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Source analysis of global anthropogenic lead emissions: their quantities and species

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Abstract

Lead emissions originate primarily from the anthropogenic lead cycle, and research into their characteristics, such as species type, provides essential information for pollution control. A dynamic model for global lead emissions has been established, and their emissions and temporal accumulations were estimated in this study based on the evolution of the lead cycle over 70 years. An inventory of the emissions species was obtained after identifying their physiochemical transformations. The 2010 emissions were 3.56 Mt, with 65 % coming from waste management and recycling. The main species were PbSO4 (42.5 %), PbO2 (16.2 %), and PbS (8.3 %). Between 1930 and 2010, the total lead emissions were 173.8 Mt, mainly from waste management and recycling (48 %), production (26 %), and use (20 %). The main species were PbSO4, PbO, Pb, and PbS, and together, they accounted for 61.2 % of the total emissions. Over time, species, such as tetraethyl lead and Pb, declined, but PbO2 and PbSO4 increased.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (General Program) under grant no. 41171361 entitled The Anthropogenic Transfer and Transformation of Lead and the Quantitative Analysis on Environmental Accumulated Lead Emissions.

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All of the authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest. The authors confirm that this is an original submission which has not been published previously or submitted to any other journal.

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  1. State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, People’s Republic of China

    Jing Liang & Jiansu Mao

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  1. Jing Liang
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  2. Jiansu Mao
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Correspondence to Jiansu Mao.

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Responsible editor: Vera Slaveykova

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Liang, J., Mao, J. Source analysis of global anthropogenic lead emissions: their quantities and species. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 7129–7138 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3878-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3878-4

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