There are hundreds of informal factories and workshops inside and on the outskirts of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The industry employs thousands of women and children. All day long women and children break used batteries to get reusable parts and tiny pieces of metal out of them. Once separated, these materials are sent to battery manufacturing factories and workshops that either reuse them or melt them to make other useful materials.
While breaking used batteries, or even playing, children inhale millions of fine carbon dust particles from the batteries throughout the day. Depending on how much work they do, each of them get between Taka 5-15 per day (US $1.00=Taka 60). It takes a young child 4-12 days to earn just one US dollar.
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| A woman holds her child, blackened by carbon dust. His nose bleeds due to infections caused by exposure to dust and pollution during play in the workshop in Korar Ghat located on the outskirts of Dhaka. Many women bring their children along so they can look after them while working |
Sylvia García 