Toxic Transition
How the world's largest cobalt producer has allegedly poisoned communities for years
EIA US and Premi Congo’s investigation into cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) exposes the toxic underbelly of the world’s energy transition and offers pragmatic recommendations to correct its course.
The breakthrough 3+ year investigation connects large-scale analysis of medical records, independent air pollution monitoring, geospatial intelligence, interviews with dozens of affected community members, and corporate insiders’ knowledge to document a severe public health crisis apparently caused by the world’s largest cobalt producer. The investigation ties the rapid growth of the world’s largest cobalt producer and the booming production of electric vehicles (EVs) by some of the world’s largest car manufacturers to what appears to be air pollution spanning multiple years, impacting dozens of families and workers.
Check out our interactive report summary here. It walks through the main takeaways of the investigation, provides an interactive map and photos of the focus area, and more.
EIA is taking the findings of our investigation directly to major automakers whose cobalt supply chains are linked to toxic pollution in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Sign the petition to help us show these companies that consumers expect clean cars and responsible supply chains.
