Recycling your car battery sounds like an environmental success story. But behind some of the lead going into new batteries are factories poisoning the communities around them. In this episode of the Public Health Insight Podcast, Will Fitzgibbon traces a recycled lead trade connecting Nigerian factories with American automotive supply chains. He explains why lead-acid batteries remain in demand and how unsafe recycling can spread lead dust beyond factory walls into nearby homes, schools, and playgrounds. The trail leads to Ogijo, Nigeria, where workers and families live with the consequences of a global industry. Recycling can be done safely. Why are communities still paying the price when it is not?
References for Our Discussion
◼️Will Fitzgibbon: Reporter Profile
◼️Recycling lead for U.S. car batteries is poisoning people
◼️How we linked the auto industry to lead poisoning in Nigeria
◼️Lead poisoning: WHO fact sheet
◼️Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Lead
◼️CDC Updates Blood Lead Reference Value
◼️Nigerian battery recyclers pay for lead cleanup after Examination investigation
◼️The Panama Papers: Exposing the Rogue Offshore Finance Industry
◼️The auto industry was warned: Battery recycling was poisoning people
◼️Video: How the U.S. automotive industry fuels lead poisoning in Nigeria
Guest
Host & Producer
◼️Gordon Thane, BMSc, MPH, PMP®
Production Notes
◼️ Music from Johnny Harris x Tom Fox: The Music Room
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