BATTERING THE ENVIRONMENT

Electric cars, long promoted as a way to reduce vehicular smog, could create additional environmental problems because of the lead- based batteries that power them, say researchers of Carnegie Millon University in Pittsberg, US. Emissions from mining, smelting and recycling of lead pose serious threat to public health. According to an article by the researchers, due to appear this month in Science, even an electric car made with advanced technology would push as much lead into the environment as a tiny Geo Metro automobile burning gasoline with lead additives that were eliminated in the '80s.