Brief

about the difference in their head count, village elders took them to see the dozens of graves they had dug outside the village. MSF contacted the Nigerian Ministry of Health, who called the United Nations, the CDC, and several nongovernmental organizations (NGO s) to determine why the children had died.

InThe culprit was lead poisoning. The village’s subsistence farmers found gold mining to be a lucrative trade and in order to make more money, they turned processing of the mined ore over to their wives. At home, the women pulverized the ore into powder, washed and dried it, and then mixed it with mercury to extract the gold. The dust created by the process poisoned their children and contaminated the soil.

Blacksmith Institute, the NGO tapped to remediate the soil, asked Sally Embrey to assist. Last year, Embrey worked in villages to oversee removal of contaminated soil and creation of a landfill in which to bury it. She coordinated crews of up to 60 villagers and government workers to remove the top layer of soil from each home. Workers bagged and transported the contaminated soil to the landfill and then brought in fresh soil to place in homes.

“Nigeria has put a ban on mining before, but it’s hard to stop,” says Embrey. “Ore processing in homes still goes on, but we have to be culturally sensitive. We don’t know what will happen after our emergency efforts end. It’s the missing piece.”

How cultural and social norms affect emergency efforts intrigues Embrey. She plans to pursue a doctorate in environmental health after she graduates from Rollins in May.—Kay Torrance 