Summary
Overview
An investigation by The New York Times and The Examination reveals how recycled lead batteries powering American vehicles come at a devastating human cost. While the U.S. auto industry promotes battery recycling as environmentally friendly, the reality involves dangerous, unregulated lead smelting operations in Nigeria that are poisoning entire communities, with testing showing contamination levels 20 times worse than America's worst lead disaster.
The Origins of a Hidden Supply Chain Investigation
New York Times reporter Peter Goodman partnered with The Examination's investigative team to trace the global lead battery recycling industry. With zero prior knowledge of the sector, Goodman took on what became the most challenging reporting assignment of his 25-year career, attempting to connect a public health catastrophe in West Africa to the American auto industry through a deliberately opaque and secret supply chain.
- Goodman knew absolutely nothing about recycled batteries before beginning the investigation
- The investigation focused on tracing lead from Nigerian smelters to U.S. battery manufacturers through secretive supply chains
- Lead recycling supplies car batteries found in new and used cars at major U.S. retailers like AutoZone, Home Depot, and Walmart
- The U.S. has run out of domestic lead supply, forcing the industry to source from countries like Nigeria
" I knew zero about recycled batteries. And that's rounding up. "
" I found myself taking on what, quite honestly, was the most difficult reporting assignment in my career. "
Witnessing Environmental Devastation on the Ground in Nigeria
In Ogijo, just north of Lagos, Goodman witnessed horrifying conditions at lead recycling operations. Workers without protective equipment used machetes to break apart old batteries by hand, while massive furnaces sent toxic smoke directly into surrounding villages. The stark contrast between these primitive, dangerous operations and the automated, controlled facilities in the United States revealed the true cost of cheaper lead sourcing.
- Workers break apart batteries shirtless with machetes and no protective gear, while acid spews in every direction
- Smaller operations dump battery acid directly into local waterways
- Lead dust and smoke escape openly from furnaces through gaps in corrugated metal roofs into nearby communities
- Families living next to factories reported constant coughing, indigestion, gastrointestinal distress, and unrelenting headaches
- Schools are located literally next door to these polluting factories
" You can just sense it. Like, you don't need some sort of PhD in environmental science to understand that it's not a good idea to have no safety goggles, to have no gloves, to not have a shirt on, to be taking a machete, slamming it into an old battery with acid spewing out in every direction. "
" My walls are black and you could see it just the smoke is so intense and the impacts of this are just so obvious and so palpable that it was impossible to not be moved by this. "
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