#RecyclingLead for U.S. Car Batteries Is #Poisoning People
By Peter S. Goodman, Will Fitzgibbon and Samuel Granados Visuals by Finbarr O’Reilly and Carmen Abd Ali
Nov. 18, 2025
Excerpt: "The #AutoIndustry touts #BatteryRecycling as an environmental success story. Lead from old batteries, when recycled cleanly and safely, can be melted down and reused again and again with minimal pollution.
"But companies have rejected proposals to use only lead that is certified as safely produced. Automakers have excluded lead from their #environmental policies.
Battery makers rely on the assurances of trading companies that lead is recycled cleanly. These intermediaries rely on perfunctory audits that make recommendations, not demands.
"The industry, in effect, built a global supply system in which everyone involved can say someone else is responsible for oversight.
"#Nigeria, the economic engine of West Africa, is among the fastest-growing sources of recycled lead for American companies."
Read more [with visuals]:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/11/18/world/africa/lead-poisoning-car-battery.html
Archived version:
https://archive.ph/HqR18
#SEZ #EPZ #EconomicSacrificeZones #Pollution #EnvironmentalDamage #Greenwashing #EnvironmentalRacism #Africa #Nigeria #LeadPoisoning #Ford #Toyota #GM #PeopleAndPlanetOverProfit
