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Anthropogenic lead pollution

On March 27th, 1961, Claire Patterson submitted his paper on ‘The  occurrence and significance of lead  isotopes in pelagic sediments’, in  which he first showed his concern about anthropogenic lead pollution.  It took him over ten years to convince the EPA that leaded gasoline was a threat to the world

Source: Tsaihwa J. Chow, C.C. Patterson, The occurrence and significance of lead isotopes in pelagic sediments, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Volume 26, Issue 2, 1962, Pages 263-308,

Lead warning on a gas pump at Keeler's Korner, Lynnwood, Washington
Lead warning on a gas pump at Keeler's Korner, Lynnwood, Washington
Image by Joe Mabel under CC BY-SA 3.0 license

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Full disclosure, I may occasionally borrow a sentence from Will Durant's Story of Civilization. I absolutely love that collection!