Used Lead-Acid Battery Recycling
Haina Dominican Republic
Bajos de Haina is a community in the Dominican Republic that is situated very close to an abandoned lead smelter. In 2000, the Dominican Secretary of Environmental and Natural Resources identified Haina as a national site of significant concern. According to the UN, the population showed indications of lead poisoning. Over 90% of Haina’s residents were found to have elevated blood-lead levels.
Paraiso de Dios is a community located in the municipality of Haina, seven kilometers west of the capital, Santo Domingo, and just west of the bridge crossing the Haina River. The former MetaloXsa Lead-Acid Battery Recycling facility occupieds a 0.45-hectare site, which is located on the top of a hill with a view of the Rio Haina, about 300 meters south, which drains directly into the Bay of Haina. A lack of environmental safety controls at the MetaloXsa facility had caused substantial contamination of the surrounding soil and waterways. Three sides of the site are bordered by homes with dirt floors. Paraiso de Dios is very hilly, and rainwater runoff from this site travels east and south through a highly populated residential neighborhood to the Rio Haina and then to the Bay of Haina. Lead levels in soil throughout the community exceeded US EPA limits for lead by over 10,000 times, some reaching a lead content of 50%.
Project Strategies
Terragraphics Environmental Engineering, in partnership with Blacksmith Institute and the Inter-American Development Bank, designed an intervention for the site with an approximate timeline of two years. In 2007, Blacksmith led the formation of a stakeholder group, conducted meetings with possible funders, and initiated community outreach and education programs. The stakeholder group consisted of the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, MetaloXsa, and community members, among others, and met regularly to discuss project progress and build consensus on appropriate intervention and remediation activities. In the first year, Blacksmith held community education days encouraging community members to adopt appropriate safeguards to mitigate their lead exposure, and conducted additional blood testing.
Excavation of the site occurred from December 2008 through February 2009. Over 6000 cubic meters of principal threat material were removed from the community and transported to an industrial site for storage in an environmentally sound, monitored pit adjacent to another lead smelter for future processing. In conjunction with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, local crews and contractors were hired and trained, a process enacted to build capacity within the Dominican Republic to perform hazardous waste removal operations, the first of its kind in the country. In addition to removing waste from the formal industrial site, community walkways and backyards were also excavated and backfilled with clean sand and soil. The main pit where the majority of the waste was stored became a public park in late 2009.
In mid 2010, a second round of soil excavations was conducted in contaminated houses and streets surrounding the main site. Under the supervision of Terragraphics Environmental Engineering, another 4,000 cubic meters of soil with elevated lead levels were removed and disposed of properly.
Outcomes and Follow Up
Blacksmith Institute, along with its partner organizations, was able to successfully remove the sources of environmental pollution in Haina. The physical remediation of the polluted soil at this site successfully reduced exposure levels. Crews of local laborers were involved throughout the process, laying the groundwork for a sustainable solution. Blacksmith continues to monitor the blood-lead levels of the children in the community. Additionally, by educating the public about the dangers of lead pollution and ULAB recycling, the possibility of recurrence of lead pollution at this scale is diminished.
