California takes aim at hunters' lead bullets
California takes aim at hunters' lead bullets
Peter Fimrite
Updated 11:13 am, Monday, September 16, 2013
California would become the first state in the nation to ban hunting with lead bullets under a bill approved by the Legislature this week that environmentalists hope will inspire the rest of the country to follow suit.
AB711, which awaits Gov. Jerry Brown's signature,
would require all ammunition used for hunting in California to be made out of something other than lead, the primary ingredient in bullets for so long that it is now a part of American lore. Hollywood cowboys and gangsters have a habit of filling or threatening to fill their rivals "full of lead."
The problem, according to the authors of the bill, is that leftover fragments from lead ammunition are extremely harmful, even deadly, to humans and nontarget animals, including the endangered California condor. Toxicologists and other experts say spent ammunition is the largest unregulated source of lead that is knowingly discharged into the environment.
"The Centers for Disease Control and leading scientists from around the country agree that
there is no safe level of lead exposure for humans," said Assemblyman Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, the chairman of the Assembly Health Committee and a co-author of the bill.
The legislation was overwhelmingly approved by lawmakers at the Capitol despite a fusillade of attacks by gun lobbyists.
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http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/California-takes-aim-at-hunters-lead-bullets-4813392.php