Stan, yes, it is considered "non-toxic". The use was popularized for waterfowl by Kyle Smith a dozen or so years ago. He sold kits of 25 shells, wads and shot in 20 and 12. Another man, Hal Abbott sold shot and would provide tested recipes he would provide buyers of shot who agreed not to publish his recipes. He came up with a fast 20 gauge load, 3", combining 75% steel 3's and 25% TSS 9's that was relatively inexpensive to load. Cost for tungsten shot has dropped in the last few years because of competition among sellers. Still not cheap but a great teal and wood duck load is in 28 gauge with 9/16 ounce of shot running 1410 fps at under 7K psi. It has sold for as much as $60/lb. to $35/lb. My last purchase was $38. Five pounds can easily fit into the smallest flat rate Priority mailing box. Re-sellers buy direct from China which has cornered the world market for tungsten (and lead.) Gil