November, 23 2010, 11:45am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Jeff Miller, Center for Biological Diversity, (510)
499-9185
Anthony Prieto, Project Gutpile, (805) 729-5455
Karen Schambach, PEER, (530) 333-2545
Lawsuit Filed Over EPA Refusal to Address Lead Poisoning of Wildlife
Suit Seeks to Prevent Annual Deaths of Millions of Wild Birds, Wildlife From Toxic Lead in Ammunition, Fishing Gear
WASHINGTON
Conservation and hunting groups today sued the Environmental Protection
Agency for failing to regulate toxic lead that frequently poisons and kills
eagles, swans, cranes, loons, endangered California condors and other wildlife
throughout the country. The EPA recently denied a formal petition to ban
lead in fishing tackle and hunting ammunition despite long-established
science on the dangers of lead poisoning in the wild, which kills millions
of birds each year and also endangers public health.
"The
EPA has the ability to protect America's wildlife from
ongoing preventable lead poisoning, but continues to shirk its
responsibility," said Jeff Miller, conservation advocate with the
Center for Biological Diversity. "The EPA's failure to act is
astonishing given the mountain of scientific evidence about the dangers of
lead to wildlife. There are already safe and available alternatives to lead
products for hunting and fishing, and the EPA can phase in a changeover to
nontoxic materials, so there's no reason to perpetuate the epidemic
of lead poisoning of wildlife."
In
August, a coalition of groups formally petitioned the EPA to ban lead in
bullets and shot for hunting and in fishing tackle under the Toxic
Substances Control Act. The petition referenced nearly 500 peer-reviewed
scientific papers illustrating the widespread dangers of lead poisoning to
scavengers that eat lead ammunition fragments in carcasses, and to
waterfowl that ingest spent lead shot or lost lead fishing sinkers. The
groups filing the lawsuit today are the Center for Biological Diversity,
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and Project Gutpile, a
hunters' organization. Since the original petition was filed, more
than 70 organizations in 27 states have voiced support for the lead ban,
including those representing veterinarians, birders, hunters, zoologists,
scientists, American Indian groups, physicians and public employees.
"Having
hunted in California
for 20 years I have seen firsthand lead poisoning impacts to wildlife from
toxicity through lead ammunition," said Anthony Prieto, a hunter and
cofounder of Project Gutpile, a hunters' group that provides
educational resources for lead-free hunters and anglers. "Although
many more sportsmen are now getting the lead out, the EPA must take action
to ensure we have a truly lead-free environment. It's time to make a
change to non-lead for ourselves and for future generations to enjoy
hunting and fishing with a conscience."
"Over
the past several decades Americans chose to get toxic lead out of our
gasoline, paint, water pipes and other sources that were poisoning people. Now
it's time to remove unnecessary lead from hunting and fishing sports
that is needlessly poisoning our fish and wildlife," said Karen
Schambach of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
"Today's action is a step to safeguard wildlife and reduce
human health risks posed by lead."
The
EPA denied the portion of the petition dealing with regulation of lead
ammunition based on an incorrect claim that the agency lacks the authority
to regulate toxic lead in ammunition. The EPA asserted that shells and
cartridges are excluded from the definition of "chemical
substances" in the Act. That claim is contradicted by the legislative
history of the Toxic Substances Control Act, which provides clear and
specific authority to regulate hazardous chemical components of ammunition
such as lead. Earlier this month the EPA also issued a final determination
denying the portion of the petition on fishing sinkers, even though the
agency itself had proposed banning certain lead fishing weights in 1994.
"The
EPA has known for years it has the authority to regulate lead," said
Miller. "Lead shot was eliminated in 1991 by federal regulation to
address widespread lead poisoning of ducks and secondary poisoning of bald
eagles. And in 1994, the EPA even proposed banning lead fishing weights
that were being eaten by waterfowl."
Hunters
and anglers in states that have restricted or banned lead shotgun
ammunition or lead fishing gear have already made successful transitions to
nontoxic alternatives, and fishing and hunting in those areas remains
active. Alternatives continue to be developed, including the U.S.
military's transition toward bullets made of non-lead materials.
"This
is clearly not an anti-hunting initiative, it is about using less toxic
materials for the sake of wildlife and our human health," said
Prieto. "When I hunt, I want to make sure I kill only my target
animal, and I want to use the least toxic ammunition possible since I will
be feeding the game to my family."
For
more information, read about the Center's Get the Lead Out campaign.
Read Frequently Asked Questions about
the lead ban petition.
View photo images and video of
wildlife poisoned by lead ammunition and sinkers.
The Center for
Biological Diversity (www.biologicaldiversity.org) is a national, nonprofit
conservation organization with more than 315,000 members and online
activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild
places.
Project
Gutpile is an educational organization comprised of hunters that provides
resources for lead-free hunters and anglers. Project Gutpile has been
promoting non-lead ammunition and raising lead awareness in the hunting
community since 2002.
Public
Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is a 10,000 member
national alliance of local, state and federal resource professionals
working to protect the environment. PEER members include government
scientists, land managers, environmental law enforcement agents, field
specialists, and other resource professionals committed to responsible
management of America's
public resources.
Background
Lead is an extremely toxic substance that is dangerous to people and
wildlife even at low levels. Exposure can cause a range of health effects,
from acute poisoning and death to long-term problems such as reduced
reproduction, inhibition of growth, and damage to neurological development.
Animals are poisoned when they scavenge on carcasses shot and contaminated
with lead bullet fragments or pick up and eat spent lead shot pellets or
lost fishing weights, mistaking them for food or grit. Animals can die a
painful death from lead poisoning or suffer for years from its debilitating
effects.
Lead
ammunition also poses human-health risks since lead bullets explode and
break into minute particles in shot game and can spread throughout meat
that humans eat. Studies using radiographs show that numerous
imperceptible, dust-sized particles of lead can contaminate meat up to a
foot and a half away from the bullet track, causing a greater health risk
to people consuming lead-shot game than previously thought. A recent study
found that up to 87 percent of cooked game killed by lead ammunition can
contain unsafe levels of lead. Some state health agencies have had to
recall venison donated to feed the hungry because of lead contamination
from bullet fragments. Nearly 10 million hunters, their families and
low-income beneficiaries of venison donations may be at risk, as well as
the estimated 1 million or more people who manufacture lead fishing weights
in their homes, leading to inhalation of lead dust and fumes.
There
are now numerous commercially available, nontoxic alternatives to lead
rifle bullets, shotgun pellets and fishing weights. Nontoxic steel, copper
and alloy bullets and non-lead fishing tackle are readily available in all
50 states. More than a dozen manufacturers of bullets now market many
varieties of non-lead, nontoxic bullets and shot. The California Department
of Fish and Game has certified nontoxic ammunition from 24
manufacturers for hunting big-game and
non-game species in the range of the California condor. The Arizona Game
and Fish Department publishes a list of non-lead rifle
ammunition available for big-game hunters, including
120 bullets in various calibers produced by 13 ammunition manufacturers, as
well as seven manufacturers who provide custom-loaded nonlead rifle
ammunition. The federal Fish and Wildlife Service has approved 12 nontoxic shot types for
hunting waterfowl. At least 10 alternatives to lead fishing weights are now
available made from non-poisonous materials such as tin, bismuth, steel,
ceramics and recycled glass.
At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.
(520) 623-5252LATEST NEWS
Ahead of Treaty Negotiations, Hundreds March to 'End the Plastic Era'
"As adults who come to Ottawa to negotiate the plastic treaty, you must protect our rights to live in a healthy and safe environment," one young activists said.
Apr 21, 2024
Days before national delegates gather for the fourth and penultimate negotiations to develop a Global Plastics Treaty in Ottawa, Canada, around 500 Indigenous and community representatives, members of civil society and environmental groups, and experts and scientists gathered for a "March to End the Plastic Era" on Sunday.
The protesters, organized under the banner of Break Free From Plastic, called for a treaty that significantly reduces plastic production and centers the frontline communities most impacted by the plastics crisis.
"Delegates must act like our lives depend on it—because they do," Daniela Duran Gonzales, senior legal campaigner with the Center for International Environmental Law, said in a statement. "Our climate goals, the protection of human health, the enjoyment of human rights, and the rights of future generations all rest on whether the future plastics treaty will control and reduce polymers to successfully end the plastic pollution crisis."
"Short-sighted business interests must be out of the room because the only way to achieve equitable livelihoods is when we have a healthy planet."
The official meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to craft a "international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment," will run from April 23 to 29 in the Canadian capital.
Break Free From Plastic called the negotiations a "make or break" moment for the treaty, which is supposed to be completed in late 2024 in Busan, South Korean. However, civil society groups have expressed concern that oil-producing countries and the plastics industry will water down the agreement and steer it toward waste management and recycling, which has been revealed to be a false solution to plastic pollution knowingly promoted by the industry for decades.
The last round of negotiations concluded in late 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya, with little progress made after 143 fossil fuel and chemical lobbyists attended.
Salisa Traipipitsiriwat of Thailand, who is the senior campaigner and Southeast Asia plastics project manager for the Environmental Justice Foundation, said ahead of Sunday's march that it was "crucial for world leaders to step up and put the people and planet at the forefront."
"Short-sighted business interests must be out of the room because the only way to achieve equitable livelihoods is when we have a healthy planet," Traipipitsiriwat added.
On Sunday, marchers gathered for a press conference at 10:30 am ET before marching at around 11:30 am from Parliament Hill to the Shaw Center, were negotiations will begin on Tuesday. Crowds began to disperse around 1:30 pm. Participants carried large banners with messages including, "End the plastic era," "End multigenerational toxic exposure," and pointing out that 99% of plastics came from fossil fuels. The gathering featured live music and art, including a giant tap pouring out plastics and a "Plastisaurus rex" with the message "Make single-use plastic extinct."
(Photo: Break Free From Plastics)
"Now's the time to be bold and push for a treaty that cuts plastic production and holds polluters accountable," Julie Teel Simmonds, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a pre-march statement. "I'm inspired to be joining so many advocates in Ottawa, standing up against the enormous harm the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries are causing to people's health and the planet. I hope to see countries showing ambition this week, and I urge them to remember what's at stake for future generations."
Civil society groups have compiled several demands for an ambitious and effective treaty. These are:
- Centering human rights, especially those of Indigenous communities, young people, and workers most impacted by plastic pollution;
- Protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples throughout the treaty process;
- Dealing with plastics across their entire lifecyle;
- Reducing production as a "nonnegotiable" part of the treaty;
- Eliminating toxic chemicals and additives from plastics;
- Bolstering reuse systems for plastics that are non-toxic;
- Prioritizing first prevention, then reuse, recycling, recovery, and disposal when managing plastic waste;
- Ending "waste colonialism" by strengthening regulations for trading plastics;
- Guaranteeing a "just transition" for people employed across the plastics lifecycle;
- Including "non-party" provisions in the treaty;
- Establishing a mechanism to fund countries so they can fully implement the treaty; and
- Enshrining conflict-of-interest policies as a protection against plastics industry lobbying.
The coalition emphasized the need to tackle the problem of plastic from cradle to grave.
"Plastic doesn't just become pollution when it's thrown away," said Jessica Roff, the U.S. and Canada plastics and petrochemicals program manager for the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives. "Plastic is pollution, from the moment the fossil fuels are extracted from the ground to the eternity of waste it spawns."
Chrie Wilke, global advocacy manager for the Waterkeeper Alliance, said "Clearly the crux of the plastic pollution crisis is too much plastic being produced. There is no way to recycle our way out of this. We must face the fact that plastic and petrochemicals, at current production levels, endanger waterways, communities, and fisheries across the globe. Cutting production and implementing non-plastic alternatives and reuse systems is essential."
(Photo: Ben Powless/Survival Media Agency)
Activists also emphasized the environmental justice implications of plastic pollution, and how some communities and groups are more burdened than others, both from the dangers of the production process and from waste disposal.
"Children and youth like me suffer the most and are recognized as a vulnerable group," said Aeshnina 'Nina' Azzahra, the founder of River Warrior Indonesia. "My playground and my future are at risk. We all want our environment to be plastic-free, but please don't put your burden on the other side of the world—this is NOT fair. As adults who come to Ottawa to negotiate the plastic treaty, you must protect our rights to live in a healthy and safe environment."
Jo Banner, co-founder and co-directer of The Descendants Project, said:"Frontline community members, such as myself, are participating in these treaty negotiations with heavy hearts as our communities back home are struggling with sickness and disease caused by the upstream production of plastic."
"Although our hearts are heavy, they are full with passion urging negotiators to aim for an ambitious treaty that caps plastic production," Banner added. "Areas such as my hometown, located in the heart of Louisiana's Cancer Alley, need a strong treaty now. There is no more time to waste."
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'Obvious Evidence of Genocide': Mass Grave Discovered in Gaza's Nasser Hospital
Palestinian rescue workers said they found hundreds of bodies, some with their hands bound and others with their skin, organs, or heads removed.
Apr 21, 2024
Palestinian civil defense discovered hundreds of bodies buried by Israeli forces in a mass grave inside the complex of Khan Younis' Nasser Medical Complex on Saturday.
Rescue workers said they had removed at least 200 bodies as of 12:00 pm local time on Sunday, and they estimated that at least another 200 remained, Middle East Eye reported.
"We found corpses without heads, bodies without skins, and some had their organs stolen," the director-general of the Government Media Office said in a statement shared by Quds News Network.
"Following the mass graves at Al-Shifa hospital, it looks like Israel is a voracious death machine turning hospitals in Gaza into graveyards."
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew from Khan Younis on April 7. While they occupied the city, they stormed the Nasser Medical Complex in February, arresting several doctors, damaging the structure with shelling, and rendering it unable to function as a hospital.
Al Jazeera reporter Hani Mahmoud said the bodies found in the Nasser grave included children, young men, and older women. Rescues said that some of the bodies they found had been buried with their hands tied behind their backs, according to Middle East Eye.
"Our teams continue their search and retrieval operations for the remaining martyrs in the coming days as there are still a significant number of them," Palestinian emergency services said in a statement shared with Al Jazeera.
The news came as the U.S. House of Representatives voted on Saturday to send another $26 billion to Israel, including for military aid.
"These mass graves are obvious evidence of genocide and the most unthinkable war crimes. And yet, the House just signed off on $26 billion in weapons to fuel the genocidal Israeli military, while Israel threatens a full scale ground invasion to massacre Palestinians in Rafah," the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights said on social media.
This is not the first mass grave that has been discovered near a Gaza Strip hospital since Israel began its devastating bombardment and invasion following Hamas' deadly October 7 attack on southern Israel. When the IDF withdrew from the al-Shifa hospital earlier this month, Palestinian journalist Hossam Shabat reported seeing hundreds of dead bodies outside the hospital, many that had had their hands and legs bound and their bodies run-over by bulldozers. Al Jazeera reported that several mass graves were found near al-Shifa.
"Following the mass graves at Al-Shifa hospital, it looks like Israel is a voracious death machine turning hospitals in Gaza into graveyards. Wake up world!" Palestinian politician and activist Hanan Ashrawi wrote on social media.
Muhammad Shehada, the communications chief for Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, expressed shock that there was not more media coverage of the Nasser grave.
"I CANNOT find a single headline in any mainstream media about this!" Shehada wrote on social media. "Imagine it was Ukraine? or Israel?"
Over the weekend, the the Gaza Health Ministry reported that the death toll from Israel's war on Gaza surpassed 34,000, though this is likely an undercount since several people remain trapped beneath rubble.
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Historic Number of Democratic Reps Vote Against Unconditional Aid to Israel
"Most Americans do not want our government to write a blank check to further Prime Minister Netanyahu's war in Gaza," a group of nearly 20 of the 37 no-voting lawmakers said.
Apr 20, 2024
Nearly 40 House Democrats voted against a measure to send around $26 billion more to Israel as it continues its war on Gaza that human rights experts have deemed a genocide.
While the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act passed the Republican-led House by a vote of 366-58, party insiders said it was significant that such a large number of Democrats had opposed it, with more centrist lawmakers joining progressives who have called for a cease-fire since October.
"Despite the weapons aid package passing, this is the largest number of Democratic lawmakers to vote against unrestricted weapons aid for Israel in recent memory," senior Democratic strategist Waleed Shahid observed on social media.
"If Congress votes to continue to supply offensive military aid, we make ourselves complicit in this tragedy."
Human rights lawyer, lobbyist, and former Democratic National Committee committeewoman Yasmine Taeb posted that it was "incredibly significant that 37 Democrats voted NO and rejected AIPAC's role and influence in the party."
Senior Democrats who opposed the funding included Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.)
The bill earmarks around $4 billion for Israel's missile defense systems and more than $9 billion for humanitarian aid to Gaza, according toThe Associated Press. However, while lawmakers approved of individual expenditures, they balked at giving more unconditional military aid to the far-right government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"U.S. law demands that we withhold weapons to anyone who frustrates the delivery of U.S. humanitarian aid, and President Biden's own recent National Security Memorandum requires countries that use U.S.-provided weapons to adhere to U.S. and international law regarding the protection of civilians," McGovern said in a statement explaining his vote. "To date, Netanyahu has failed to comply. It's time for President Biden to use our leverage to demand change."
Nearly 20 Democratic representatives released a joint statement explaining their vote. They were McGovern, Doggett, Watson Coleman, Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Jesús "Chuy" GarcÃa (D-Ill.), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), and Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii).
"This is a moment of great consequence—the world is watching," the lawmakers wrote. "Today is, in many ways, Congress' first official vote where we can weigh in on the direction of this war. If Congress votes to continue to supply offensive military aid, we make ourselves complicit in this tragedy."
The lawmakers clarified that their no votes were specifically "votes against supplying more offensive weapons that could result in more killings of civilians in Rafah and elsewhere."
While they acknowledged that Israel had a right to defend itself, they argued that its greatest security would come from a cease-fire that enabled the release of hostages, humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, and peace negotiations to begin in earnest.
"Most Americans do not want our government to write a blank check to further Prime Minister Netanyahu's war in Gaza," they concluded. "The United States needs to help Israel find a path to win the peace."
Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who also voted no, said that he "could not in good conscience vote for more offensive weapons to be given to Israel to be used in Gaza without any conditions attached."
Pocan further called the "devastation inflicted upon innocent civilians in Gaza" "unjustifiable" and argued that "further arming Netanyahu and his extreme coalition could only lead us to a wider conflict in the Middle East."
In a speech on the House floor, Lee also criticized the bill for failing to restore funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which provides the bulk of aid to the Gaza Strip. The U.S. paused funds for the agency following Israeli allegations that 12 of its employees participated in Hamas' October 7 attack, but other nations have since restored funding as the veracity of these allegations has been called into question.
"This is a grave abdication of U.S. humanitarian obligations," Lee said. "It is simply nonsensical to provide badly needed humanitarian assistance while simultaneously funding weapons that will be used to make the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worse."
She added, "The United States taxpayers should not be funding unconditional military weapons to a conflict that has created a catastrophic humanitarian disaster."
The bill sending funds to Israel was only one of several measures passed on Saturday as part of a $95 billion foreign spending package that will also provide a long-delayed approximately $61 billion for Ukraine in its war with Russia and around $8 billion to counter China in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Among the bills passed Saturday was one banning popular social media app TikTok in the U.S. if the Chinese company that owns it refuses to sell, theAP reported further.
The package will now go to the U.S. Senate, which could pass it as early as Tuesday. President Joe Biden has promised to sign the measures as soon as he receives them.
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