TESTING FOR LEAD EXPOSURE IN CLAY TARGET SHOOTING TEAMS

Abstract

Lead exposure is a critical health issue that can have long-term adverse health consequences on people who have elevated blood lead levels. The effects of lead exposure at a young age can be permanent and irreversible. Even though lead exposure has decreased significantly over the past 50 years due to controls, laws, and regulations, lead remains a very serious public health issue in the United States. Recent news headlines have indicated that lead can still be found in food products, water pipe connectors, and drink containers. Lead exposure in rural areas is even more significant due to the fact that housing stock is older in these areas and in some states, 92% of rural areas have a high lead risk exposure score. Clay target shooting is very popular in rural areas, and over the past ten years this sport has been introduced into middle and high school sporting activities with many rural youth and adolescents taking up this sport as an extension of hunting and shooting activities that they already pursue. Shooting activities have previously been identified as increasing the risk of lead exposure due to the discharge of lead dust. The study’s objective is to determine if participating on a clay target shooting team exposes shooters to lead in quantities high enough to increase their blood lead level. Capillary blood samples were drawn, analyzed, and the results were recorded for each study participant before the clay target shooting season began and again after the season was completed. The pre- and post-season blood lead level results were compared and indicated that there were no detectable changes in the blood lead levels of the study participants. In conclusion, the study indicated that participating on a clay target shooting team does not significantly increase the blood lead level of the team members during the school shooting season. Future research opportunities should include venous blood draws from a larger population and sample size using blood lead analyzer instruments that are more sensitive and can provide exact readings at all levels.