Lead ammunition used by hunters has us all in its sights

Written by

Dr Arnemo has teamed up with scientists worldwide to draw attention to the fact that hunting and lead ammunition remains a significant source of lead exposure in humans and wildlife.

For millions of people, game meat is their primary source of protein, but if the animal is shot using lead (Pb) ammunition, its meat can be toxic. The lead in the ammunition also finds its way into wildlife, ecosystems, and the global food chain, taking the poison far beyond the gun barrel. There are non-lead alternatives, but hunters are slow […]

Phytoremediation: Using native vegetation to stabilise heavy metal contaminants at polluted sites

Written by

Madeleine Günthardt-Goerg and Pierre Vollenweider are researching how the properties of trees can be used to develop sustainable management strategies to phyto-stabilise contamination at metal-polluted sites through phytoremediation.

Elevated concentrations of heavy metals at polluted sites represent serious human health hazards and environmental threats. Persistent metal pollution is hard to remedy but one possible and effective method is phytoremediation, using plants to stabilise the metal pollution and ameliorate the contaminated soil properties. Across 20 years of research, Drs Madeleine Günthardt-Goerg and Pierre Vollenweider of the Swiss Federal Institute […]