lead-Copper


 * Lead!--**Jennie Albright and Robbie Glynn

media type="custom" key="3454508"

Websites Used: [] []


 * Abstract:**

Lead is a common metal. It’s semi-polar, so it can partially dissolve in water. Lead has been banned from use in most major products. Most lead comes from recycled scrap and it’s naturally mined.

To obtain lead, it has to be mined from the ground. It goes through several steps to become 99 – 99.99% pure. One of the reasons lead is so dangerous is because of its ability to act like other important metals in your body. A big problem with lead is disposal. Lots of times it just gets dumped wherever, leaving it to get into our water and then getting into us to hard us. We are producing more lead than we need because it’s been banned in certain products and we are still producing enough lead for them. Lead is extremely dangerous. It can cause permanent or reduced cognitive abilities, nausea, abdominal pain, irritability, insomnia, a metal taste in the mouth, excess lethargy or hyperactivity, chest pain, headache and, in extreme cases, seizures, comas, and death. Lead was banned from being used in most major products, such as paint. It plays an important role in the automobile industry, used for creating car batteries. It’s used worldwide especially in Australia, China, USA, Peru, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Morocco, South Africa and North Korea. A vast amount of money comes from the automobile industry mining and buying.

It would be safer if we could find alternatives for all of them. Though lead is useful as a heavy metal, it is too dangerous to be in so many products. I think that there should be a ban on lead in common products such as car batteries. Too many people get sick from it.

Lead is used in building construction, car batteries, and radiation shields. It’s also used for coloring in ceramic glass, and as a “sound deadener.” Most lead comes from recycled scrap. It’s used worldwide especially in Australia, China, USA, Peru, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Morocco, South Africa and North Korea. Lead has a half-life of 53,000 years, from radiogenic isotope PB. Lead can seriously damage your nervous system and cause brain/blood disorders.
 * Basic Information:**

The symptoms of lead poisoning include neurological problems, such as permanent and temporary reduced cognitive abilities, or nausea, abdominal pain, irritability, insomnia, metal taste in the mouth, excess lethargy or hyperactivity, chest pain, headache and, in extreme cases, seizures, comas, and death. There are also associated gastrointestinal problems, such as constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, poor appetite, weight loss, which are common in small amounts of poisoning. Other associated effects are anemia, kidney problems, and reproductive problems. It has been shown to cause permanently reduced IQ in children.


 * Human Health Implications:**

If lead get’s in your body it can do many harmful things because of its ability to act like calcium, iron, and zinc. The symptoms of lead poisoning include neurological problems, such as permanent and temporary reduced cognitive abilities, or nausea, abdominal pain, irritability, insomnia, metal taste in the mouth, excess lethargy or hyperactivity, chest pain, headache and, in extreme cases, seizures, comas, and death. There are also associated gastrointestinal problems, such as constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, poor appetite, weight loss, which are common in small amounts of poisoning. Other associated effects are anemia, kidney problems, and reproductive problems. It has been shown to cause permanently reduced IQ in children.

Lead interferes with the function of proteins that turn genes on or off. It usually does its dirty work by displacing atoms of zinc and calcium in these proteins. A protein's precise shape is crucial to what it does, and even a subtle disruption can affect its function. When lead takes the place of zinc, the protein's shape changes. This is because lead forms different chemical bonds than zinc does. Zinc forms four, equally separated chemical bonds, while lead forms three, and these are at different angles. Some zinc-binding proteins in the body are known to be crucial for normal development in children and for maintaining proper blood pressure in adults. Lead in place of zinc in these proteins can cause developmental delays in kids and high blood pressure in adults. Lead also knocks out zinc from a protein that helps form molecules of heme, which, among other things, carries oxygen in the blood. This snag may explain why lead can cause anemia, or low levels of red blood cells. When atoms of calcium in the body are bumped out by lead—which happens when lead levels are quite high— nerve impulses get messed up. Because of the way cells amplify electrical signals, just one lead-corrupted protein can have a significant effect.


 * Synthesis and Production:**

You can’t really make lead, you have to mine it. Dynamite or drills are used to get transportable sized pieces. The pieces are then taken to a concentrating mill. They get crushed up into very small pieces, with a diameter less than 0.01 mm. Water is added to it to make it a slurry. It is agitated and the extra rock sinks to the bottom. Other minerals such as copper and zinc have been separated too. Almost all of the water is removed. Then they blow hot air through it. They melt the lead to the molten lead is removed they take all the other metals out of it because the lead needs to be 99-99.99% pure. Once refining is done, they cast it into blocks that weigh as much as a ton.




 * Environmental Hazards:**

You can’t really make lead, you have to mine it. Dynamite or drills are used to get transportable sized pieces. The pieces are then taken to a concentrating mill. They get crushed up into very small pieces, with a diameter less than 0.01 mm. Water is added to it to make it a slurry. It is agitated and the extra rock sinks to the bottom. Other minerals such as copper and zinc have been separated too. Almost all of the water is removed. Then they blow hot air through it. They melt the lead to the molten lead is removed they take all the other metals out of it because the lead needs to be 99-99.99% pure. Once refining is done, they cast it into blocks that weigh as much as a ton.


 * Economic/Political Effects:**

Lead is banned from being used in certain products that it was used in before, like paint. The government put these laws into action when people were suffering blood, brain and kidney damage. Lead is important in brick, glass, enamel, outdoor steel structures, and batteries. We are producing 8 million tons of lead per year. Countries producing lead are America, Australia, China, Peru, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Morocco, South Africa and North Korea. Half of the annual production comes from America, Australia, and China.

The problem with lead production is finding a safe use for it. Most of lead is bought by automotive companies, but were mining too much lead and we have no other places to really put it. To eliminate lead altogether we’ve tried new ways to power cars without the use of lead acid batteries. Lead is highly harmful to the human body, and the ongoing use of it surely isn’t helping anyone. If we banned lead completely the world would be safer. It could help with some brain deficiencies, blood problems, and kidney problems.


 * Summary:**

The only benefits of lead are car batteries and somewhat in construction. Honestly, there are alternatives to lead and we should try to find something that we could use. People are already looking into new ways to make cars move without the help of lead. Majority of the problem is we mine so much lead and have nothing to use it for. Easy way to solve the problem, stop mining it. It’s too much of a risk to use in everyday life. Overall, Lead is pretty nasty, from harming our bodies to polluting our earth. We have the alternatives, though they don’t look as great as they could because of the economy. Is the availability worth getting sick over? No. Not in my opinion. We don’t have to use lead, and since it is so harmful, why should we?