Lead Smelters Association

The early 20th century saw initial attempts at market control and cartelisation by the major lead smelters. Faced with poor financial returns and over-capacity, Metallgesellschaft in Germany, together with the major Belgian and Spanish producers, established a cartel, the Lead Smelters Association, in 1909. The cartel regulated metal sales in Europe, aided by an... 

The information available regarding the association of occupational exposure to lead with increased cancer risk is generally limited in its usefulness because the actual compound(s) of lead, the route(s) of exposure, and level(s) of lead to which the workers were exposed were often not reported. Furthermore, potential for exposure to other chemicals including arsenic, cadmium, and antimony occurred, particularly in lead smelters, and smoking was a possible confounder (Cooper 1976 IARC 1987). These studies, therefore, are not sufficient to determine the carcinogenicity of lead in humans, and the following discussion is restricted to the most comprehensive of these studies. 

Results For the St. Louis data, the target transformation analysis results for the fine fraction without July Uth and 5th are given in table 6. The presence of a motor vehicle source, a sulfur source, a soil or flyash source, a titanium source, and a zinc source are indicated. The sulfur, titanium and zinc factors were determined from the simple initial test vectors for those elements. The concentration of sulfur was not related to any other elements and represents a secondary sulfate aerosol resulting from the conversion of primary sulfur oxide emissions. Titanium was found to be associated with sulfur, calcium, iron, and barium. Rheingrover ( jt) identified the source of titanium as a paint-pigment factory located to the south of station 112. The zinc factor, associated with the elements chlorine, potassium, iron and lead, is attributed to refuse incinerator emissions. This factor could also represent particles from zinc and/or lead smelters, though a high chlorine concentration is usually associated with particles from refuse incinerators ( ). The sulfur concentration in the refined sulfate factor is consistent with that of ammonium sulfate. The calculated lead concentration in the motor vehicle factor of ten percent and a lead to bromine ratio of about 0.28 are typical of values reported in the literature (25). The concentration of lead in... 

Cevnik, M., Jure, M., and Vodnik, D. (2000). Filamentous fungi associated with the fine roots of Erica herbaceaE. from the area influenced by the Zerjav lead smelter (Slovenia). Phyton Ann. Rei. Bot. 40, 61-64. 

Arsenic, most commonly used as arsenic (III), is involved in processes associated with glass works copper, zinc and lead smelters the production of pesticides and herbicides and semiconductors (Hartwig et al. 1997). Although the commercial use and production of substances containing arsenic have decreased over the past few decades (Hartwig et al. 1997)> it is still an occupational hazard. In March of 1998, the German employers insurance company reported 34 total accepted cases of diseases, including cancer, related to arsenic or its compounds from 1994 to 1996 (Arbeitsmed Sozialmed Umweltmed 1998). 

Table 6.28 presents some typical reports of interior dust lead levels near lead smelters and other point sources situated around the world, covering several decades. There is a considerable range of levels and relatively high mean values. In terms of source rankings, highest levels are associated with primary and secondary lead smelters, followed by residences impacted by mining and milling operations. Hartwell et al. (1983) reported median leaded dust values for lead—zinc and copper smelters of between 116 and 441 ppm, but other data in Table 6.28 cite levels of several thousand ppm or even... 

Germany Stolburg children tested at 9.4 years (89) Children exposed from a nearby lead smelter. PbB mean = 14.3 (ig/dl Pb-teeth 6.2 ppm Significant association of PbB and Pb-teeth with Vienna Reaction Test and visual evoked potential responses Winneke etal. (1983)... 

Germany Duisburg children tested at 8 years (control 26, exposed 26) Children exposed from a nearby lead smelter. Pb-teeth, control 2.4 ppm Pb-teeth, exposed 9.2 ppm Significant association of Bender-Gestalt Test deficits with exposure Winneke etal. (1982)... 

Kordas et al. (2004) studied Mexican schoolchildren (N = 602) impacted by a lead smelter in Torreon, Mexico, for associations of PbB elevation (mean= 11.5p.g/dl) and test outcomes on various psychometric tests. The Spanish version of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the subtests of the WISC-R IQ Test were significantly inversely associated with concurrent PbB measurements. Cho et al. (2010) reported that concurrent PbB in 667... 

Pregnancies in women living near an Australian lead smelter, tested after f i rst trimester Proximity to the smelter, using PbB as biomarker Spontaneous abortion rate No association of PbB with spontaneous abortions, but abortions higher in regions closer to smelter McMichael etal. (1986)... 

Alexander, B.H., Checkoway, H., Faustman, E.M., Van Netten, C., Muller, C.H., Ewers, T.G., 1998. Contrasting associations of blood and semen lead concentrations with semen quality among lead smelter workers. Am. J. Ind. Med. 34, 464—469. 

For the secondary sector, international cost comparisons are probably less valuable, because relative performance as we have noted is more firmly based on specific local conditions with respect to scrap availability and cost. The tightness of environmental controls will also be important. Secondary lead smelters in Europe and the USA have already absorbed substantial costs associated with environmental compliance, and so are probably quite well-placed compared with producers in other regions. In addition, the larger average size of US (and to a lesser extent, European) secondary plants makes greater scale economies possible. Conversely in Japan (and most other countries), where small facilities predominate, unit operating costs are likely to be substantially higher for most plants. 

Four electroencephalogram (EEG) measures, including a BAEP, a PREP, and a flash-evoked potential, and an eye movement measure, were obtained for each child, and these were rated from 0 (normal) to 4 (clearly abnormal) and summed to provide a composite score. Results were analysed by school. In the two schools away from the smelter, and in one of the three schools near the smelter, there was no association between blood lead and the summated scores. In one of the schools near the smelter there was a significant negative association between EEG scores and blood lead, indicating that higher lead was associated with fewer abnormalities, and in the other school the association, while non-significant, was in the opposite direction. 

The continuous softening process used by The Broken Hill Associated Smelters Pty., Ltd. is particularly suitable for lead buUion of fairly uniform impurity content. The copper-drossed blast furnace buUion continuously flows in the feed end of a reverberatory furnace at 420°C, and the softened lead leaves the opposite end at 750°C. Oxidation and agitation is provided by compressed air blown through pipes extending down through the arch of the furnace into the bath. 

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