Misle(a)d path?

There is lead in the air! Literally and physically. News coverage has been noting the dangerous levels of contamination from lead in our environment. Among other things leaden, batteries pose a big threat. As more and more households are resorting to batteries (inverters) to tide over increasing power cuts in the city, the question arises: how are spent batteries disposed? DO we have any norm? At present there are no such norms. Unlike many countries, India does not insist that manufacturers buy back the used products to ensure environment safety. The batteries are usually taken back by small agents who use crude methods to retrieve lead which is then recycled. When batteries are broken for recycling, lead is released as dust, which affects the respiratory system. Even kidney failure, brain disorders, etc have been cited among the health hazards. Lead from the batteries can even contaminate ground water. A car battery, which weighs around 14.5kg has 8.7kg of lead, while the batteries used for invertors have nearly 16kg. There is going to be an increase in production of batteries as renewable energy picks up pace. There is need to address the disposal issue. It also brings us to the biggest challenge of how to make solar PV viable on a large scale. While the general opinion has been that communities should opt for local units supplying power for their needs, the battery issue will become a huge problem. As some say, solar PV will be feasible only in megawatts and when tied to the grid, thus making away with the need for batteries. This is pursued in Germany and one can see almost 5% roofs with solar panels, these days. With battery storage interface domestic solar power is not viable financially or environmentally. However, others aver that the cost involved in production and transmission of electricity to the end user is much higher than the cost involved in availing the solar energy via storage batteries. We must look at decentralised generation and address the battery issue with strong regulation. What do you think?