“An estimated 100,000 cobalt miners in Congo use hand tools to dig hundreds of feet underground with little oversight and few safety measures … And the mining activity exposes local communities to levels of toxic metals that appear to be linked to ailments that include breathing problems and birth defects, health officials say.” But how are you personally connected to a (child) labor story thousands of miles away? Well, the cobalt pulled from these hand-dug Congo mines is a “mineral essential to the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power smartphones, laptops and electric vehicles.” So it probably makes sense for you to use part of your current charge to read WaPo’s effort to trace the path from deadly mines in Congo to the palm of your hand. The Cobalt Pipeline.