The operations of a lead mine, now closed for twenty years, have poisoned the city of Kabwe, in Zambia, and brought thousands of people to their knees due to soil toxicity.
Almost a century of lead mining and smelting has transformed the city of Kabwe – with a population of around 300,000, located 130 kilometres from the Zambian capital Lusaka – from a thriving centre into a highly polluted one. This is due to the fact that the government-owned mine known as the Zambia consolidated copper mine (Zccm), which closed in 1994, released fumes carrying soil particles containing lead at dangerous levels, which then reached the city and surrounding communities. The situation has been further compounded by the lack of a remediation process following the mine's closure.
An analysis carried out by the World Bank in the context of a project completed in 2011 showed that lead pollution in Kabwe is severe, but little has been done to remedy the situation in the affected communities. The amount of lead in the soil is estimated to be ten times higher than US safety levels, reaching even higher peaks in some areas. This is because, while it was in operation, there were no laws regulating the emissions generated by the mine and smelter.
"Blood lead levels in children were found to be above the safety threshold of 5 micrograms per decilitre of blood. The majority recorded 45 micrograms per decilitre, a level that causes brain, liver and hearing damage, while in eight cases the recorded value was above 150 micrograms per decilitre, the point at which death is the most likely outcome," the report states. "Children, particularly infants, are the primary victims because they tend to ingest more, especially when they start playing outdoors, putting their hands in the soil and then in their mouths."
"Nearly 75 per cent of all children tested in Kabwe are in urgent need of chelation therapy, a medical treatment to remove metals or minerals from the body," according to the 2015 Copperbelt environment project report.
For example, twenty-one-year-old Mathews Daka, who spent two years searching for lead at the Kabwe dump alongside others with few employment prospects, today appears younger than his age and, following blood tests, discovered he is suffering from lead poisoning. "My condition has not improved and, worse still, I sometimes vomit and often feel tired. I have not been able to find the right medicines; the last time I bought them was in December 2016. I know I will have to live with this toxic thing in my body forever."
"Lead exposure will have a long-term effect on the people of Kabwe," said Ireen Chipili, communications and information officer at the Environmental management agency of Zambia. Community leader Charles Mulenga argues that young people in Kabwe need entrepreneurial training in order to become self-sufficient in the job market. "As a direct consequence of the mine's closure, many people lost their jobs and the social support of the Zccm has, in practice, come to an end. This has led to greater poverty, poor sanitation, poor drinking water quality, malnutrition, dysentery, cholera, malaria, HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and air pollution."
Despite the significant health risks, illegal lead scavengers often manage to find 14–15 kilograms of the metal per day, which is then resold on the black market for five dollars per kilogram. And due to the absence of laws regulating the management of the dump, desperate miners are sometimes arbitrarily arrested by the police and forced to pay up to 10 dollars to be released. Yet Kabwe's mayor, Prince Chileshe, has downplayed the studies, stating that "lead poisoning is not a real problem for Kabwe as it is neither widespread nor as serious as some reports claim. Only four areas of our district have tested positive for concerning levels of lead."
The unemployment rate in the central province, where Kabwe is located, stands at 10 per cent, the second highest in the country after the Copperbelt region (12.7 per cent), according to the 2014 Zambia labour force survey. This illustrates how the wealth of minerals, once the country's most prized asset, has become its greatest obstacle. The result is that the lives of communities have been ruined forever.
Translated by Camilla Soldati