Resurfacing this thread, as NY Times once again publishes how terrible lead is for us hunters.
Citing risks to birds and to human health, roughly 100 environmental groups formally asked the federal Environmental Protection Agency this week to ban or at least impose limits on lead in the manufacturing of bullets and shotgun pellets for hunting or recreation. The use of such ammo by hunters puts about 3,000 tons of lead into the environment annually and causes the death of 20 million birds each year from lead poisoning, said Jeff Miller, a conservation advocate at one of the groups, the Center for Biological Diversity. Consumption of meat from animals that are shot with lead bullets also contributes unacceptable levels of the metal into people’s diets, Mr. Miller said in a phone interview. The ban sought by environmental groups would not apply to ammunition used by law enforcement and the military. In addition to bullets and pellets used in hunting and recreational activity like range shooting, the petition seeks to limit the use of the metal in fishing tackle and weights... (New York Times -- March 15, 2012)
I am now interested to find who counted 20 million lead poisoned birds, or is that bagged birds - probably not as I think the correct term in that case is "acute lead poisoning".
3000 tons of lead is approximately 15 billion #5 lead pellets.
1 oz of #5 shot is 157 pellets
SOURCE
3000 tons is 3000T x2000 lbs/T = 6000000 pounds which is 6000000 lbs X 16 oz/lb = 96000000 ounces X 157 pellets/oz = 15,072,000,000 That is the equivalent of #5 pellets of lead (sort of an average pellet size, all things considered)
Lets say there is no hunting anywhere but USA
USA land/water area = 3794083 square miles
The annual deposit of pellets is 3972.5 pellets/square mile
One square mile is 27 878 400 square feet.
Anuual deposit of pellets is now .000014 pellets / square foot
So to even find one #5 lead pellet one has to examine 140,000 square feet of land/water or in another measure 3.2 acres
(And hey, I assumed every pellet fell out of the sky and hit ground/water. I'm not going to try to build in a hit the bird ratio - get over it you all missed, well okay I will grant that the honorable souls who got their doubles pins did hit their birds)
So, yeah anyone can play with numbers 3000 tons of lead sounds enormous doesn't it. 1 pellet in 3.2 acres doesn't quite sound the same. And then of course the CDC says lead shot game is not a threat and North Dakota once again invited hunters to donate game meat for the hungry.
Who can end the BS??
It's tired old flawed study (if you can call it that) and it just keeps surfacing. Here is an academic's refutation for those interested in this subject. The oft' quoted study is said to be a fabrication. As the lie circulates more and more, it begins to take on the aura of truth. Not bad for BS.
CLICK and use as reference for whenever the subject comes up. Print, Pocket and Pull out when needed.