All raw lead will be coming from outside of the US from now on!

[giovani]

The last raw lead smelter in the US to shut down.

Last U.S. Lead Smelter to Close in December Due to EPA ? Might Affect Ammo Production

 

[Slawburger]

Copper bullets and steel pellets are in use but lead is still the predominant projectile.

I like breathing clean air but it could be argued that lead smelting is an "essential industry". It is a good idea to retain the capacity to produce certain items/commodities in case the international market stops cooperating with you.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

The company hopes to build a plant for a more environmentally friendly lead-producing technology. That technology relies on a wet chemical process that would essentially replace the heat-based smelting.

Lead smelter in Herculaneum set to close in 2013 : News

A bit more detailed article. Looks like they've been having issues for the last 6 years, at least, meeting EPA regs. I'll sit back and wait for the usual "Bush vs Obama's fault", but will point out that few of us would like more lead in our water and air.

 

[Bigtanker]

If I remember correctly, a lagre portion of the lead used in ammo manufacturing comes from recycled batteries. Hopefully this closing won't hurt the ammo industry too bad.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

More jobs Americans won't do anymore as we regulate ourselves right out of business.

 

[wolfman]

Glad I have a little over a ton of lead ingots

 

[BogWalker]

I'm always against removing the capacity to produce war essential materials domestically.

 

[Leo]

+1, it is not just a feel good thing, but it is a national security issue. A major factor in our victory in two theaters of war in WWII, was that we could out produce any need our military ever needed. We are still opening warehouses will stuff left over from WWII all the way into the 1970's.

 

[nebulous]

+1, it is not just a feel good thing, but it is a national security issue. A major factor in our victory in two theaters of war in WWII, was that we could out produce any need our military ever needed. We are still opening warehouses will stuff left over from WWII all the way into the 1970's.

Let's not forget that in addition to providing for ourselves, we had the capacity to help our friends as well. That may have saved Great Britain and certainly shortened the war.

Lend-Lease and Military Aid to... - 1937-1945 - Milestones - Office of the Historian

 

[BogWalker]

+1, it is not just a feel good thing, but it is a national security issue. A major factor in our victory in two theaters of war in WWII, was that we could out produce any need our military ever needed. We are still opening warehouses will stuff left over from WWII all the way into the 1970's.

Heck, there was stuff from the First World War found in storage in the 90's. Now we've got essential items and critical components being made overseas.

 

[-Jake-]

do it for the childrun gais! JEEZ

 

[HavokCycle]

so what i gather here is

due to US emissions regs, a shop will be shut down.

however, its perfectly acceptable to import the same product from other countries. i don't get it. if it were an ecological issue we'd push to shut down ALL lead smelters, worldwide. but.... no. the US lives in a bubble it'd seem.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

so what i gather here is

due to US emissions regs, a shop will be shut down.

however, its perfectly acceptable to import the same product from other countries. i don't get it. if it were an ecological issue we'd push to shut down ALL lead smelters, worldwide. but.... no. the US lives in a bubble it'd seem.

It's ok, China is already polluted enough, they don't mind.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

so what i gather here is

due to US emissions regs, a shop will be shut down.

however, its perfectly acceptable to import the same product from other countries. i don't get it. if it were an ecological issue we'd push to shut down ALL lead smelters, worldwide. but.... no. the US lives in a bubble it'd seem.

There was no push to shut it down. The business chose to shut it down instead of paying to install needed upgrade to meet the requirements. If you read the article I linked, they intend to build a new smelter that uses a different type of cleaner technology. This isn't new. They've been out of compliance since '08 or so. They chose to pay the fines today instead of fixing the problem then.

There's a balance, of course, and I'm certainly no expert to know how much lead is too much lead, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say when you are having to buy your neighbors out due to contaminated soil and water...that's too much lead.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

+1, it is not just a feel good thing, but it is a national security issue. A major factor in our victory in two theaters of war in WWII, was that we could out produce any need our military ever needed. We are still opening warehouses will stuff left over from WWII all the way into the 1970's.

Much of which was done by retooling existing factories. If we need it that bad, we can get it done. Of course INGO will then cry socialism.

If you think lead is going to be the issue, you may want to take a peak at who makes all the chipboards for radios, airplanes, GPS systems, etc. etc.

 

[nebulous]

so what i gather here is

due to US emissions regs, a shop will be shut down.

however, its perfectly acceptable to import the same product from other countries. i don't get it. if it were an ecological issue we'd push to shut down ALL lead smelters, worldwide. but.... no. the US lives in a bubble it'd seem.

I bet the real issue is that the company could not modernize to meet the EPA regulations because it would have meant raising prices to the point they were not competitive with foreign sources of lead. Sadly, it may have been a lose-lose situation, and a shutdown may have been inevitable. There is probably a good reason why all of the other smelters in the US got out of the business.

 

[remauto1187]

I bet the real issue is that the company could not modernize to meet the EPA regulations because it would have meant raising prices to the point they were not competitive with foreign sources of lead. Sadly, it may have been a lose-lose situation, and a shutdown may have been inevitable. There is probably a good reason why all of the other smelters in the US got out of the business.

Same reason all vacuum tube manufacturers are overseas. EPA Regs/costs associated with meeting EPA Regs. No profit in it.

 

[remauto1187]

Much of which was done by retooling existing factories. If we need it that bad, we can get it done. Of course INGO will then cry socialism.

If you think lead is going to be the issue, you may want to take a peak at who makes all the chipboards for radios, airplanes, GPS systems, etc. etc.

Whats a chipboard? You mean printed circuit board(PCB)? Us electronic techs call it FR4. Google it.

 

[Broom_jm]

More than 95% of the lead used to manufacture new products in this country come from recycled materials. With this smelter going out of business, no new lead will be extracted from ore in this country, but there will still be companies processing recycled lead. More and more of that lead will be from OUS sources. (Outside US) While I understand the reason this smelter is choosing to shutter their operation, with "plans" to build a more ecologically-friendly smelting plant, I can't help but worry about the repercussions.

Look at what happened with rare earth minerals; the US and Canada stopped mining them because China was producing so much and we couldn't compete, in price. Then, China decided to allocate far less of the REMs to other countries, the price SKY-ROCKETED, and now there are companies in the US that are once again ramping up to mine these essentials minerals. Was there no lesson learned from this? Apparently not!

 

[shibumiseeker]

.

Look at what happened with rare earth minerals; the US and Canada stopped mining them because China was producing so much and we couldn't compete, in price. Then, China decided to allocate far less of the REMs to other countries, the price SKY-ROCKETED, and now there are companies in the US that are once again ramping up to mine these essentials minerals. Was there no lesson learned from this? Apparently not!

Sounds like that free market people keep going on about!