Using morphological, behavioral, and molecular biomarkers in Zebrafish to assess the toxicity of lead-contaminated sediments from a retired trapshooting range within an urban wetland.

The widespread use of lead (Pb) shot in shooting activities, including at former shooting ranges, continues to pose environmental risks. The La Crosse River Marsh (located in Wisconsin, USA) is a biologically diverse urban riparian wetland with a legacy of Pb-contaminated sediment resulting from its use as a trap shooting range from 1929-1963. Within the shot fall zone, shot densities exceed 43,000 pellets/m and surface sediments exceed 25,000 mg/kg in some areas.

Mapping and modeling three dimensional lead contamination in the wetland sediments of a former trap-shooting range.

Legacy lead (Pb) contamination from sport shooting activities is a well-known hazard. Assessing the risk this contamination presents to the environment and public health requires a detailed understanding of its spatial distribution, yet our knowledge in this area is limited, especially for wetland shooting ranges. In this study, we analyzed 1351 sediment samples from 456 surficial (0-5 cm) locations and 38 sediment cores (0.