Lead

Atomic Number: 82
Atomic Weight: 207.2
Melting Point: 600.61 K (327.46C or
621.43F)
Boiling Point: 2022 K (1749C or 3180F)
Density: 11.342 grams per cubic
centimeter
Phase at Room Temperature: Solid
Element Classification: Metal
Period Number: 6
Group Number: 14
Group Name: none
Luster: Metallic
Transparency: Opaque
Color: Grey
Hardness (Mohs): 1
Tenacity: Malleable
Estimated Crustal Abundance: 1.4101 milligrams per kilogram
Estimated Oceanic Abundance: 310-5 milligrams per liter
What's in a name? From the Anglo-Saxon word lead. Lead's chemical
symbol comes from the Latin word for waterworks, plumbum.
Say what? Lead is pronounced as LED.

Ancient Uses of Lead

The English words plumber and plumbing are derived from the Latin
word for lead, plumbum. Plumbum is also the source of the chemical symbol
for lead, Pb.
Lead has been mined for more than 6,000 years, and the metal and its
compounds have been used throughout history. Small lead nuggets have
been found in pre-Columbian Peru, Yucatan, and Guatemala.
The Greeks mined lead on a large scale from 650 onwards and not
only knew how to obtain the metal but how to covert this to white lead.

Because of its superb covering power, this was the basis of paints for more
than 2000 years, until the middle of the last century.
The Romans employed lead on a large scale, mining it mainly in
Spain and Britain, and using it also for water pipes, coffins, pewter tableware,
and to debase their silver coinage. While its mining declined in the Dark Ages
it reappeared in Medieval times and found new uses, such as pottery glazes,
bullets, and printing type. In the last century it was a fuel additive.
Water pipes that date back to the Roman Empire, glazes on
prehistoric ceramics, and the cosmetic kohl, used by ancient Egyptians to
darken their eyelids, are a few examples of ancient uses of lead. Today, lead,
which has been mined on all continents except Antarctica, is one of the most
important metals to industrialized economies.

Modern Uses of Lead

Prior to the early 1900s, lead was used in the United States
primarily in ammunition, burial vault liners, ceramic glazes, leaded glass and
crystal, paints or other protective coatings, pewter, and water lines and
pipes. Following World War I, the demand for lead increased because of
growth in the production of motorized vehicles, many of which use lead-acid
batteries to start their engines. The use of lead as radiation shielding in
medical analysis and video display equipment and as an additive in gasoline
also contributed to an increase in the demand for lead.
By the mid-1980s, a significant shift in the uses of lead had taken
place in the United States as a result of compliance with environmental
regulations and the substitution of other materials for lead in nonbattery
products, such as gasoline, paints, solders, and water systems. By the early
2000s, 88 percent of apparent U.S. lead consumption was in lead-acid
batteries, which was a substantial increase from 1960 when only 30 percent
of global lead consumption was in lead-acid batteries. Today, the other
significant uses of lead are in ammunition, oxides in glass and ceramics,
casting metals, and sheet lead.
The single most important commercial use of lead is in the
manufacture of lead-acid storage batteries. It is also used in alloys such as
fusible metals, antifriction metals, solder, and type metal. Shot lead is an
alloy of lead, antimony, and arsenic. Lead foil is made with lead alloys. Lead

is used for covering cables and as a lining for laboratory sinks, tanks, and the
"chambers" in the lead-chamber process for the manufacture of sulfuric acid.
It is used extensively in plumbing. Because it has excellent vibrationdampening characteristics, lead is often used to support heavy machinery
and was used in the foundations of the Pan Am Building built over Grand
Central Station in New York City. Lead is also employed as protective
shielding against X rays and radiation from nuclear reactors.
Lead has many commonly used compounds. Commercially
important are the lead oxides, which have many uses. Litharge is lead
monoxide, PbO; red lead is lead tetroxide, Pb3O4; lead peroxide or dioxide,
PbO2, is used in matches, as a mordant in dyeing, and as an oxidizing
agent. White lead, 2PbCO3Pb(OH)2 (basic lead carbonate), is an important
pigment used in paints, putty, and ceramics. Chrome yellow, PbCrO4, is a
bright yellow pigment. "Sublimed white lead," PbSO4Pb(OH)2 (basic lead
sulfate), is also used as a pigment. Lead acetate (sugar of lead) is used as a
mordant, and lead azide, Pb(N3)2, is employed as a detonator for explosives.
Lead arsenate is used as an insecticide. Tetraethyl lead, used as a antiknock
compound in gasoline, is now banned for environmental reasons in the
United States and other countries.
Although lead and most of its compounds are only slightly soluble in
water, the use of lead pipe to carry drinking water is dangerous, since lead is
a cumulative poison that is not excreted from the body. The "lead" of lead
pencils does not contain lead; it is a mixture of graphite and clay.
The majority of the lead consumed annually is used to make
batteries for cars, trucks and other vehicles, as well as wheel weights, solder,
bearings and other parts. Lead is used in electronics and communications
(emergency power batteries, for example), ammunition, television glass,
construction, and protective coatings. A small amount is used to make
protective aprons for patients having x-rays to shield the body from excess
radiation exposure, for crystal glass production, weights and ballast, and
specialized chemicals.
Plastics, aluminum, tin, and iron are replacing the use of lead in
construction materials, containers, packaging, etc. Tin and other metals are
being used to replace lead as a solder in some applications where lead could
poison people, such as in drinking water systems.

Lead in the Environment

According to the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry, environmental levels of lead have increased more than 1,000-fold
over the past three centuries as a result of human activity. The greatest
increase took place between 1950 and 2000 and reflected the increased use
of leaded gasoline worldwide. During this period, the U.S. Government
established Federal regulations and made recommendations to limit lead
emissions to protect public health in the United States.
The most significant lead mineral is galena (PbS). Galena deposits
have been worked worldwide for their lead. Anglesite (PbSO4) and cerussite
(PbCO3) are other lead minerals. Lead is mined in the United States, Canada,
Mexico, Australia, and Peru. More than 1 million tons of lead is recovered in
recycling annually, the majority of which is from the recycling of batteries.

Types of Lead Deposits

Research to better understand the geologic processes that form
mineral deposits, including those containing lead, is an important component
of the USGS Mineral Resources Program. Lead commonly occurs in mineral
deposits along with other base metals, such as copper and zinc. Lead
deposits are broadly classified on the basis of how they are formed. Lead is
produced mainly from three types of deposits: sedimentary exhalative
(Sedex), Mississippi Valley type (MVT), and volcanogenic massive sulfide
(VMS).

Sedimentary Exhalative Deposits

Sedex deposits account for more than 50 percent of the world's lead
resources. They are formed when metal-rich hot liquids are released into a
water-filled basin (usually an ocean) or in basin sediments, which results in
the precipitation of ore-bearing material within basin-floor sediments.

Mississippi Valley Deposits

MVT deposits are found throughout the world and get their name
from deposits that occur in the Mississippi Valley region of the United States.
The deposits are characterized by ore mineral replacement of the carbonate
host rock; they are often confined to a single stratigraphic layer and extend
over hundreds of square kilometers. MVT deposits were a major source of
lead in the United States from the 19th century through the mid-20th
century.

Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide Deposits

In contrast to Sedex and MVT deposits, VMS deposits have a clear
association with submarine volcanic processes. They also can contain
significant amounts of copper, gold, and silver, in addition to lead and zinc.
The "black smoker" sea vents discovered during deep ocean expeditions are
examples of VMS deposits being formed on the sea floor today.

Worldwide Supply of and Demand for Lead

Currently, approximately 240 mines in more than 40 countries
produce lead. World mine production was estimated to be 4.1 million metric
tons in 2010, and the leading producers were China, Australia, the United
States, and Peru, in descending order of output. In recent years, lead was
mined domestically in Alaska, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, and Washington. In
addition, secondary (recycled) lead is a significant portion of the global lead
supply.
World consumption of refined lead was 9.35 million metric tons in
2010. The leading refined lead consuming countries were China, the United
States, and Germany. Demand for lead worldwide is expected to grow largely
because of increased consumption in China, which is being driven by growth
in the automobile and electric bicycle markets.