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Michael Mullady – Children of Lead
At an altitude slightly above twelve thousand feet, in the Central Andean region of Peru, pollution is a fact of life for the inhabitants of La Oroya. Since 1922, the city of La Oroya has been exposed to toxic emissions released from the Doe Run Peru metal smelting plant. Doe Run Peru is a subsidiary of Missouri-based Doe Run, the world’s largest primary lead producer and the world’s second largest total lead producer. Doe Run is part of the privately held New York-based Renco group. Peru’s state mining company Centromin operated the 80-year-old La Oroya facility for 25 years before Doe Run bought it in 1997. The smelter processes concentrates, producing 11 metals and nine by-products, including copper, lead, zinc and silver.
In July of 2007, I had my first glimpse of La Oroya and at that instant I knew I had to make sense of what lay before me. As the rain beat against the bus window, there was a sudden stark change in landscape. The rich farm lands and endless mountain ranges faded as we entered a deep valley. That defining moment, what I was about to encounter, changed my life. It was unlike anything I have ever seen before; what appeared to be snow was ash overlaying black mountainsides. It was a dark and conflicting place and I was overwhelmed with a sense of urgency.
A Health Ministry study from the government of Peru showed that 90% of the children tested had lead poisoning, a condition, which causes mental retardation, hyperactivity, liver and kidney disease and even death. Lab studies revealed that many of these children had levels of lead in their bodies four times greater than what the World Health Organization considers the normal amount. In addition to brain damage, children are at high risk of developing lung cancer as well as other respiratory ailments, skin conditions and digestive disorders. As the plant continues to release lead, copper, zinc and sulfur dioxide into the air on a daily basis, generations of young children will be exposed to environmental and health risks.
This work evolved from my personal interest in documenting environmentally themed social issues. I hope to use this project as a base for the begging of my book project documenting pollution on a global level. Children Of Lead has yet to be published. I am looking to find the right outlet to publish this type of story in print or the support from a publication to return and continue working on the project. I hope to eventually have it published in print, not for myself, but for the people I documented. They let me so deep into their lives, in the times of joy and the times of sorrow, and in the most intimate and personal moments when they opened up to me it was because they truly understood the injustice they were facing and wanted the world to hear their cries.
Bio:
Michael Mullady is a native of Northern California currently living in San Francisco.
Michael’s longtime fascination with story telling and the human condition transitioned him naturally into photojournalism. Michael passion for photography lies in long-term documentary projects and he has a specific interest in environmentally themed social issues. Michael is a firm believer that documentary photography is more about who you are a person, then who you are as a photographer and considers himself a visual humanitarian.
Michael’s work was recognized in the 2009 PDN Photo Annual and was awarded the Marty Forscher Fellowship for Humanistic Photography from the Parson’s School for Design in NYC. In 2008 and 2009, Michael’s portfolio was awarded College Photographer Of The Year from The White House News Photographers Association and he was named National Press Photographers Association College Photographer Of The Year in 2007.
Photographs: Michael Mullady
Website: www.michaelmullady.com
Editor’s Note:
Please only one comment per person under this essay.. Further discussions should take place under Dialogue..
Many thanks… david alan harvey
Michael,
your images address an important issue that would otherwise be overlooked or ignored. You stir up our comfort zones with strong, esthetic images that show a horrible truth that we would rather forget than accept.
Good photojournalism can be entertaining, it can be informative, but if it is well done, then it is also a pain in the bottom!
You achieved all of this very well!
Big thumps up and respect!
Good luck for your future projects!
Reimar
A very strong series, Michael. It’s very easy to fall into rhetoric but your story seems to be OK. My compliment
This is great work, and I hope that the net outcome of publishing here is to motivate you even further in your long-term pollution project and to find assistance with that.
As far as the essay is concerned, in addition I would have liked to see at least one larger simple daylight landscape – a Burtynsky-style attempt at showing the scale both of the pollution and the economic impact of the plant, if that makes sense.
The best of fortune. It’s a noble purpose.
speechless.
your skill as a photographer makes this story all the more meaningful, impactful and tear-jearking.
thought provoking work.
This is simply disgusting. How is this company not held responsible for this? From their website we get this:
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The people of Doe Run, more than 4,000 around the world, care deeply about what we do and how we do it. We take our responsibilities to our families, our co-workers, our communities, and our environment seriously. Wherever we operate, we recognize we have a responsibility to contribute to the improvement of those communities, and we do so by implementing environmental management programs; supporting local schools; and by providing health care, recreation, and other public services.
Our responsibility to the community also includes ensuring that our employees have a safe environment in which to work, and we are proud that our employee safety performance is well above the industry average.
———————————————————
Jim, you are so wrong. You know, maybe we can’t change things now but we can be aware. We need to be kept aware of who is doing what in this world.
dope :))))))))
( dope=right on)
just to make sure…
rain in grecolandia today
Wow, this website is fantastic for those of us who are passionate about photojournalism, thank you Mr. Harvey. These discussions we have here are so needed in our industry, and I am thrilled we are talking.
I remember getting the “hard news” photography assignments in college and being disgusted that 30 kids would run out with their $3,000 digital cameras and shoot photographs of homeless people for a grade. To me, the difference between preying on our subjects and helping them is more about what we do after we take the photographs. I could cite countless examples of photographers who come back from an assignment and pursue publication with a personal agenda. They produce countless articles, exhibits, presentations, meetings with corporate heads and politicians, etc… all to make their photographs seen, heard, and responded to. Taking the photographs is only half the battle if we take our jobs seriously and treat our subjects with true humanity.
In that vein, Mr. Mullady, I hope you return to Peru often and expand on this story as much as possible. I want to see those that work at the factory, from the corporate heads, to the factory floor laborer. I feel like these photographs represent a small fraction of an even more amazing story. I want to sit down and read pages of information and individual stories to give me a true understanding of the complexities behind these photographs of suffering. Without a lengthy, deeply researched, article written by a journalist (or yourself) we can only scratch the surface here. I think you should pursue publication in as many different mediums and for as many different audiences as possible. I would love to see you try getting these photographs into the hands of the companies responsible. Show them that their profits affect an entire community. Perhaps, give them options for change, research companies that have taken the responsible route (if they exist). Our job is to illuminate and inform the public consciousness (or maybe more like the public conscience). Anyone who denies photojournalism’s power to inform change in the real world is blinded by cynicism.
Thank you for sharing these photographs with us Michael (and David). However, the often jaded audience here is mostly photographers and industry people, think big!
*That isn’t to say we’re not making a good step right here at Burn. I just spent 2 hours looking at these photos, writing a comment, and doing some much-needed self-analysis instead of watching a stupid TV show on Hulu and drinking a beer. Take that for what it’s worth.
Thanks again everyone for taking the time to look at this story and to write a response. I am grateful to David for posting this piece on Burn and for this impressive community of people who are both supportive and incisive.
Michael, Thanks for expanding upon your earlier comment. I would agree, that photographing people who don’t agree to be photographed (especially if they are mourning or in moment of crisis) is a very difficult and sometimes unbearable thing to do. It is however indeed part of the job and unfortunately deadline pressures, shooting in conflict zones and many other factors make it a reality for many photojournalists. It’s seemingly a similar battle many of us go though, whether on assignment or not, when caught in these vital moments and faced with these questions such as, will I be doing them any good by taking the photograph? Sometimes it’s a thin line, and in our most susceptible moments it can be terrifying. Every situation is different and every person with a camera is different, I can only say that for this image questioned there was depth. I hope that’s apparent in my work. Making one mistake in a tight community can get you blacklisted. If that were the case, the image would unquestionably not be worth it. I am a very sincere person when working and at this level of involvement with a story, taking any image would not be worth causing someone more grief. The inroads you build into a community, sometimes come through the acceptance of one individual making every moment in the field imperative. There was not a reporter with a notepad after the fact because the reporter was somewhere in a cubicle and the notepad had something we forgot about regarding a storm or tragic everyday occurrence or a team loosing or just maybe a similar story somewhere else in the world, scribbled on it.
These images have not been published in Peru. While in Peru upon completion of this work, I spoke with someone at El Comercio, Peru’s largest circulation newspaper. There seemed to be little interest from them. This smelter has been operating under that same conditions for many years and Peruvians are well aware of the situation. I feel that more importantly then Peru, it’s critical to get outsiders to see what’s happening in La Oroya. The images were shown in a gallery put on by the Peruvian Society for the Environment. The money raised in the gallery went directly to the organization, which is working with the children in La Oroya. While Peruvians are well aware of the issue, most people outside Peru have no idea about these peoples plight and perhaps the right person would be outraged after seeing my images and take a step towards positive change. Sometimes all it takes is one person. One outraged politician, or one person involved with a health care NGO, or one person with enough money to do something themselves. Either way, this work is about action and reaction. I have taken the action to document this now what will be the reaction.
You mention the tear in front of the chimney being an iconic image, if that is the case, it would only validate me not publishing the work in Peru even more. I however, have never seen that poster nor have I herd of that image being iconic. I would be interested in finding or seeing a copy of that poster you mention, or the iconic image.
@ Bjarte. re: “Are all the people in this village silent mourners and victims, unable to do anything about this deadly problem?”
Bjarte, you have brought up a very good point, one that others have also mentioned in this thread, suggesting showing another side to the story. These are great points and shooting factory workers and local activist will be much of my focus should I return. I do feel however, that based on your statement you have either not taken the time to really look at the work or you are a bit on the surface, naively blasting away so many questions. I find it challenging to explain something that’s so highly interpretive, but to be literal for the purpose of an explanation; there are 4 of 14 images where a subject is mourning, that’s less then 1/3. I withdrew some more graphic images simply for that reason. I would hope that you and everyone else could see some of the hope in my work. Whether it’s Nataly washing clothes with her mother, continuing on with a seemingly normal existence despite her horrible condition. Or Joel as he struggles of step down his doorsteps, determined to push forward and get to school in time. These kids don’t pity themselves so you should not either. You should realize that these children are the basis for this project because there is hope for them. Maybe if not them, then for the generations that will come. This was my intention and as I stated in my story summary, this is a project about the children, los ninos del plomo, this is their time, time for you to listen with your eyes and expose your heart.
@Bjarte. Re: Who are the workers, those who NEED the work?
Most all these families photographed are connected to the company someway. In some cases, the father worked at the factory. In some cases, the family received gifts from the company. In some cases, the people were formerly employed at the plant. In all cases, the people had some kind of connection to the company, which made photographing there extremely difficult. The people I met who were currently employed at the factory, even knowing how the plant affected their children, would not be photographed. That job is everything to them, and as horrible as it seems, their main concern is to keep their job above all else. The people who were not employed were often times bribed with gifts, such as a broom on Christmas or a facility were they can shower once a week. These are all things the company does to divert pressure off them to follow through on their environmental remediation plan and update the smelter. Without going too into detail, there were times when subjects of mine would not let me visit anymore because they had been threatened. The company has eyes everywhere in that town. The reason that La Oroya exists is because of the smelter and every resident has some connection to it.
@David Bacher: “This style of photography may have been done before (NPPA)”
What does that mean? What hasn’t been done before but more importantly I can’t figure out the significance of your NPPA reference.
@ Frank Michael Hack. Re: How have these people’s plight been furthered by what you are doing? Who is the net beneficiary of your work?
@ Jim Powers. Re: These photos can’t really help the plight of these children. Perhaps, though, they can advance the photographer’s career.
People here have all ready responded to both your comments far better then I can, so I will keep it short. You both seem a little outrageous but I find your comments might hold some truth upon a different interpretation. I would only hope these images advance my career because I live for telling these stories that need change. I want to make a career being a photographer who does something real with a camera. Many photographers mentioned earlier in this thread that has implemented some change in the communities they documented, surely did not make those kinds of changes immediately or when they were students. I know, while different roads were taken, it was a long journey for most of them to get to the established position they are in now, and it’s now that people listen to them. If this story could not only raise awareness about La Oroya but also show my intentions and capabilities as a photographer, then all the better. I hope that would be the case. All I sincerely want is too find a way to tell this story and other similar stories and share them with the world. Beyond that, I would vouch that doing this kind of work is actually the contrary to what you might think of as “benefiting” for an aspiring photographer. If your seeking to advance your career, i.e. getting work and making money, you are far better off learning to light portraits or anything else besides social documentary. I would be bewildered to find anyone doing social documentary work for a personal benefit. I can’t see how living like a bum, sacrificing relationships, getting robbed, risking your life and spending most of your time alone in some fucked up place seems appealing unless your heart and mind tell you there is no other option. Also, if you have a conscious, this work can be emotionally destructive. Carrying the burden of helping the people I photograph, in my most vulnerable moments, has haunted me. Like a knight returning home from battle, only with the swords of a thousand fallen soldiers, struggling with every step to push on. To make sure those deaths were not in vein, and so his people would know their stories, even if it will ultimately only caused them more pain. It would be easier to drop those swords and to return home empty-handed, then to return home only to have people question his motives for showing the effect of such a disaster. But for that one knight, who was the witness, there was no question. It was too important to be forgotten and against all odds, if nothing be done, at least people will see the blood that blanket the swords. So next time they hear about a battle, they will think about that blood and know that what’s happening is real.
@ Bob Black “to use his talents and gift as a visual storyteller to speak about the plight of a particular group of people that most of us are either unaware of or uninterested in.”
Many of you said some remarkable things, I am very thankful of that. Bob, you are spot on. This is what I’m all about, inside and out. I’ll never let go of it, no matter what people say, never. Your kinds words and others are much appreciated.
I find photography to be an instinctual and a very personal process, one of not only understanding the world around you but also better understanding yourself. The world we live in is filled with beauty, love and life. It is also plagued by war, environmental destruction, famine, illnesses and death. Most people living in their western bubbles would only know the first part. A traveling man once wrote, life is a book, those who stay in one place only read one page. It’s for those people, the ones blinded by their own self-absorbed lifestyles, that I share this page from my book. It’s just one fragment, a small piece of the world outside our own, and a small piece of a very larger puzzle. A puzzle that perhaps once completed could be revolutionary.
La Oroya has been classified as one of the world’s ten most polluted places. This was part of the original reason I was insistent on going there. The larger project I speak about would be documenting the 10, perhaps 20, most polluted places to live in the world. This is the long-term project I intend to work towards. I feel that by documenting similar issues in other countries, a wider audience would be reached and thus able to relate. As horrible as the situation is in La Oroya, there is so much injustice happening in the world, it’s been challenging to get someone to care about just one. I hope by documenting issues around the world focused on this theme, I might really be able to do something extraordinary. It’s at that level which I could see an organization evolving from the work and truly influential people getting involved. My ship has already sailed I’m just waiting for the wind to come.
Thanks again everyone. Be well.
Michael
Also, I forgot to mention, cheers to all you who linked this story on your blog!