Lead Hazard Reduction Timeline for Wildlife and Humans
2000 B.C. – Environmental problems from lead mines first documented
400 B.C. – Hippocrates accurately describes the symptoms of lead poisoning
476 A.D. – Roman Empire collapses; lead use in water pipes, cosmetics, pottery and food suspected as contributing factor, despite Roman knowledge of health hazards
1500s – Lead used as poison for assassinations in renaissance Europe
1621 – First lead mining in New World colonies, in Virginia
1786 – Ben Franklin deplores that nothing has been done to protect people from the "mischievous effect" of lead poisoning
1842 – Lead poisoning first identified as a disease in wild birds
1870s – First reports of incidents of lead poisoning of waterfowl at hunting sites
1890s – First documented mortality of waterfowl due to lead shot, information on lead hazards to wildlife published in scientific literature and the press
1920s – Oil companies began adding tetraethyl lead to gasoline
1922 – League of Nations bans interior lead paints
1930 – Leading scientists report lead poisoning in waterfowl to be widespread
1959 – Major scientific study identifies spent lead shot as source of exposure and widespread hazard for waterfowl
1970 – Clean Air Act passes, giving the Environmental Protection Agency a mandate to identify, and set standards for, harmful pollutants, including lead
1970s – Concerns about lead toxicity from fishing weights for water birds published
1972 – First nontoxic shot use requirements for limited areas in United States
1973 – EPA initiates a phasedown of lead levels in motor vehicle gasoline to reduce health risks from lead emissions
1980 – United States using 1.3 million tons of lead per year, or 5,221 grams of lead per American per annum, a rate of dependence on lead nearly 10 times greater than ancient Romans
1980 – Amount of lead in gas drops 50 percent from previous decade; average human blood-lead levels in United States correspondingly drop 50 percent, levels in children drop 37 percent
1980s – Numerous secondary lead poisoning cases documented in bald eagles
1985 – Last wild California condors brought into captivity for emergency-breeding program due to high risks birds face in the wild, particularly from lead poisoning
1986 – Federal regulations initiated to phase out lead shot for waterfowl hunting
1986 – Safe Drinking Water Act amended to require lead-free plumbing; EPA sets standards limiting lead concentrations in public water systems and pipes
1986 – Britain bans use of most lead fishing sinkers to protect swans
1990 – Clean Air Act amended to prohibit leaded gasoline in motor vehicles by 1995
1991 – Lead shot banned for all waterfowl hunting in entire United States
1991 – EPA issues regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act to limit the amount of lead in drinking water
1992 – Studies published on hazards of lead fishing sinkers to loons
1992 – Lead Exposure Reduction measures pass Congress, identifying dangerous levels of lead, publishing lead hazard information, and regulating residential renovation activities and federal facilities to abate and control lead paint
1994 – EPA proposes nationwide ban on manufacture, import, processing, and distribution of lead fishing sinkers of a size hazardous to waterfowl — but the regulations are never ratified
1995 – EPA issues regulations banning all lead in motor vehicle gasoline
1995 The use of lead solder in food cans is banned under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
1995 – Percentage of U.S. children with elevated blood-lead levels has dropped from 88.2 percent in the 1970s to 4.4 percent by 1995
1996 – Food and Drug Administration bans the use of lead foil caps on wine bottles
1997 – Canada implements partial ban on small-sized lead fishing sinkers in national parks and national wildlife areas
1999 – Canada issues ban on lead shot for hunting migratory game birds
1999 – Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to expand lead-free fishing areas on national wildlife reserves, wilderness areas, and waterfowl sites — but never issues a final decision
2000 – Seventy-four nations have implemented some sort of regulations on the use of lead shot, and 37 more nations are preparing legislation; only four countries have applied restrictions to the sale and use of lead fishing sinkers
2000 – Scientific reports show significant reduction in lead exposure to waterfowl after implementation of 1991 lead shot ban
2000 – Lead air pollution shown to have decreased 98 percent since 1970
2004 – Conservation groups petition California to require nonlead ammunition for hunting in condor habitat
2006 – Lawsuit filed against California for allowing lead ammunition to continue to poison California condors
2006 – 95 percent of all condors in Arizona found to have lead exposure; 70 percent of the Arizona flock must be taken into captivity and treated for lead poisoning
2007 – California legislature approves the Ridley-Tree Condor Preservation Act, requiring hunters to use nonlead ammunition for hunting big game and coyotes within the California condor’s range in central and Southern California
2007 – The California Fish and Game Commission approves additional hunting regulations that expand the nonlead bullet requirements to include hunting nongame birds and mammals within the condor range
2007 – Major recall of toys from China containing lead
2007 – Venison donated by hunters to food centers in North Dakota and Minnesota found to have high levels of lead bullet fragments, pose health risk to humans consuming venison
2007 – Number of condor deaths in California confirmed or linked to lead poisoning rises to 15 birds
2008 – Several studies demonstrate potential risks to humans who consume game meat harvested with lead rifle ammunition
2008 – The California Fish and Game Commission extends protections of the Ridley-Tree Condor Conservation Act to depredation hunting, the shooting of animals deemed a nuisance or threat
2009 – Lawsuit filed to force management plans on public lands in Arizona to include actions to protect Grand Canyon condors from toxic lead
2009 – National Park Service announces plan to eliminate use of lead ammunition and lead fishing tackle in national parks by 2010
2009 – The EPA grants citizen petition to ban lead automobile wheel balancing weights — regulations requiring nonlead alternatives to be issued in 2011
2010 – California passes legislation reducing amount of lead that is permissible in plumbing products used to convey or dispense drinking water
2010 – Confirmed lead poisoning death of 15th endangered condor in Arizona since reintroduction program began in 1996, with many more deaths suspected to be from spent lead ammunition
2010 – Conservation groups petition the EPA under the Toxic Substances Control Act to ban use of all lead ammunition and all lead fishing tackle nationwide; more than 120 organizations in 30 states — representing birders, conservationists, hunters, scientists, veterinarians, American Indians and public employees — weigh in supporting a ban, but the EPA refuses to review the petition
2010 – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service bans the use of lead ammunition for hunting nuisance birds
2011 – The Fish and Wildlife Service announces it will begin cleaning up toxic lead-based paint chips from decaying military buildings at the former naval base on Midway Atoll, responsible for killing up to 10,000 Laysan albatross chicks each year
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