Abstract:Knowledge of the changes in a material’s function, form, and location during the transfer and transformation of materials to generate human services will improve our understanding of how humanity interacts with the environment and of how services are formed by human activities. We compared lead’s anthropogenic and biogeochemical cycles and found that the services, pathways, and changes in form requiring the most attention. We traced lead through its life cycle and identified the changes in its functions, forms, and locations by examining technology and engineering information. Lead ore and scrap were the two main anthropogenic sources of lead. When lead provides human services, its main functions included the storage and delivery of electricity, anti-corrosion treatments, and radiation protection; the main forms of lead in these products were Pb, PbO₂ and PbSO₄, and the main location changed from lithosphere in central China to regions in eastern China.

Key words: service economy; material flow analysis; anthropogenic cycle; human activity; life cycle; transformation