Lead

ead (Pb), a soft, silvery white or grayish metal in Group 14 (IVa) of the periodic table. Lead is very malleable, ductile, and dense and is a poor conductor of electricity. Known in antiquity and believed by the alchemists to be the oldest of metals, lead is highly durable and resistant to corrosion.
By the early 2000s, 88 percent of apparent U.S. lead consumption was in lead-acid batteries, which was a substantial increase from 1960 when only 30 percent of global lead consumption was in lead-acid batteries. Today, the other significant uses of lead are in ammunition, oxides in glass and ceramics, casting metals, and sheet lead.