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Lead pollution: Lead shot is a greater source of human lead contamination than previously assumed
Each year some 300,000 guillemots and eider ducks are shot in Greenland. In the winter time in particular, these birds comprise a major part of the diet of may people in southern Greenland. The birds are hunted using lead shot, and as a result many people consume far more lead than recommended by the FAO/WHO. Eider ducks in particular contain large amounts of lead – even after visible shot have been removed. The high content is due to the fact that small fragments and particles of lead are released from the shot when it hits the bird’s skeleton.
The National Environmental Research Institute has investigated the lead content of the two species of bird. The study shows that the concentration of lead is 8-fold greater in eider ducks than in guillemots, probably because the eider ducks are larger targets and more pieces of shot are needed to kill them. Moreover, the lead content of the breast meat is 7-fold greater than previously recorded. This is presumably because the lead fragments and particles are unevenly distributed in the breast. The results thus indicate that birds killed with lead shot are a greater source of human lead contamination than previously assumed.
Further information: Poul Johansen, National Environmental Research Institute. Phone: +45 4630 1936. E-mail: poj@dmu.dk
See the results of the study in the article “High human exposure to lead through con-sumption of birds hunted with lead shot” published in Environmental Pollution 127 (2004): 125-129.
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