Then & Now - Getting The Lead Out

THEN

The lead-acid battery has been a recyclable item for decades, but the way end-of-life batteries are handled has changed dramatically during that time.

Knowledge that over-exposure to lead or virtually any exposure to corrosive acid is harmful seems well entrenched, but in the early days of scrap recycling the safe handling of lead was not a given.

The extent to which at least one veteran scrap recycler dismissed concerns could be heard in the comment of an attendee of an ISRI (Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc.) Roundtable event in the late 1990s, who ventured that since lead was a natural substance and part of the environment, he was not convinced that exposure to it was harmful.

The U.S. EPA’s level of concern about lead exposure can be seen in its summary report on a former battery breaking facility in Berks County, Pa., that became a designated Superfund site.

A 1983 report summarizing what the EPA found at the 10-acre site notes, "This facility was in operation from 1961 until 1971, during which time lead was reclaimed from auto/truck batteries. The procedure consisted of dumping the acid, crushing the battery casings and separating the lead."

Potential harm was more than theoretical, as the site in 1983 included three residences, and storm runoff from the site could drain into the Schuylkill River watershed.

As for the site’s residents, the EPA report states, "Elevated levels of lead were found in the blood of four children residing on site as reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The Centers for Disease Control concurred with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and strongly recommended immediate action to remove this potential and possible/actual public health threat."

Whether batteries were sawed, sheared or crushed, throughout much of the 20th century the process was at times taking place in locations without adequate protection from direct contact and without adequate ventilation for lead dust or acidic mist that was created.

NOW