The juxtaposition of the man on the bicycle and the truck conveys the sense that toxics are ubiquitous--both interrupting and incorporated into the quotidian flows of everyday life. Exposure often provokes waiting. From the ways industrial activity slows flows of movement--air, transport, etc.--to the ways in which bodily exposure is complicated by an element of latency.
This image is powerful for the onlooker because the dust and fumes from the massive truck automatically make you stop breathing in an effort to avoid inhaling what isn't actually around you - similar to the "ouch" when you see another person hit their head. This feeling is known because it is experienced by everyone at some point, such as walking along the sidewalk when a car expelling a smelly dark cloud passes by. The accompanying text proves that the dust and fumes are even worse than initially assumed; it gives the reader a sense of both sadness and despair.
Although the explanation centers around the inevitability of lead exposure for the man on the bicycle, I felt that the strength of this image was that the truck seemed to be coming towards me, the viewer. The direction of the oncoming truck seemed to pull me into the image, making me feel the unavoidability of toxicity. Very powerful.
