North Dakotans who volunteered to have their blood tested for the presence of lead, possibly from eating wild game harvested with lead bullets, should have results within the next couple weeks.

In May and June 738 people signed up for the tests after state agencies advised food pantries across the state not to distribute ground venison after the discovery of lead fragments in the meat.

The North Dakota departments of health, game and fish and agriculture made the call last March to the North Dakota Community Action Partnerships to halt distribution after it was discovered that half of the packages destined for distribution contained lead fragments.

A few weeks later, Minnesota issued a similar advisory after the discovery of lead fragments in donated venison there.

In North Dakota, all the meat tested was ground venison and Minnesota has done tests of both ground and whole-cut venison.

Data from the blood tests will be analyzed by the Centers for Disease Control with results available before the deer gun season opens in November.

Dr. Stephen Pickard, epidemiologist with the North Dakota Department of Health, said the study is designed to tell if people who consume wild game harvested with lead bullets have a higher levels of lead in their blood than those who don't eat wild game.

"This information in and of itself does not confirm the presence or absence of risk associated with eating game harvested with lead bullets," Pickard said.

He said results from the tests should be available in four to six weeks and that should help clarify the relationship of ingesting lead fragments and the level of lead in their bloodstreams.

Pickard cautioned that while no single test is definitive, the results will give officials a baseline with which to work in making recommendations to people to minimize their risks.

Blood levels higher than 10 micrograms per deciliter in children and 25 in adults is considered elevated, he said.

For children ages 6 and younger, any exposure is considered too high.

In young children exposure to lead can lead to lower IQs, learning disabilities, stunted growth, kidney damage and attention disorders like ADHD and ADD.

In pregnant women, high lead levels can lead to low birth weights, premature births, miscarriage and stillbirths.

In adults it can lead to high blood pressure, hearing loss and infertility.

In August, the North Dakota Agriculture Department sent a letter to all meat processors in the state with suggestions for reducing the likelihood of lead particles in venison.

Those suggestions include: trim a generous portion of meat away from the bullet channel and discard any bruised or discolored meat and any with dirt, hair or bone fragments; routinely check grinders that could spread fragments; avoid or minimize batching of multiple deer which will limit cross contamination.