TORONTO, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Canadian researchers are questioning claims that bullets made of bismuth are less toxic than traditional lead shot in wildfowl hunting.
In the November issue of the journal Environmental Pollution, study co-author William Gough, a professor in the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences at the University of Toronto, said it wasn't clear that bismuth is a non-toxic alternative to lead.
"Our final recommendation is to abandon bismuth and use steel shot until further research is completed," he said.
Canada phased out the use of lead shot between 1991 and 1999.
Gough and his team examined the background levels of bismuth and lead in the muscle and liver tissues of mallard ducks, northern pintails, green-winged teals, Canada geese and snow geese. The waterfowl samples were all provided by hunters from First Nations Cree communities in the western James Bay region, who eat the birds as part of their traditional diet.
The team still found evidence of lead contamination resulting from bismuth use, and note human and laboratory animal studies have suggested excessive bismuth exposure may be linked to blood, liver, kidney and neural problems.
