Lead is a soft, blue-grey metal with a high specific weight. Historically, lead has been applied in many different ways: it was used in paints, dyes, fuels and even personal care products. It also used to be a popular metal in the construction industry, particularly for water pipes because of its corrosion resistance (even the Romans used lead pipes). However, after it became known that lead is harmful to health and the environment, this application of lead stopped. Nowadays, the use of lead is limited to roofing and chimneys (lead sheeting) and as an electrode in batteries.
