Federcaccia: Prof. Nobile of the Italian League Against Cancer, makes some reflections on the document distributed by ISPRA on the effects of lead in ammunition.
Prompted by Dr. Giorgia Romeo, technical and scientific manager of the Environmental Management Office for Wildlife Hunting of the Italian Federation of Hunting, Professor Franco Nobile, world-renowned oncologist, president of the Sienese cancer league and for many years engaged in Italy and abroad in research and projects for the prevention and screening of sources of risk in ministerial and international commissions, has identified some points worthy of reflection on the document on the effects of lead in ammunition recently distributed by ISPRA, Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research .
Below we publish the full text of the letter:
"At a first reading of the ISPRA report" Lead in hunting ammunition: problems and possible solutions "some considerations can be expressed:
-The proportional weight ratio between the weight of a lead shot and the weight of a bird and a man is missing;
-Other sources of Pb intoxication for humans should be listed on a quantitative scale in order of importance. At what point on the list are the Pb pellets, given the occasional and sporadic ingestion of game? And how much of the ingested Pb is absorbed? From 2 to 20% (page 16);
- It would be necessary to measure the percentages of Pb absorbed by the various sources of intoxication by the gasoline from the pipes, etc. up to the pellets) to see how much is the responsibility of the fighter;
- A long and detailed description of the effects of Pb on humans is made. But how much is attributable to the Pb of the pellets or to other sources of Pb? There is an easy generalization !;
- It would be necessary to research the concentration of Pb present in water and soils not affected by Pb pellets to establish an environmental background value;
-Distinguish between pellets that have entered the game from wounds and pellets from ingestion (however eliminated in a few days);
-The dispersion of Pb on water and in the ground occurs through different sources, of which the smallest is that of pellets;
-What and how many are the sources of Pb that enter the food chain? Eg. with the introduction of unleaded petrol (without Pb tetraethyl as an anti-knock agent) the levels of Pb in the blood have more than halved. See also p. 30 et seq .;
-Great dust and emphasis of the sources of Pb compared to the tiny and sporadic dots LIST OF THE SOURCES OF Pb in the ENVIRONMENT;
Page 37: Exaggerated overestimation of cartridges fired in Italy and therefore of Pb dispersed in the environment In fact, important correction factors are not taken into account, such as:
- drastic and progressive reduction in the number of hunters
-less cartridges purchased due to the economic crisis;
- fewer shots fired at the migratory due to the reduction of huntable species;
-reduction of migratory flow * reduction of hunting calendars;
-concentration of hunters in hunting ungulates, especially wild boar where very few cartridges are fired;
-increase of small calibers (from 20 to 410) that shoot less lead;
Coarse, approximate, biased and preconceived calculations are made.
In addition, at least “casual” terminology is used. For example, sometimes there is talk of lead contamination, other times of lead pollution, still other times of lead toxicity. Therefore, among all the causes of environmental harmfulness, lead would act on the physical level, because the contamination is radioactive, but also on the chemical level, because it is toxic, as well as on the bioloeical level, because the pollution is bacterial!
In the comparisons, correct or at least reliable correction factors are not applied, both more and less and above all without field checks. Even the bibliographic references are often contradictory and with results that cannot be compared due to the different research systems adopted by the researchers.
Even if at the beginning they "put their hands forward" to deny any exploitation in a preconceived anti-hunt key, nevertheless the damage caused by lead used exclusively for hunting use is emphasized, revealing the easy adoption of preventive measures: no toxic lead? No hunting with lead ammunition.
However, with a view to oncological prevention as widespread as possible, it can be agreed with the overcoming of cartridges with lead, a toxic and carcinogenic heavy metal, even if the low weight impact of some pellets, instead of representing all the pathogenic responsibility alone, could at most act as a contributing cause together with other morbid factors, including other environmental sources of the same metal. "
Siena, 23 October 2012
Prof. Franco Nobile
Oncologist
President of Legatumori Senese
Source: Federcaccia