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EcoHealth
Published in: EcoHealth 4/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Forum

Health and Environmental Risks from Lead-based Ammunition: Science Versus Socio-Politics

Authors: Jon M. Arnemo, Oddgeir Andersen, Sigbjørn Stokke, Vernon G. Thomas, Oliver Krone, Deborah J. Pain, Rafael Mateo

Published in: EcoHealth | Issue 4/2016

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Excerpt

Lead (Pb) is toxic and is banned from gasoline, paints, and various household items in most developed countries. Lead ammunition, however, is still widely used for hunting and shooting, and is now likely the greatest, largely unregulated source of lead that is knowingly discharged into the environment in the USA (Health Risks from Lead-Based Ammunition in the Environment—A Consensus Statement of Scientists 2013; U.S. Geological Survey 2013). For decades, poisoning from spent lead ammunition was mainly regarded as a disease of waterfowl (Bellrose 1959), but it also puts at risk the health of raptors, scavengers, and other terrestrial species, including humans who frequently consume hunted game (Fig. 1). Scientists across North America and Europe have published consensus statements on the risks to wildlife, the environment and human health from the use of lead ammunition, and the need for its replacement by non-toxic alternatives (Health Risks from Lead-Based Ammunition in the Environment—A Consensus Statement of Scientists, 2013; Group of Scientists 2014). This is now a pressing One Health issue. …
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Metadata
Title
Health and Environmental Risks from Lead-based Ammunition: Science Versus Socio-Politics
Authors
Jon M. Arnemo
Oddgeir Andersen
Sigbjørn Stokke
Vernon G. Thomas
Oliver Krone
Deborah J. Pain
Rafael Mateo
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
EcoHealth / Issue 4/2016
Print ISSN: 1612-9202
Electronic ISSN: 1612-9210
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-016-1177-x

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