Lead dust storms

Image

License

Creative Commons Licence

Contributors

Contributed date

November 28, 2018 - 9:27pm

Critical Commentary

I chose this screen shot from the documentary film "The Lead Zone" because it poignantly captures the inevitability of leaded dust inhalation at the Port of El Callao.

  • In this image, we see an elderly man forced to stop his bicylce in the middle of a large boulevard at the Port of El Callao, Peru as a truck backs into a mineral storage yard to his right. With the friction of tires, the dust below the truck rises to encase the man in a cloud of particulate as he patiently waits.
  • Just before, Camila, a resident of a nearby barrio, explained to the camera how the dust-- leaded by leaks from mineral storage, transport, and robbery--enters into suspension due to the passing trucks. She calls them polvaderas– dust storms. Residents who must use this road can't help but incorporate these suspended particulates in their bodies: they have to breathe. 
  • As if to demonstrate Camila's narrative, the scene of the man on the bicylce occurred. The tires lade the air with dust. The dust hangs over him. He waits, he must breathe. 

 

Source

Author (Stefanie Graeter)

Cite as

Author (Stefanie Graeter), "Lead dust storms", contributed by Stefanie Graeter, Center for Ethnography, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 28 November 2018, accessed 20 April 2024. http://centerforethnography.org/content/lead-dust-storms