Lead poisoning in Thiaroye Sur Mer

First, it took the animals. Goats fell silent and refused to stand up. Chickens died in handfuls, then en masse. Street dogs disappeared. Then it took the children. Toddlers stopped talking and their legs gave out. Women birthed stillborns. Infants withered and died. Some said the houses were cursed. Others said the families were cursed.

When an investigation was finally launched in Thiaroye Sur Mer, a town outside of Dakar, Senegal, what they found weren't the usual scourges of Africa -- what they found was lead -- lead from years of car battery recycling, that had contaminated the soil. Much of lead battery manufacturing and recycling has moved to the developing world, where regulations are lacking, and the locals are ignorant of the danger lead poses to their health. As we continue to buy more cars in North America, Europe and in the rapidly growing economies of the world, the poor will make, recycle and die for our love of cars.