Author: Perry Gottesfeld
Given the negative publicity about the lead paint in our homes poisoning children and lead pipes contaminating our water, most people might assume that the lead industry is suffering a slow death. But even as our understanding of low-level lead exposure hazards has grown, global lead production actually increased by 75 percent between 2001 and 2017. In the United States, according to the most recent federal data, lead usage grew 26 percent over this same period, largely due to a rise in ammunition production and lead battery manufacturing.