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Should Olympic Sport Shooting Events Stop Using Lead Shot?

Image via ©ISSF - ACAPULCO - MARCH 23: Gold medalist Vincent HANCOCK of the United States of America competes in the Skeet Men Finals at the Shooting Range Acapulco during Day 7 of the ISSF World Cup Shotgun on March 23, 2013 in Acapulco, Mexico. (Photo by Marco Dalla Dea)

At this year’s Olympic Games, skeet shooter Kim Rhode will be aiming to make history. Again. In 2012 in London, she became the first American athlete to medal in five consecutive Olympics in an individual sport. In Rio, she’ll be shooting for six out of six.

Rhode will be focused on firing her shotgun at the clay pigeons whizzing through the air, but some scientists have set their sights on another target — the lead pellets from spent cartridges that tumble out of the sky along with the shards of clay.