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The Doe Run Company’s primary lead smelting facility in Herculaneum, Mo., which has been in operation since 1892, will close its doors by the end of 2013, according to a report in The Southern Illinoisan, which was published in November but has gained new life recently.
Fact Check: Did Obama Close a Lead Plant in Order to Enact Backdoor Gun Control?
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The company said in a statement on its website that it decided to close the facility it would cost too much to install the “pollution control technologies” required to reduce sulfur dioxide and lead emissions as mandated by the Clean Air Act.
Another shot at the gun industry from the Obama administration, right?
Well, not really. It’s important to note that the Doe Run Company has been battling the EPA since at least 2003 and that the particular regulation cited by the company as the reason for the closure is from 2008 — before Barack Obama was even inaugurated.
Wrabbit2000
reply to post by benrl
You have a good idea and places like Midway USA or Cabellas can help with the equipment for melting down and casting lead.
The biggie I'd say if people are worried by stories like this? Please just do the research on how to do this safely. I think paranoia over lead exposure is almost sick for the extremes it's gone to. The EPA has a few too many people WITH lead poisoning, in my opinion. Having noted that...... Melting it down is no joke for danger and it's a deadly serious thing.
No..it won't explode and I don't mean that kind of danger...but the fumes do more than just stink to high heaven. You'll start out talking like a champ ..and asfters a fews a yearz yuse be talkan mure lak dis.
Lead is a deadly toxin that continues to be a mortality threat to birds. Despite a 1991 federal ban on lead shot for waterfowl hunting, lead poisoning remains a problem for birds through the hundreds of tons of lead deposited in the environment annually by upland game bird hunting; deer, elk, bear and other mammal hunting; and fishing. With several good alternatives to lead available on the market, it is simply not necessary to continue using lead.
In 2010, Doe Run reached a comprehensive settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Missouri. As part of that settlement, the Company agreed to discontinue its smelting operations in Herculaneum by the end of 2013. Over the operating life of the smelter, the Company spent millions of dollars in environmental and other upgrades. Continuing to upgrade the aging smelter to attempt to meet the increasingly stringent environmental regulations imposed on primary lead smelters was not economically feasible given the many other requirements of our business.* We shared this news in 2010 in a press release available on our website.
More than 80 percent of all lead produced in the U.S. is used in either motive batteries to start vehicles, or in stationary batteries for backup power (particular in military, telecom and medical applications). In the U.S., the recycle rate of these batteries is approximately 98 percent, making lead-based batteries the most highly recycled consumer product. These batteries are recycled at secondary lead smelters.