Lead Alloys

Lead has been commonly used for thousands of years because it is widespread, easy to extract and easy to work with since it is highly malleable as well as easy to smelt. The largest preindustrial producer of lead was the Roman economy, with an estimated annual output of 80,000 tonnes used for many applications including the water system. In modern times, Lead is used in building construction, lead-acid batteries, bullet and shot, weights, as part of solders, pewters, fusible alloys, and as a radiation shield.