Abstract
Ground venison packets from shotgun- and archery-harvested White-tailed Deer in Illinois in 2013 and 2014 were analyzed for metal contamination. Radiographs indicated that 48% of 27 ground venison packets from 10 shotgun-harvested deer contained metal fragments, while none of the 15 packets from three archery-harvested deer contained fragments. ICP-MS analysis verified that all metal fragments from seven of the venison samples from shotgun-harvested deer were composed of lead, with average concentrations from 1.04 to 8.42 μg g−1, dry weight. A single serving of ground venison containing one of these metal fragments embedded in it would be predicted to have a lead concentration ranging from 6.4 to 51.8 μg g−1. Sixty percent of 20 commercial meat processing plants surveyed by phone in 2018 and 2019 indicated that they mixed venison from multiple deer when preparing ground venison products. However, our results do not show any cross-contamination in archery-harvested ground venison processed prior to the firearm hunting seasons.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bedrosian B, Craighead D, Crandall R (2012) Lead exposure in bald eagles from big game hunting, the continental implications and successful mitigation efforts. PLoS ONE 7(12):e51978. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0051978
Cornatzer WE, Fogarty EF, Cotnatzer EW (2009) Qualitative and quantitative detection of lead bullet fragments in random venison packages donated to the Community Action Food Centers of North Dakota. In: Watson RT, Fuller M, Pokras M, Hunt WG (eds) Ingestion of lead from spent ammunition: Implications for wildlife and humans. The Peregrine Fund, Boise, ID
Cruz-Martinez L, Grund MD, Redig PT (2015) Quantitative assessment of bullet fragments in viscera of sheep carcasses as surrogates for white-tailed deer. Hum Wildl Interact 9:211–218
Fachehoun RC, Lévesque B, Dumas P, St-Louis A, Dubé M, Ayotte P (2015) Lead exposure through consumption of big game meat in Quebec, Canada: risk assessment and perception. Food Addit Contam Part A 32:1501–1511. https://doi.org/10.1080/19440049.2015.1071921
Gerofke A, Ulbig E, Martin A, Muller-Graf C, Selhorst T, Gremse C, Spolders M, Schafft H, Heinemeyer G, Greiner M, Lahrssen-Wiederholt M, Hensel A (2018) Lead content in wild game shot with lead or non-lead ammunition—does "state of the art consumer health protection" require non-lead ammunition? PLoS ONE 13(7):e0200792. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200792
Grund MD, Cornicelli L, Carlson LT, Butler EA (2010) Bullet fragmentation and lead deposition in white-tailed deer and domestic sheep. Hum Wildl Interact 4:257–265
Harper RG, Hopkins DS, Dunstan TC (1988) Nonfish prey of wintering bald eagles in Illinois. Wilson Bull 100:688–690
Hunt WG, Watson RT, Oaks JL, Parish CN, Burnham KK, Tucker RL, Belthoff JR, Hart G (2009) Lead bullet fragments in venison from rifle-killed deer: potential for human dietary exposure. PLoS ONE 4(4):e5330. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0005330
Iqbal S, Blumenthal W, Kennedy C, Yip FY, Pickard S, Flanders WD, Loringer K, Kruger K, Caldwell KL, Jean Brown M (2009) Hunting with lead: association between blood lead levels and wild game consumption. Environ Res 109:952–959. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2009.08.007
Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) (2020a) Annual deer harvest reports. https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/deer/Pages/AnnualDeerHarvestReports.aspx. Accessed 15 Feb 2020
Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) (2020b) Illinois digest of hunting and trapping regulations 2019–2020. https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/Documents/HuntTrapDigest.pdf. Accessed 15 Feb 2020
Lanphear BP, Hornung R, Khoury J, Yolton K, Baghurst P, Bellinger DC, Canfield RL, Dietrich KN, Bornschein R, Greene T, Rothenberg SJ, Needleman HL, Schnaas L, Wasserman G, Graziano J, Roberts R (2005) Low-level environmental lead exposure and children's intellectual function: an international pooled analysis. Environ Health Perspect 113:894–899. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.7688.Erratum.In:EnvironHealthPerspect(2019)127:99001
Liberda EN, Tsuji LJS, Martin ID, Ayotte P, Robinson E, Dewailly E, Nieboer E (2018) Source identification of human exposure to lead in nine Cree Nations from Quebec, Canada (Eeyou Istchee territory). Environ Res 161:409–417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2017.11.023
Lindboe E, Henrichsen EN, Hogasen HR, Bernhoft A (2012) Lead concentration in meat from lead-killed moose and predicted human exposure using Monte Carlo simulation. Food Addit Contam 29(7):1052–1057
Liu J, Goyer RA, Waalkes MP (2008) Toxic effects of metals. In: Klaassen CD (ed) Casarett & Doull's toxicology: the basic science of poisons, 7th edn. McGraw-Hill, New York, pp 931–980
Martin A, Müller-Graf C, Selhorst T, Gerofke A, Ulbig E, Gremse C, Greiner M, Lahrssen-Wiederholt M, Hensel A (2019) Comparison of lead levels in edible parts of red deer hunted with lead or non-lead ammunition. Sci Total Environ 653:315–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.393
National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (2019) Lead. https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/lead/. Accessed 15 Feb 2020
Swedish National Food Agency (2012) Lead in game in Sweden. [Internet]. https://www.bfr.bund.de/cm/343/lead-in-game-in-sweden.pdf
Tsuji LJS, Wainman BC, Martin ID, Sutherland C, Weber J, Dumas P, Nieboer E (2008) The identification of lead ammunition as a source of lead exposure in First Nations: The use of lead isotope ratios. Sci Total Environ 139:291–298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.01.022
Tsuji LJS, Wainmann BC, Jayasinge RK, VanSpronsen EP, Liberda EN (2009) Determining tissue-lead levels in large game mammals harvested with lead bullets: human health concerns. Bull Environ Contam Toxic 82:435–439
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) (2016) Lead at superfund sites: software and user’s manuals. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Superfund Division. https://www.epa.gov/superfund/lead-superfund-sitessoftware-and-users-manuals.
Warner SE, Britton EE, Becker DN, Coffey MJ (2014) Bald eagle lead exposure in the upper Midwest. J Fish Wildl Manag 5:208–216. https://doi.org/10.3996/032013-JFWM-029
World Health Organization (2011). https://apps.who.int/food-additives-contaminants-jecfa-database/chemical.aspx?chemID=3511
Yaw T, Neumann K, Bernard L, Cancilla J, Evans T, Martin-Schwarze A, Zaffarano B (2017) Lead poisoning in bald eagles admitted to wildlife rehabilitation facilities in Iowa, 2004–2014. J Fish Wildl Manag 8:465–473. https://doi.org/10.3996/122015-JFWM-124
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by an endowment from the Beach Lewis fund from Illinois Wesleyan University. AP Capparella, W Jaeckle and two anonymous reviewers provided useful comments on drafts of the manuscript, and D. Oehler provided the archery-harvested venison packets.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wilson, W.A., Harper, R.G., Alexander, G. et al. Lead Contamination in Ground Venison from Shotgun-Harvested White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in Illinois. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 105, 366–371 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-02967-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-020-02967-x