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. pdf P a g e 1 o f 1On Form C -3- b of the ICR Survey of the Secondary Lead industry, EPA asks:

It is the EPA's understanding that the potential for emissions of dioxins and furans from furn aces (particularly blast furnaces) is related to the presence of chlorinated materials (e.g., polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic) in furnace feed materials. Please provide any changes in the use of chlorinated materials in battery construction (e.g., decreas ed PVC content) and how these changes, if any, are expected to affect dioxin/furan emissions.

ABR has inquired with its members and lead

- acid battery manufacturers and offers the following response on behalf of its smelter members to the above question:

Historically, PVC was widely used as a separator material in the manufacture of all types of lead

- acid batteries, including automotive Starting, Lighting, and Ignition (SLI) batteries. In the recycling of batteries that contain PVC separators, the separators would typically become part of the feed material to the smelting furnaces.

The use of PVC as a separator material has been phased out in the manufacture of automotive SLI lead

acid batteries. It is believed that this phase

- out was essentially completed more than 20 years ago. Given the turnover of automotive SLI batteries, it is believed that the phase out occurred long enough ago that the SLI batteries being recycled today should be free of PVC separators.

PVC continues to be used in the manufactu re of non

- automotive lead

- acid batteries including reserve power batteries (e.g., telecommunications installation standby batteries) and motive power batteries (e.g., forklift batteries). Some of the PVC materials used in the manufacture of reserve power batteries goes into exterior case materials (including “jars,” covers, terminal rings, etc.) and some internal parts that may or may not make their way into the furnace feed depending upon the configuration of the recycling facility’s processes for handlin g non

- automotive batteries. PVC continues to be used as a plate wrapping material and in other interior components of some motive power lead

- acid batteries. In general, the PVC in those internal components would make its way into the smelting furnaces at the recycling facilities.

ABR does not have any data from which to form an opinion regarding how the changes in PVC use in battery construction over time would have affected dioxin/furan emissions. There are a great many
variables in additi on to the chlorine content of the feed material that affect dioxin/furan emissions. The
ABR does not have sufficient information to correlate the presence of PVC in feed material with dioxin/furan emissions.