Editing Lead (section)

== Restriction and remediation ==
[[File:1plombs chasse cygne condé2.jpg|right|thumb|Radiography of a swan found dead in [[Condé-sur-l'Escaut]] (northern France), highlighting lead shot. There are hundreds of lead pellets (a dozen is enough to kill an adult swan within a few days). Such bodies are sources of environmental contamination by lead.|alt=An X-ray picture with numerous small pellets highlighted in white]]

By the mid-1980s, there was significant decline in the use of lead in industry.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.epa.gov/archive/epa/aboutepa/lead-poisoning-historical-perspective.html | title=Lead Poisoning: A Historical Perspective }}</ref> In the United States, environmental regulations reduced or eliminated the use of lead in non-battery products, including gasoline, paints, solders, and water systems. [[Scrubber|Particulate control devices]] were installed in [[Coal-fired power station|coal-fired power plants]] to capture lead emissions.{{sfn|Trace element emission|2012}} In 1992, U.S. Congress required the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce the blood lead levels of the country's children.{{sfn|Auer|Kover|Aidala|Greenwood|2016|p=4}} Lead use was further curtailed by the European Union's 2003 [[Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive]].{{sfn|Petzel|Juuti|Sugimoto|2004|pp=122–124}} A large drop in lead deposition occurred in the Netherlands after the 1993 national ban on use of lead shot for hunting and sport shooting: from 230 tonnes in 1990 to 47.5 tonnes in 1995.{{sfn|Deltares|Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research|2016}} The usage of lead in [[Avgas#100LL (blue)|Avgas 100LL]] for [[general aviation]] is allowed in the EU as of 2022.<ref name="q566">{{cite web | last=Calderwood | first=Dave | title=Europe moves to ban lead in avgas | website=FLYER | date=8 March 2022 | url=https://flyer.co.uk/europe-moves-to-ban-lead-in-avgas/ | access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref> 

In the United States, the [[permissible exposure limit]] for lead in the workplace, comprising metallic lead, inorganic lead compounds, and lead soaps, was set at 50&nbsp;μg/m<sup>3</sup> over an 8-hour workday, and the [[blood lead level]] limit at 5&nbsp;μg per 100&nbsp;g of blood in 2012.{{sfn|Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry|2017}} Lead may still be found in harmful quantities in stoneware,{{sfn|Grandjean|1978|pp=303–321}} [[Vinyl group|vinyl]]{{sfn|Levin|Brown|Kashtock|Jacobs|2008|p=1288}} (such as that used for tubing and the insulation of electrical cords), and Chinese brass.{{efn|An alloy of [[brass]] (copper and zinc) with lead, iron, tin, and sometimes antimony.{{sfn|Duda|1996|p=242}}}} Old houses may still contain lead paint.{{sfn|Levin|Brown|Kashtock|Jacobs|2008|p=1288}} White lead paint has been [[White Lead (Painting) Convention, 1921|withdrawn from sale]] in industrialized countries, but specialized uses of other pigments such as yellow [[Lead(II) chromate|lead chromate]] remain,{{sfn|Crow|2007}} especially in road pavement marking paint.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lead Chromate: Why it is Banned in Most Industries Apart From Road Markings |url=https://www.roadtraffic-technology.com/contractors/road_marking/prismo2/pressreleases/presslead-chromate-why-it-is-banned-in-most-industries-apart-from-road-markings/ |website=Road Traffic Technology |publisher=Verdict Media Limited |access-date=2024-05-27 |archive-date=5 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240305012833/https://www.roadtraffic-technology.com/contractors/road_marking/prismo2/pressreleases/presslead-chromate-why-it-is-banned-in-most-industries-apart-from-road-markings/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> 
Stripping old paint by sanding produces dust which can be inhaled.{{sfn|Marino|Landrigan|Graef|Nussbaum|1990|pp=1183–1185}} [[Lead abatement]] programs have been mandated by some authorities in properties where young children live.{{sfn|Schoch|1996|p=111}} The usage of lead in [[Avgas#100LL (blue)|Avgas 100LL]] for [[general aviation]] is generally allowed in United States as of 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leaded Aviation Fuel and the Environment {{!}} Federal Aviation Administration |author= |work=faa.gov |date=20 November 2019 |access-date=19 March 2025 |url= https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/leaded-aviation-fuel-and-environment}}</ref>

Lead waste, depending on the jurisdiction and the nature of the waste, may be treated as household waste (to facilitate lead abatement activities),{{sfn|United States Environmental Protection Agency|2000}} or potentially hazardous waste requiring specialized treatment or storage.{{sfn|Lead in Waste|2016}} Lead is released into the environment in shooting places and a number of lead management practices have been developed to counter the lead contamination.{{sfn|United States Environmental Protection Agency|2005|p=I-1}} Lead migration can be enhanced in acidic soils; to counter that, it is advised soils be treated with lime to [[Neutralization (chemistry)|neutralize]] the soils and prevent leaching of lead.{{sfn|United States Environmental Protection Agency|2005|p=III-5–III-6}}

Research has been conducted on how to remove lead from [[BioSystems|biosystems]] by biological means: Fish bones are being researched for their ability to [[bioremediation|bioremediate]] lead in contaminated soil.{{sfn|Freeman|2012|pp=a20–a21}}{{sfn|Young|2012}} The fungus ''[[Aspergillus versicolor]]'' is effective at absorbing lead ions from industrial waste before being released to water bodies.{{sfn|Acton|2013|pp=94–95}} Several bacteria have been researched for their ability to remove lead from the environment, including the [[Sulfate-reducing microorganism|sulfate-reducing bacteria]] ''[[Desulfovibrio]]'' and ''[[Desulfotomaculum]]'', both of which are highly effective in aqueous solutions.{{sfn|Park|Bolan|Meghara|Naidu|2011|pp=162–174}} Millet grass ''[[Urochloa ramosa]]'' has the ability to accumulate significant amounts of metals such as lead and [[zinc]] in its shoot and root tissues making it an important plant for remediation of contaminated soils.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lakshmi |first1=P.M. |last2=Jaison |first2=S. |last3=Muthukumar |first3=T. |last4=Muthukumar |first4=M. |title=Assessment of metal accumulation capacity of Brachiaria ramosa collected from cement waste dumping area for the remediation of metal contaminated soil. |journal=Ecological Engineering |date=1 November 2013 |volume=60 |pages=96–98 |doi=10.1016/j.ecoleng.2013.07.043|bibcode=2013EcEng..60...96L }}</ref>