Tour of a Battery Recycling Factory - ARA

Australian Refined Alloys Pty Ltd

[Update 2010: Australian Refined Alloys Pty Ltd (“ARA”) is a lead acid battery recycling joint venture owned 50% by Nyrstar and 50% by the Sims Group, a recycling company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

ARA operates two lead acid battery recycling facilities in Australia, located at Alexandria in Sydney and Laverton in Melbourne. Nyrstar is the operating partner. Australian Refined Alloys Pty Ltd (ARA)]

(Previously a joint venture agent for Simsmetal Ltd. and Pasminco Metals (BHAS) Pty. Ltd.)

The following notes in bold and the typed labels on the graphic constituted the hand out. Additional notes were gleaned from the tour and discussion, which took place on 1 Oct 93.

Recycling of Lead

• Lead acid batteries account for 64% of lead usage. These batteries store energy for cars, trucks, buses, fork-lifts and other off-road vehicles, submarines, planes and telephone exchanges.

• By 2010 this end use will consume more than 70% due to the expected increase in the number of electric vehicles.

• Lead is the most recycled of any commodity (including paper, glass, plastic, aluminium, steel). 52 % of world lead production is currently from secondary smelting, 48 % is from primary smelting of mined lead. The market value for lead is the lowest it has ever been.

• There is about 100,000 tonnes of lead in batteries on Australian roads (12.7 million). Some trucks have two batteries.

• 3.8 million batteries are scrapped each year in Australia. The average life of a car battery is 42 months (range 35-45 months) though some last for 6 years.

• The Australian battery recycling rate is 93­97% according to a Pasminco study, 85% according to the Industries Assistance Commission. Methods used to determine recycling rates vary. Recycling rates can exceed 1 ()() % (eg in Sweden) when stored or stockpiled batteries are returned.

• Australian Refined Alloys Pty. Ltd. recycles 2.4 million batteries in two plants, in Sydney and Melbourne, plus any other lead scrap. The remaining 1.4 million batteries are exported to NZ, Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan for secondary smelting.

Occupational Health

The average blood lead level of the Sydney ARA workers is 29.5 µg/dL, and steadily dropping due to the improved containment of lead fumes at the smelter, improved housekeeping and hygiene, financial incentives ($24/week ,'bonus for levels below 30 µg/dL) etc. Two and a half years ago, the average blood lead level of non-smoking workers was around 30 µg/dL while smoking workers averaged 50 µg/dL. Since then, smoking is banned on site and all workers remove work clothes, shower (washing hair and nails) and put on civvies in the clean room. Work clothes are laundered daily on site. Further improvements are planned to enclose the lead smelter in order to allow negative pressure to build up and improve the effectiveness of the extractor fan. The extractor fan waste is collected and recycled.