Signal A million European wildfowl die yearly from lead ammunition

Summary

The report observes that toxic metals are persistent by nature and can pose risks, and it uses lead ammunition as an example. In Europe alone, about a million wildfowl are estimated to die each year after exposure to lead dissolving from spent shot. Beyond that, more than three million more birds suffer harmful effects that stop short of death. The report locates much of the danger of novel entities in their staying power. Once released, they spread around the globe and accumulate in the environment as production and use grow. Together with PCBs, whose production largely ended decades ago yet which still contribute to whale declines, this case is offered as one basis for the report's judgement that the impacts of novel entities are hard to reverse.