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The use of lead in cars accounts for the largest remaining source of lead pollution today. One car component, the lead starter battery, is responsible for the majority of current lead use in the world.
The North American automobile industry is responsible for the release or transfer each year of more than 300 million pounds (136,508 metric tons) of lead through mining, smelting, manufacturing, recycling and disposing of lead-containing automotive components -- primarily batteries -- and through normal vehicle use.
Over its lifetime, a car uses as much lead as a house with lead paint, which has been banned for decades. Lead pollution associated with autos gets into the air and soil when lead is produced or recycled for use in cars, and water may be polluted from the disposal of batteries and autos, or when wheel weights are lost on roadways.
The amount of lead in cars is particularly significant because of its serious impact on human health, including behavioral problems and learning disabilities. Children are particularly susceptible to lead exposure, which occurs when lead dust contaminates floors, soil, or other areas in which children live or play
Lead is used in a number of car components, including lead wheel weights, solder in electronics, and lead car batteries. However, lead-free alternatives are available. Lead wheel weights can be replaced with tin or steel weights. Alternative battery technologies such as nickel-metal hydride batteries are on the road today in gas-electric hybrid cars and can be further developed for use in conventional vehicles.
A report jointly released by the Ecology Center and Environmental Defense, Getting the Lead Out: Impacts of and Alternatives for Automotive Lead Uses, documents the release of lead into the environment resulting from automobile manufacturing, use, and disposal. The report calls on the automotive industry to phase out lead use in cars, most notably in the starter battery, and to take responsibility for ensuring the recovery and proper management of lead used in cars.
Download a Copy of Executive Summary of Report Only
email: info@cleancarcampaign.org