Green lead is safe lead

Lead is one of the ten substances of significant public health concern, and any level of lead (Pb) in the blood is harmful, with its pathological effects evidenced globally. Although treatment options exist, exposure to Pb during childhood can lead to severe and, often, irreversible cognitive and developmental impairments, more delinquent and violent behaviour and lower educational attainment, thus impacting the global intellectual future. According to a 2020 report by UNICEF and Pure Earth, as many as 275 million children (out of a total of 800 million children) have circulating blood lead levels above the WHO threshold for intervention (5 μg/dL), with 64.3 million of them exceeding 10 μg/dL.[1] In response to this international report, CSIR and NITI Aayog conducted nationwide studies on blood Pb levels prevalence in India. They found that the average levels in 23 states surpassed the baseline of 5 μg/dL, with the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh accounting for 40% of India’s population, with an average blood Pb level >7 μg/dL.[2,3] Thus, Pb toxicity is still an inadequately addressed public health problem worldwide. Hence, we must proactively prevent Pb exposure from any source, focusing on creating a sustainable future in a zero-harm environment. Lead, an integral part of our daily existence, is the fourth most widely used nonferrous metal, after aluminium, copper and zinc. Globally, at present, 14.00 million tonnes of lead are consumed, of which 86% are used to manufacture lead-acid batteries. India consumes about 1.5 million tonnes of lead, with lead-acid batteries accounting for about 85%. Owing to the various expanding applications such as automobiles, inverters, UPS, telecom, renewable energy and electric vehicles, the global Lead demand as well as India’s Lead demand are increasing year after year. Of all the materials in the world, lead is the most widely recycled and most widely reused metal, about 99% to be precise. India has approximately 725 authorised eco-friendly lead recyclers registered with various State Pollution Control Boards. Used lead-acid batteries collected by dealers or auctioned by bulk consumers such as railways, defence, telecom companies and state road transport corporations should be disposed off and sent to these registered recyclers only. Unfortunately, there are also informal lead recycling units which are neither environmental friendly nor healthy. Regulatory bodies (such as the Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Boards) should take more stringent actions and ensure that informal Pb recycling is phased out of the country.[4] As a toxic heavy metal, it requires safe collection, storage, transport, recycling and reuse. The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has introduced appropriate environmental legislation implemented and monitored by various State Pollution Control Boards.[5] Green lead recycling should be our ultimate goal; also, lead units, be they battery manufacturers or battery recyclers, should adopt all prescribed safety measures such as rotary furnaces, refining kettles, air pollution control systems, sound waste management and usage of personal protection equipment by the operators. Operators working in lead units should be periodically examined for Pb levels in their blood, followed by appropriate remedial measures. There are documented standard operating procedure (SOPs) for best practices (available on the website of the Central Pollution Control Board), which, if followed stringently, will ensure safety from excessive lead exposure. In addition to various environmental regulations, the lead battery industry and lead recyclers also need to take voluntary initiatives to adopt safe practices in all their operations. Innovations and advancements in battery-to-battery recycling technology will go a long way towards minimising Pb waste and directly repurposing recycled materials. The way forward is by enhancing awareness of lead toxicity and engaging industries, policymakers, public health professionals and environmental advocates in augmenting and escalating directives towards a lead-safe world. Let us make this dream true for the coming generations.