Environmental activists want the lead in fishing tackle and hunting ammunition banned, but the EPA is denying the peition
A petition was submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency by several environmental groups asking for a ban on lead being used in fishing tackle. The EPA denied the petition indicating it did not provide enough evidence that lead in fishing tackle was harming the environment. It based it’s decision on requirements set forth in the Toxic Substances Control Act.
This denial comes just two months after the EPA denied another portion of the petition by the groups asking for a ban of lead in hunting ammunition.
The groups stated in their petition that an estimated 10 million to 20 million birds and other animals die every year from lead poisoning. They believe the lead is coming from spent hunting ammunition and lost fishing gear containing the substance.
Back in 1994, the EPA submitted a proposal of their own to ban zinc and lead in particular fishing sinkers used to catch smaller fish. “The ingestion of even one small fishing sinker containing lead or zinc can result in the death of a water bird,” was what the agency said in a statement at the time.
The proposal was eventually abandoned due to a backlash that was sparked in Congress.
In September alone, 60 groups submitted written correspondence to the EPA asking for the petition to be granted.
