Paraíso de Dios

Over spring break I went to the Dominican Republic for one of my classes and visited Paraíso de Dios. The area previously had a battery factory, and the company there practiced illegal disposal of the lead waste. This waste led to contamination of the surrounding neighborhood resulting in sickness and birth defects of the children there. Many children received a nutritional supplement to help eliminate the lead from their bodies, but some children did not receive proper treatment in time. It sadly led to decreased neural development and now prevents some children from being able to go to school. Once the factory was closed, the land was turned into a park. The led contamination remained until recent years when a proper clean-up was instilled. This article discusses in more detail what occurred in the neighborhood.