk? Lead poisoning in humans can have severe
symptoms such as paralysis, liver failure, blindness. But even low doses,
can cause impairment of cognitive functions, reduced ability to fight
disease, and reduced fertility. There is no safe level of lead for children .
Nontoxic fishing gear can be purchased at local stores or online,
from Dicks Sporting Goods, Cabelas, and Bass Pro Shop. Sportsmen
fishing and hunting equipment.
