Atlas of Contaminated Sites

Notable case, Bajos de Haina, San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic

Haina (Paraíso de Dios)

Bajos de Haina

A residential area next to a smelter that recycled car batteries. In 2006 it was among the ten most polluted places in the world according to the Blacksmith Institute; the contaminated soil was removed in 2008–2009.

Status
Remediated
Media
soil
Kind of site
battery recycling, smelter

Contaminants

Metals

Status

Remediated

Between December 2008 and March 2009 more than 6,000 m³ of contaminated soil were removed; according to Wikipedia blood lead has fallen to acceptable levels and Haina is no longer on the Blacksmith Institute's list of most polluted places.

Story

Baterías Meteoro, a smelter recycling car batteries, operated at Bajos de Haina. According to the United Nations, as cited by Wikipedia, the people of Haina had the highest level of lead contamination in the world.

Between December 2008 and March 2009 the Blacksmith Institute coordinated the removal of more than 6,000 cubic metres of contaminated soil from the site. After the work, residents' blood lead fell significantly.

Timeline

  1. 2006The Blacksmith Institute lists Haina among the world's ten most polluted places.
  2. 2008Removal of contaminated soil begins (December).
  3. 2009Removal completed (March).

Health

Wikipedia reports that after the cleanup blood lead fell significantly to acceptable levels, without giving values.

Remediation

  1. 2009excavation and removalRemoval of more than 6,000 m³ of contaminated soil, coordinated by the Blacksmith Institute.

From the literature

Species that acted on one of this site's contaminants in at least one study. The list is automatic and takes no account of this site's soil, concentrations or climate.

Plants

Fungi

The rest are on the contaminant pages.

Sources

  1. Bajos de Haina, Wikipedia, 2026

Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.