RESEARCH ARTICLE Lead exposure in consumers of culled invasive alien mammals in El Palmar National Park, Argentina Agostina Tammone 1,2 & Andrea Elsa Caselli 2 & Walter Ezequiel Condorí 1,2 & Valentina Fernandez 2 & Silvia Marcela Estein 1 & Ralph Eric Thijl Vanstreels 3,4 & Cristian Sosa 5 & Aldo Delaloye 5 & Marcela María Uhart 3 Received: 7 January 2021 /Accepted: 22 March 2021 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021 Abstract Consumption of meat from animals hunted with Pb ammunition can cause toxic accumulation with consequent health risks, even if relatively small amounts are consumed in each exposure. In El Palmar National Park, Argentina, invasive alien mammals, wild boar (Sus scrofa) and axis deer (Axis axis), are culled with Pb ammunition and their meat is consumed. In this study, we evaluated blood Pb concentrations in 58 consumers of culled game and examined Pb exposure risk according to their demographics, duty, and consumption habits. Likewise, the likelihood of exposure was evaluated by quantifying Pb concentrations in meat samples of seven culled axis deer. Twenty-seven participants (46%) had detectable blood Pb levels (limit of detection = 3.3 μg/dL), with an average 4.75 ± 1.35 μg/dL (geometric mean ± geometric S.D.); the average for all participants was 3.25 ± 1.51 μg/dL. Blood Pb concentrations were significantly higher in hunters, in participants who reported consuming game meat more than 5 times per week, and in participants who reported frequently consuming cured game meat (compared to cooked or pickled). Pb concentra- tion varied significantly along the trajectory of the bullet in deer muscle, being highest at mid-point but with detectable Pb levels even in distant tissue samples (control), suggesting potential for dietary intake by consumers. These findings provide evidence of Pb exposure risk in consumers and emphasize the relevance of replacing Pb ammunition with non-toxic alternatives. This change would reduce dietary exposure in frequent consumers and allow the use of game meat as safe food for people whilst eliminating collateral risks to wild animals and the environment. Keywords Alien species control . Dietary exposure . Food safety . Game meat . Lead ammunition . Public health . Wildlifeculling Introduction The risks of lead (Pb) exposure from hunting for human, an- imal, and environmental health have been widely recognized worldwide (Hunt et al. 2006; Green and Pain 2015; Arnemo et al. 2016; Kanstrup et al. 2018). Consumption of meat from animals hunted with Pb ammunition is one of the main sources of Pb for humans and animals (Kosnett 2009; Fachehoun et al. 2015; Hampton et al. 2018; Green and Pain 2019). Many studies have reported that the use of Pb ammu- nition in big game hunting causes significant contamination of impacted tissues due to the dispersion of bullet fragments, mainly around the wound channel (Dobrowolska and Melosik 2008; Hunt et al. 2009; Tsuji et al. 2009; Gerofke et al. 2018; Menozzi et al. 2019). This route of exposure was often neglected, since it was considered that the bullet could be easily removed after impact. However, radiological studies have shown a massive dispersion of small Pb fragments in game meat, which hinders elimination prior to consumption Responsible Editor: Lotfi Aleya * Agostina Tammone agostinatammone@gmail.com 1 Centro de Investigación Veterinaria Tandil (CONICET-CIVETAN), Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Tandil, Buenos Aires, Argentina 2 Programa de Conservación Comunitaria del Territorio, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Tandil, Buenos Aires, Argentina 3 One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA 4 Instituto de Pesquisa e Reabilitação de Animais Marinhos (IPRAM), Cariacica, Espírito Santo, Brazil 5 Parque Nacional El Palmar, Administración Nacional de Parques Nacionales Argentina, Ubajay, Entre Ríos, Argentina https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13654-7 / Published online: 4 April 2021 Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2021) 28:42432–42443