lead-silver+class+'09

__**Oscar Holton & Cameron Clayton toc**__

=__**Lead**__=



=__**Abtract**__=

Lead is known as Pb in the periodic table. We use lead because lead has a high level of density and has the ability to bend and be shaped. Lead is an effective absorber of radiation and, and because of that, lead is used as a shield for x rays, nuclear radiation, and other kinds areas where radiation is highly present. Lead is very toxic. Lead is used almost worldwide but Australia, China, USA, Peru, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Morocco, South Africa and North Korea are the top lead producing countries. When human consumes lead, it is absorbed, distributed, and excreted. It then becomes distributed through the bloodstream then to the kidney, bone marrow, liver, and brain. Lead can cause nervous system and kidney damage, high blood pressure, digestive problems, nerve disorders and lead can also affect the reproduction system. The nervous system is the most sensitive system to lead poisoning. Lead interacts with the plants in the environment, in water and in the air from air pollution or as the form of dust. Lead doesn't really degrade. The pure metal can rust to form lead oxide or other lead salts, but the lead atoms still remain, and they can still cause problems like lead poisoning. The banning of lead would affect manufactures that uses LBP and products from china and other countries. I believe lead shouldn’t be banned. We use it in too many materials that we use everyday. Also the price of lead is cheap so changing to an alternative could be more expensive. Because of the toxicity of it, the production of it should be reduced, causing the use of it being reduced. Lead should be in objects that doesn’t lead to our mouths and shouldn’t be in objects that what we eat or drink is expose to.

=__**Background**__=

We use lead because lead has a high level of density and has the ability to bend and be shaped. Lead is an effective absorber of radiation and, and because of that, lead is used as a shield for x rays, nuclear radiation, and other kinds of radiation. Lead is used for ammunition, some aprons are made of lead to protect patients from the radiation that they are exposed to when having a x-ray. Some weights are made of lead. Water pipes used to be made of lead but learning the effects that lead had on humans, the use of lead in water pipes was discontinued. Lead is used to make paint because of the durability. One positive thing that lead can do is shield and protect us from radiation. That is why some electronics are made with lead to reduce the exposure of radiation. Lead is used almost worldwide but Australia, China, USA, Peru, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Morocco, South Africa and North Korea are the top lead producing countries.

=__**Synthesis And Production**__=

Lead is extracted from ores dug from under-ground mines. The ores are transported into a truck. The miners dump the ore down the shaft, and from there it is hoisted to the surface. The finely crushed ore is diluted with water and then poured into a tank called a flotation cell. In flotation cell the ore is being concentrated meaning the removal of the waste rock around the lead. At the end of the flotation process, the lead has been separated from the rock, and other minerals too, such as zinc and copper, have been separated out. Then the lead is filtered. Later the lead is further refined to remove the sulfur. The lead is then melted in a blast furnace. The molten need more refurnishing to be pure. The molten lead is refurnished There, the ore is concentrated meaning that the waste rock is being removed from the lead making it almost completely pure lead.

1. Pb + Cl → PbCl2 2. Pb + Cu → PbCu 3. Pb + CO3 → PbCO3

=__**Economical/Political Impact**__= The production of lead dates back about 8,000 years. Lead was first used in Egypt around 5,000 B.C. In order to retrieve lead you have to go through a mining process. The process of mining lead is very dangerous; It consists of taking a chisel and a sledgehammer and making a big enough hole to fit in enough gunpowder to blow the big pieces of lead down into smaller pieces. The mining process was very dangerous and usually unsuccessful.

If Lead were banned it would affect America greatly, lead is used everywhere from plumbing to pewter, and since lead has very distinct characteristics it would be hard to find an alternative. There is no one alternative for lead, only for certain things lead is used for. Lead has already been banned in certain products such as gasoline. I do not think there would be major political ramifications if lead were banned in America.

=__**Human Health Implications**__=

Lead digestion is commonly found in children because the toys they play with contain lead. When human consumes lead, it is absorbed, distributed, and excreted. It then becomes distributed through the bloodstream then to the kidney, bone marrow, liver, and brain. Lead can cause nervous system and kidney damage, high blood pressure, digestive problems, nerve disorders and lead can also affect the reproduction system. Lead is harmful to a fetus, the newborn child may receive brain damage or die. When lead enters the body it burden with normal cell function and physiological processes. Physiological effects of lead consist of damage done to the peripheral and central nervous system, blood cells, metabolism of vitamin D and calcium, and reproductive toxicity. The nervous system is the most sensitive system to lead poisoning.

=__**Environmental Implications**__=

Lead interacts with the plants in the environment, in water and in the air from air pollution or as the form of dust. Soils close to highways, freeways, and smelting facilities have elevated levels of lead than soils in other areas because of their exposure to lead dust that builds over time. Lead doesn't really degrade. The pure metal can rust to form lead oxide or other lead salts, but the lead atoms still remain, and they can still cause problems like lead poisoning. 1. Pb + O2 → 2PbO 2. Pb + Na → PbNa2 3. Pb + OH → Pb(OH)2

=__**Summary**__=

Lead interacts with the plants in the environment, in water and in the air from air pollution or as the form of dust. Soils close to highways, freeways, and smelting facilities have elevated levels of lead than soils in other areas because of their exposure to lead dust that builds over time. Lead doesn't really degrade. The pure metal can rust to form lead oxide or other lead salts, but the lead atoms still remain, and they can still cause problems like lead poisoning.

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=__Citations__=

http://www.hobart.k12.in.us/ksms/PeriodicTable/chemicalelements%20graphics/pbstructure.gif

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