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During the plague years, airborne lead levels in Europe fell to 0. When the sickness came, it caused massive social upheaval in the populations it infected, sh
by hprotagonist 7y ago
During the plague years, airborne lead levels in Europe fell to 0.
When the sickness came, it caused massive social upheaval in the populations it infected, shutting down entire human industries as ravaged communities went into damage control.
One of these affected industries, according to historian Alexander More from Harvard University, was lead mining and smelting by medieval workers – and thanks to his team's new study, we've got more than historical records to show that.
https://www.sciencealert.com/ancient-ice-dating-from-the-black-death-challenges-the-idea-of-natural-lead-levels https://www.sciencealert.com/ancient-ice-dating-from-the-bla...
- ajross 7y agoThis was a little different. Lead levels were due to iron smelting -- the production of new iron from ore. As the population dropped, it became more economical to recycle already smelted iron that wasn't being used any more (because its owners were, y'know, dead). So there was no market for ore for a few decades. The pollution levels in that case reflect a rapid change in a single industry due to what amounts to a buffer overflow, not economic activity per se.
- greglindahl 7y agoChina also has mini-mills that process steel scrap. They are cheaper to run than iron smelters.
- baybal2 7y ago> Lead levels were due to iron smelting Not only iron, but silver as well