Daniel Xu, October 29, 2013
By the end of this year the last primary lead smelter in the United States will be closing. According to a press release by the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), the Doe Run facility in Herculaneum, Missouri plans on closing its doors in December. The smelter has existed in the same location for the past 121 years and is currently the only facility of its kind that can produce lead bullion from raw ore. Other smaller, secondary smelters only have the capability of retrieving lead from used items such as ammunition or batteries.