who discovered lead acetate
how do you make lead acetate
how many tonnes produced each year in australia and the world

I'll try answering your question, collingwood.

It is unknown who discovered lead acetate, since it was in use in the
Roman era. It is probably as old in use as lead itself.

I’ll quote the Infoplease entry below about its making and usage:
“Lead acetate (Pb (C2H3 O2)2 · 3H2O) is made by treating litharge
(lead monoxide, PbO) with acetic acid. It is used as a mordant in
textile printing and dyeing, as a paint and varnish drier, and in
making other lead compounds.”

Sources:
Environmental History Timeline at Radford 
http://www.radford.edu/~wkovarik/hist1/1ancient.html

Entry on Lead Acetate
www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0829135.html

Lead history
http://www.nysclp.com/lead.htm

So far figures on current lead acetate production unavailable for the
regions you requested. Even current information for the United States
is not available. What I could get is old United States information.
For example, 407,000 pounds of it were recording produced by seven
manufacturers in three zones in 1980 by the Environmental Protection
Agency. It’s found in the link below, an Acrobat Reader document.

Environmental Health Perspectives Online
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/roc/ninth/rahc/leadacetate.pdf

This might help since it gives an over of the whole lead industry
itself. It may give an idea.
Lead Industry Overview document from Lead Development Association
International
http://www.ldaint.org/factbook/chapter4.pdf

lead acetate history, lead acetate ancient, lead acetate statistics,
lead acetate australia production, lead acetate production

Sorry if the information is a bit missing. I hope it will do though.

Chino F.

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Clarification of Answer by techtor-ga on 18 Oct 2002 07:41 PDT

I mentioned Litharge as an ingredient for making lead acetate. Here's
info about it in case you don't know yet.

From http://www.hyperdictionary.com/dictionary/litharge

Litharge - Also known as Lead monoxide; a yellowish red substance,
obtained as an amorphous powder, or crystallized in fine scales, by
heating lead moderately in a current of air or by calcining lead
nitrate or carbonate. It is used in making flint glass, in glazing
earthenware, in making red lead minium, etc. Called also {massicot}.