Children are at risk from game shot with lead | Letter

UK regulation requiring replacement of lead gunshot with non-toxic alternatives is long overdue, say Prof Debbie Pain, Prof Rhys Green and Dr Caroline Taylor

Your article on a Unicef report (One in three children have dangerous levels of lead in their blood, 30 July) highlights the risks of neurological harm to hundreds of millions of children globally. Although most come from poorer countries, pockets of high blood lead exist elsewhere.

In Europe most lead exposure is via the diet, and one source that can be readily eliminated is lead fragments from ammunition used to shoot wild game. This source is frequently neglected, including in the Unicef report. Unicef recommends both better monitoring and implementing prevention and control measures. However, in 2018 the UK National Screening Committee (NSC) recommended against screening for elevated blood lead levels in young children, so the extent of children’s exposure is unknown, and no comprehensive primary prevention strategy exists.

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from Children | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3kuqfx5