The Cost of Our Car Batteries: Lead-Poisoned Workers

A new investigation finds the US auto industry's reliance on cheap recycled lead from Nigeria is poisoning entire communities. With environmental regulations tightening in the US and elsewhere over the last 30 years, the auto industry has turned to recycled lead from countries with looser enforcement, including Nigeria, per the New York Times. In the heart of Nigeria's lead-recycling industry, the town of Ogijo, harmful levels of lead were found in all 16 workers tested, as well as 8 out of 14 children and 41 out of 56 adults who took part in the study. Dust and soil samples had lead levels up to 186 times higher than what's typically deemed hazardous.

The US brought in enough lead from Nigeria in 2024 to make millions of car batteries, including for companies such as Ford, General Motors, Tesla, Amazon, Lowe's, and Walmart. The auto industry claims battery recycling is environmentally friendly—but it refuses to use only lead that's certified as being produced safely. Most car companies didn't respond to the Times' findings about tainted lead from Nigeria, though Volkswagen and BMW said they would look into it. Almost all of the lead recycled in Africa is used to make the electrode plates that are used in batteries, but because lead from various sources is meshed together during manufacturing, it's impossible for consumers to know exactly where the lead in their car batteries came from.

The Nigerian government doesn't seem to be terribly capable of keeping tabs on any of this, given local corruption and a lack of basic health services. The government did shut down five smelters, including True Metals, in September, after researchers reported that most people with high blood-lead levels had inhaled particles that have come out of the factories—but the plants were back in business just days later. "The government always says, 'No, no, no, just give them time. Let's get them to change,'" says the local king. More from the Times on their testing regimen. Vox, meanwhile, has suggestions on ways to mitigate the issue, including placing more of the onus on battery manufacturers by allowing them to sell new batteries only if they also accept old ones to send to licensed recyclers.