Thread: Lead bullets and their risk to human health

Originally Posted by Oldbloke

@kotuku reading this again, I'm unsure what your point is. We all know that high exposure levels over many years will cause brain damage.

my points are quite clear maybe you are overdue for a visit to to your optometrist .im out .

Yes, children are another matter. They are at risk even if the exposure is very low. This is because their brain is still developing.
@kotuku the people you talk about had high levels of exposure DAILY for many years.

Hunters are exposed perhaps a dozen times a year. Obviously this will vary. You can't compare.

Originally Posted by Oldbloke

Yes, children are another matter. They are at risk even if the exposure is very low. This is because their brain is still developing.
@kotuku the people you talk about had high levels of exposure DAILY for many years.

Hunters are exposed perhaps a dozen times a year. Obviously this will vary. You can't compare.

you seem to have misread my post .if one is to take your statement you cant compare my interpretation is you in effect are saying what i was ie casual or minute exposure to very small doses of lead is not overly significant .lead ,unlike cyanide or such agents is not an instantaneous killer ,in that is really requires a constant exposure to very high levels (read toxic) for the human body to ingest sufficient for it to pursue its deadly mission .

Originally Posted by Oldbloke

Hunters are exposed perhaps a dozen times a year. Obviously this will vary.

What is the basis for this statement?

I eat venison several times a week, if I were not cautious about my butchery practises, I would be consuming lead several times a week.

Originally Posted by gimp

What is the basis for this statement?

I eat venison several times a week, if I were not cautious about my butchery practises, I would be consuming lead several times a week.

And I suspect that is where the real risks are, people that eat wild / shot meat several times a week and don't take care to minimize possible lead contamination.

Originally Posted by gimp

What is the basis for this statement?

I eat venison several times a week, if I were not cautious about my butchery practises, I would be consuming lead several times a week.

That's my point. Because you are carefull your exposure is low. If you were careless it would be high.

Edit to clarify.
When I say "exposed" means it is entering the body.

I was told recently that in certain times of the development of a child they are at much higher risk of even minute exposure to chemicals and not just lead - things like flouride can be dangerous as well and this is one of the reasons we are getting so much kickback to the requirement for councils to add flouride to water. There are times when unborn kids are especially vulnerable in the womb to getting chemicals running across from the mother, which is a bit of a pest as it's much easier to manage risk when the risk is the same all the time!

Only when you ate the "leady" bits every time, or if you have adopted the advice given me on a buffalo hunt. Shoot, shoot again then again and then once more.

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

Only when you ate the "leady" bits every time, or if you have adopted the advice given me on a buffalo hunt. Shoot, shoot again then again and then once more.

Spot on.

Recent The Adventurer fishing and hunting freebee rag.

At the risk of hurting people’s feeling wouldn’t it make sense to get your blood tested before panicking or dismissing this research outright?

Our household meat consumption would be about 95% wild game plus we handload and shoot frequently. I had bloods done a couple of years back and they came back in the normal range for lead (whatever that means). I admit we are often spoilt enough to only take the choice cuts often leaving whole shoulders on the carcass.

I will be looking at how to get the kids tested before jumping to conclusions but as an adult male this is all a bit.. meh..

As an aside a diet with a high percentage of primarily Apex predator fish species (snapper, hapuka, shark etc) has previously been associated with elevated mercury levels. Mercury isn't exactly a vital trace element either.

a minute study triggered by the activitie of one man eventually extrapolated to testing of 44 samples of meat .Anyone hazard a guess how much wild game meat is taken in NZ every week?????
Id be more convinced if it were a study with a wide sample field over a period of 1-3years to gain a more accurate picture .

Out of 44 samples of minced game meat, basically randomly delivered 21 returned levels higher than that recommended for consumption.

That's actually statistically significant and concerning and definitely should trigger further study. I for one will be a lot more careful about how close I get to the shocked meat and making sure that I don't end up being a tight wad and taking spattered stuff to mince it. I was pretty careful before, but now it will be a definite check.

One thing I'm wondering now is how many of our pooches are running on lead supplements, I know one guy that takes everything good for himself and anything around the shot isn't wasted it's dog tucker...

was getting some raw pet food on saturday and talking with the owner everything that comes in has to go through a metal detector, they get skinned, offal checked then cut into chunks, through metal detecter then into mincer.
And he get MPI audited every 6 months.