Ecotoxicity Effects of Lead Bullets in Human and Wildlife: The Consequences of Environmental Pollution, Low Intelligence Quotient, Brain Damage and Brain Overclaim Syndrome

Abstract

Bullets from gunshots made of lead are used to kill and arrest criminals, as they are also used by criminals to intimidate or kill innocents for psychosocial gains. So the increased environmental pollution caused by lead from industries, firearms, gasoline, among others is a source of concern for environmental health specialists, clinical toxicologists, experimental toxicologists, industrial toxicologists and ecotoxicologists. Lead can get into body system accidentally via oral, inhalational, epidermal, dermal, intraperitoneal, and intravenous routes. The toxicokinetic data of lead disposition via various routes of administrations are quite inconsistent. Hence the set blood limit concentration has been considered to be incorrect. In view of this, toxicokinetic data analysis of lead was carried out with intent to determine toxic doses of lead in various organs, and its toxicological consequences. Findings have shown that at lower doses, kinetics of lead is linear (first order), and at higher doses the kinetics becomes non-linear (zero-order). Metabolic processes modulated by lead could be either rate limiting or non–rate-limiting causing induction and inhibition of a myriad of metabolizing enzymes in liver, brain, kidney, intestine and lung. The LD50 of lead bullet in human was 450 mg/kg, which caused death in 9.1 days, and penicillamine (18 mg/kg) can be used for treatment. Mean residence time (MRT) and elimination half-life (T12β) were 25.8 and 18 days, respectively.