Residents of Kabwe have been poisoned for decades and now UN experts have called for an urgent clean-up.
the alarm bell over the toxic lead pollution from a former lead and zinc mine in Zambia, calling upon the Zambian government to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of local populations. The UN experts’ appeal came shortly before the Zambian general election on 12 August — and should prompt candidates to commit to a comprehensive clean-up of the contamination, if they haven’t done so already.
The matter is urgent and the problem grows every day. The former mine area contains more than three-million tonnes of waste from the mining process and about 2.5-million tonnes of waste from the smelter. Lead dust from these waste dumps, which are not covered, continues to blow over to nearby residential areas and threaten community health. A baby born today in Kabwe risks severe illness due to the extremely high levels of toxic lead deposited decades ago.
If the waste is not cleaned up, any progress made could be quickly reversed, as it will continue to spread its toxic dust across the area. Children who have been treated will be poisoned again as they return to polluted homes and schools.
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