lead acid battery legacy contamination
lead poisoning and environmental cleanup
In the port city of Haina, near Santo Domingo, the community of Paraiso del Dios developed alongside a used lead-acid battery recovery plant. During the factory’s operational years, residents witnessed alarming health effects in their children: seizures, learning disabilities, and developmental delays.
A 1997 survey of several hundred local children revealed staggering results:
The Factory Closes, But the Danger Remains
When the factory shut down in 2000, operators attempted to contain toxic waste by creating an on-site repository, building a retaining wall, and filling nearby ravines with contaminated materials. However, after operators abandoned the site, uncontrolled scavenging over time destroyed the wall and released highly concentrated lead waste—some containing more than 30% lead—into the surrounding community.
Scrap and waste were sold, recycled, and even repurposed as construction material and fill in neighborhood homes. Children continued to play on the contaminated site, tracking toxic soil into their homes and exposing their families.
Global Recognition and TIFO Investigation
In 2006–2007, TerraGraphics International Foundation (TIFO) sampled the site after it was named one of the world’s top ten most polluted places. The findings were alarming:
- Contaminated waste piles: 30–45% lead
- Surface soils: 4,000 to >300,000 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) lead (U.S. EPA limit: 100-200 mg/kg)
1Establish a blood lead monitoring and follow-up program.
2Relocate all high-level wastes to a secure off-site repository.
3Contain lower-level soils in a controlled on-site repository.
4Redevelop the property as a public park with safeguards to prevent future exposure.
BLOOD LEAD MONITORING CONFIRMS THE CRISIS
A blood lead monitoring program initiated in 2007 revealed that:
80% of participants had levels greater than 10 micrograms per deciliter (g/dL) (U.S. CDC uses a blood lead reference value of 3.5 g/dL to identify individuals to receive prompt action)
24% had levels greater than 40 g/dL
7% had levels greater than 70 g/dL (the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s “level of concern” for lead in a child’s blood is 3.5 g/dL)
CLEANUP AND TRANSFORMATION
In 2008, the Dominican Republic government launched a cleanup with TIFO providing technical assistance.
By 2010, local authorities had transformed the site into an ‘ecological park’ and celebrated its opening with a public dedication ceremony. The Ministry of Environment presented the park as the first step toward a nationwide cleanup program, honoring the “heroes” of the effort with an ecological mural dedicated to the people and environment of the Dominican Republic.
Children observe soil sampling
Assessing contaminant depth
Checking heavy metal levels with a portable XRF soil analyzer
Lead battery waste from the site
Child in Paraiso del Dios
Removal of contaminated materials