You are probably within a few feet of some lead right now. It sits in the starter battery of nearly every car, electric models included, in the backup power rooms of hospitals and data centres, and behind the walls of every X-ray suite. It is also the most recycled product in the United States, recovered mostly from spent batteries. So it came as a surprise to many when Washington added lead to its Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals in November, a label usually reserved for metals in short supply. Lead is not in short supply