Metal Report: Lead

Metal Report: Lead (Pb)

The metal I chose to report on was lead. Lead is an extremely toxic element, and a really heavy metal. Lead has 82 protons, 82 electrons, and an atomic mass of 207; this indicates that when neutralized, lead has 125 neutrons. As an ion, lead has a positive 2 charge. Lead also has four stable isotopes, 204Pb, 206Pb, 207Pb, and 208Pb; all except for lead-204 can be found in the end products of the radioactive decay of uranium and thorium. Lead is very high in toxicity and if one is diagnosed with lead poisoning, it can be fatal. Since 1978, lead’s usage has been significantly reduced. Lead can be found in pottery, electrical storage batteries, cooking appliances, pesticides, and paints. It is still used to paint bridges and other steel structures with paint made with red lead (Pb3O4), a compound of lead and oxygen. Because of its relatively low reactivity (not quite as low as gold or silver), it protects these steel structures from corrosion. This however, is not a threat to the general public, but if used in items that come in contact with humans, will cause lead poisoning that can result in death. Leads symbol (Pb) comes from the Latin name plumbum, like plumber and plumbing, because water pipes in ancient Rome were made of lead. Lead was also used in the US in the paint used on homes built before 1978. Many children would become very sick, especially toddlers, from coming in contact with the flaking paint. Lead-based paint is no longer used in homes; alternatives like water-based paints are used instead. Since lead is so heavy, especially oxidized, it is used to protect from radiation from x-rays and to make weights, such as fishing weights. Since there are fewer regulations in countries like China, lead is still commonly used to produce items. In fact, toys made with lead paint imported from China have affected the US. Children were made sick and even faced death from simply playing with Barbies, action figures, and building kits. It is important to recognize that lead is not only found in less regulated countries, but all over the world. In fact, car batteries are usually made out of significant amounts of lead! Surprisingly enough, the chief producers of lead, or where it is chiefly mined, is, from greatest to least, The US, China, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan. Lead is highly abundant, quite unreactive, and found in the lithosphere of earth. Lead is extracted from these ores using pyrometallurgy, the treatment of the metals and their ores with heat, as in a blast furnace-- the common reducing agents being Carbon (coke) and carbon monoxide.