Dhaka’s children face widespread lead exposure linked to battery-run rickshaws and unsafe recycling. Experts warn of irreversible harm and urge stronger enforcement, testing and safer waste management to prevent lifelong damage.
Dhaka’s children are facing a silent but devastating public health crisis as widespread lead exposure, linked in part to battery-run rickshaws and unsafe recycling practices, threatens to permanently damage an entire generation.
Nine-year-old Rohan was once an energetic schoolchild who loved running to class each morning. Over time, his parents noticed alarming changes. He struggled to concentrate, forgot lessons and appeared constantly fatigued. Medical tests later revealed dangerously high levels of lead in his blood.
Rohan had never handled a battery. Yet in Dhaka’s densely populated neighbourhoods, lead enters children’s bodies invisibly through contaminated soil, dust, air, water and food. By the time symptoms appear, the damage is often irreversible.
Battery-powered rickshaws have become an essential mode of low-cost transport across Bangladesh. However, experts warn that their rapid, largely unregulated expansion has created a major environmental and health hazard.
These vehicles depend on lead-acid batteries that typically last only one to one and a half years. When discarded, most are recycled informally in backyard workshops using unsafe methods. This releases lead directly into surrounding communities, contaminating homes, schools, playgrounds and markets.
Bangladesh currently has more than six million battery-run rickshaws nationwide, with over one million operating in Dhaka alone. Most remain unregistered, leaving authorities without accurate data on how many batteries are in circulation or where they are eventually disposed of. (Dhaka Tribune)
Around 70 percent of used batteries are recycled in unsafe facilities, with experts estimating that at least 15 percent of lead escapes directly into the environment. The country generates nearly 480,000 tonnes of lead-acid battery waste annually, yet only a small portion is safely handled.
Health experts stress that there is no safe level of lead exposure, particularly for children. Even very low levels can cause irreversible neurological damage, learning difficulties and behavioural problems.
The World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describe lead as a cumulative toxicant that builds up in the body over time. The CDC’s blood lead reference value of 3.5 micrograms per decilitre is not a safe limit but a warning threshold that signals the need for urgent intervention.
Lead exposure permanently damages developing brains, lowers IQ, slows growth and increases the risk of anaemia, kidney disease and long-term behavioural disorders. Pregnant women face additional risks, as stored lead can be passed to unborn children.
Bangladesh faces a severe lead pollution crisis, affecting millions of children and causing significant IQ loss and economic costs, primarily from informal battery recycling, paint, spices and cookware. This results in permanent neurological damage, learning and behavioural issues and health risks such as anaemia and heart disease, necessitating urgent multisectoral action and stronger regulations.
According to UNICEF, Bangladesh ranks fourth globally for childhood lead exposure, with an estimated 35 million children affected nationwide. (UNICEF)
Studies conducted in Dhaka’s slums between 2009 and 2012 found that 87 percent of children under two had blood lead levels above 50 micrograms per litre, levels strongly associated with stunting and impaired development.
More recent surveys conducted by icddr,b between 2022 and 2024 show the situation has worsened. About 98 percent of young children in Dhaka were found to have blood lead levels above the CDC reference threshold. Nationally, 38 percent of children have elevated levels, rising to 65 percent in the capital. Experts say these figures indicate near-universal exposure among urban children. (Dhaka Tribune)
Professor Steve Luby, former director at icddr,b and professor at Stanford University, warned that exposure is widespread and difficult to avoid without systemic change.
“Lead enters the body through air, food, soil, dust and even during pregnancy. Avoiding it is nearly impossible unless we tackle the environmental causes we can control,” he said.
Experts caution that without urgent action, Bangladesh risks long-term harm to children’s health, educational outcomes and economic productivity.
Specialists say lead exposure in Bangladesh is preventable if decisive steps are taken. They recommend strict enforcement of environmental laws regulating battery recycling and the immediate shutdown of illegal operations.
Routine blood lead testing should be integrated into the national health surveillance system to allow early detection and intervention. Contaminated soil, particularly at abandoned used lead-acid battery recycling sites, must be cleaned up and safely remediated, especially in residential areas.
Nationwide public awareness campaigns are needed to educate families, workers and local officials about lead risks and prevention. Experts further urge the promotion of safer battery technologies and the transition of recyclers into formal, regulated systems with proper environmental controls and occupational protections.
Capacity within the health system must be strengthened so healthcare workers can identify and manage lead exposure, particularly among pregnant women and children.
Experts also stress the need for reforms targeting battery-powered rickshaws. All such vehicles must be formally registered so authorities can track how many rickshaws and batteries are in circulation.
The extended producer responsibility system, under which manufacturers and importers are responsible for collecting and recycling waste, must be properly enforced. Companies should be compelled to retrieve spent batteries and ensure safe recycling, reducing reliance on informal smelters.
Bangladesh also needs a nationwide network of licensed, closely monitored battery recycling facilities across major districts, supported by incentives that channel used batteries into formal systems instead of illegal furnaces.
Experts note that the main obstacle is not policy design but weak implementation. Many environmental and waste management rules already exist but are rarely enforced. They stress the need to strengthen environmental standards, conduct regular inspections, penalise illegal recycling operations and sustain public awareness efforts so communities understand the dangers of lead exposure.
Only a coordinated response involving government agencies, industry, local authorities and communities can reverse the crisis.
Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan has described lead poisoning as a silent crisis and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to eliminating it by 2040. (BSS)
Environment Secretary Dr Farhina Ahmed said the national plan and the forthcoming national strategy will play a crucial role in protecting children and other vulnerable groups.
Additional Director General Md Ziaul Haque said the Department of Environment has been conducting regular enforcement drives across the country to curb lead pollution. He said the department had already shut down around 50 illegal and unsafe facilities nationwide last year, including informal battery recycling units, as part of monitoring, inspection and compliance actions.
“The Department of Environment is carrying out continuous enforcement operations against illegal and unsafe practices contributing to lead contamination,” he said, adding that monitoring and regulatory actions will be further strengthened under the national plan and the forthcoming national strategy.
Md Ziaul Haque also said the department is working in partnership with civil society and international organisations to address the crisis, including collaboration with YouthNet Global and Pure Earth Bangladesh to raise awareness, strengthen monitoring and support safer lead management practices.
“This is a public health emergency hiding in plain sight,” said Sohanur Rahman, executive coordinator of YouthNet Global. “Children are being poisoned not by a single incident, but by everyday systems we have normalised. Cheap transport cannot come at the cost of damaged brains and stolen futures.”
YouthNet Global has urged the government to fully implement the national plan, classify lead as a toxic substance, conduct a nationwide blood lead survey, close unsafe recycling units, expand testing facilities, strengthen laws and run sustained public education campaigns.
Bangladesh now faces a clear choice, experts warn. It can take decisive action to eliminate lead exposure or accept preventable, lifelong harm to millions of children. This crisis will shape the health, learning capacity and productivity of Bangladesh’s next generation unless swift action is taken.
