Inorganic lead dust is the primary hazard in the battery manufacturing industry. Lead is a non-biodegradable, toxic heavy metal with no physiological benefit to humans. Battery manufacturing workers, construction workers, and metal miners are at the highest risk of exposure.
Lead fumes from lead pots, torching, burning, or other operations where a flame contacts lead, or lead is heated above the melting point, may also be sources of lead exposure. Battery manufacturing plants under federal jurisdiction are required to comply with specific OSHA standards for general industry.
Additional chemical hazards in battery manufacturing include possible exposure to toxic metals, such as antimony (stibine), arsenic (arsine), cadmium, mercury, nickel, selenium, silver, and zinc, and reactive chemicals, such as sulfuric acid, solvents, acids, caustic chemicals, and electrolytes.
Inorganic lead dust is the most significant health exposure in battery manufacture. Lead can be absorbed into the body by inhalation and ingestion. Inhalation of airborne lead is generally the most important source of occupational lead absorption.
Employers are responsible for detecting lead hazards in battery manufacturing, with certain exceptions. They are required to collect full-shift personal samples to monitor an employee’s daily exposure to lead. Battery manufacturing is a high-risk, hazardous industry, but that doesn’t mean that workers can’t get home safe to their families at the end of the day.
The leakage of sulfuric acid was the main environmental risk of lead-acid batteries in the process of production, processing, transportation, use or storage. According to the project scale the sulfuric acid leakage rate was calculated to be 0.190kg/s, and the leakage amount in 10 minutes was about 114kg.