Tainted ponds kill cattle and children play in contaminated fields in Nigerian lead crisis

Environmental damage looms in Nigerian lead crisis

DARETA, Nigeria — As masked Nigerian environmental experts examine a communal well in a village where more than 60 children were killed by lead poisoning, barefoot kids streaked with dust sit on the contaminated ground, running their hands through the silt and sucking on their fingers.

Even as a foreign nonprofit begins training villagers to clean up after illegal gold mining caused the poisoning, children still roam among toxic dirt piles. Livestock freely drink from a pond that kills animals.

Passivity is just one of the problems facing those hoping to get things under control. A corrupt federal government and an encroaching rainy season also pose problems.