UN urges clean-up following acute lead poisoning in Nigeria
Geneva/New York/Nairobi, 7 January 2011 - The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have released a report calling on Nigerian authorities to prevent further lead poisoning in northern Nigeria. The report recommends taking greater measures to limit ore processing activities at sensitive sites, such as water sources from which humans and livestock drink.
The report also calls for cleaning up polluted villages as soon as possible to ensure that children suffering from lead poisoning can return to their villages for recovery and follow-up care after receiving treatment.
Abnormally high rates of death and illness among children have been recorded since the beginning of 2010 in the areas of Bukkuyum and Anka in Zamfara State in northern Nigeria. Investigations by the Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit revealed that the cause is acute lead poisoning from the processing of lead-rich ore for gold extraction taking place inside houses and compounds. Over 18,000 people have been affected and 200 children have reportedly died as a result of the poisoning.
The new report is based on the findings of a sampling and analysis mission requested by the Federal Ministry of Health of Nigeria in September 2010. The mission was supported by four technical experts and used equipment from the Environmental Assessment Module (EAM), a mobile laboratory designed and assembled specifically for international deployment provided by the Government of the Netherlands.
The mission focused on determining quantities of lead in ground and surface water, building on previous investigations in Zamfara State. High levels of lead pollution were found in the soil, and mercury levels in air were determined to be nearly 500 times the acceptable limit.
Report Findings
Water: The mission found that drinking water from wells did not meet World Health Organisation (WHO) and Nigerian standards (10 micrograms per liter) for lead limits, and in at least one case exceeded this limit more than tenfold. Water in ponds was often highly contaminated. However, no boreholes were found to have been contaminated, indicating that lead pollution most likely remains confined to areas where processing has taken place, and has not yet spread throughout the groundwater.
Soil: In the four villages visited that have not undergone clean-up, the soil was often highly polluted with lead. Since young children readily ingest soil as part of normal hand-to-mouth behaviour, such high concentrations expose children to potentially harmful amounts of lead.
Air: The levels of mercury in air were found to be nearly 500 times the maximum exposure for non-industrial workers in the Netherlands.
奈及利亞北部的淘金，引發一場史無前例的鉛中毒事件爆發，導致至少200名幼童死亡，1萬8千人中毒。聯合國日前宣布了此數字並表示已派了一支緊急應變小組至札母法拉州(Zamfara)，評估「集體急性中毒」造成的衝擊，目前已有七座村莊被確認為汙染。在每起案例中，村民都徒手磨碎礦物淘金，同時也無意中將礦石裡的鉛釋放出來。
釋放至土壤中的鉛含量已多到對孩童致命，大多數的死者都是5歲以下，同時引發耳聾，眼盲，腦損傷和肌肉問題。美國疾病控制與預防中心(CDC)對死因進行了先期研究，並表示此問題已大到「CDC在全世界處理過的鉛重中毒中，史無前例的一起！」
根據一家協助清理的環境工程公司TerraGraphics的說法，在這些受污染村莊死亡的人數，比過去40年在世界各地還要多。「這真是嚴重到不可思議，而且非常令人擔心。」無國界醫師組織(MSF)緊急處理主任康尼(Lauren Cooney)表示，其中一個村莊30%的5歲以下孩童因中毒而死，「我們還是搞不懂完整的原因，我們預估這些村民會有中期和長期的健康影響。」康尼說。
由於這場災難，札母法拉州所有的礦區都被禁止數月。儘管回應被大雨阻擋，地方官員堅持污染情形已受到控制，大雨也造成這些偏遠的村莊難以深入。但是新起的污染案例還是不停地被報導。無國界醫生最近發現另外兩座有礦區的村莊，鉛含量已達有害程度，他們也認為總中毒人數已超過3萬人。
札母法拉地方政府特助撒達烏奇(Sadiq Abubakar Sadauki)在一場電話訪問中提到，一座名為桑基(Sunke)的小鎮，鉛污染程度非常高，大多死亡都在那裡。「問題不在於淘金，問題是處理過程」撒達烏奇說，「工人沒有機器偵測金礦和其他礦物，所以他們只得徒手」。
北奈及利亞的地方政府在今年3月第一次被警示此問題，當時許多札母法拉的Bukkuyum 和 Anka區的幼童突然抽蓄然後死亡。
無國界醫師(MSF)的醫生接獲通報時，原本第一時間推測是瘧疾或腦膜炎，但當治療無效時，他們轉而檢測重金屬。血液和土壤的採樣結果顯示，鉛含量高到超過檢測機器的最高極限。
孩童對於致命性的中毒特別沒有抵抗能力，因為他們體型小而且往往在被污染的塵土上嬉戲。聯合國表示，衝擊最大的村莊中兒童死亡率，比一般的難民營發生緊急狀況時還高出3倍。
無國界醫生(MFS)也檢測到成人的血液裡有超高鉛含量，雖然不是立即有致命影響，但會在往後的時間裡有嚴重的後果，包括臨盆時夭折、腎問題和男性不育症。
經過政府主導的清除計畫後，兩個村莊的受污染表層土壤已經移除，安全地棄置，並以乾淨的土壤取代。但是處理速度緩慢，有人擔心受污染的水源會在一段時間內仍舊有致命危險。
剛抵達札母法拉的聯合國緊急應變小組包含了世界衛生組織和聯合國兒童基金會的專家。他們備有機動式實驗室，希望能測出污染問題的擴散面積，並設計出一套因應計劃。聯合國表示，除了鉛以外，土壤也很有可能已被銅和汞污染，這兩樣金屬是被村民用來分開金礦和石頭粒子。
沒有留言:
張貼留言