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Lead Poisoning in Nigeria |
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Zamfara occupies a significant place in the heart of Nigeria a wealth zone for the nation, it also has become a death zone and no thanks to the environmental crisis that is at the heart of the tragedy.
Lead poisoning is a terrible occurrence and Zamfara has had a great hit by it, resulting in the death of many people especially children whose lives have been caught off by the sheer negligence and mindless exploration of resources.
In this part of Nigeria, the ore that contains gold is also laden with lead. A substantial number of residents were extracting the gold by grinding rocks in flour grinders in their yards and homes — a process that generates cocktails of lead-laden dust. According to reports, the adult grinding the rocks might be a mother with a baby on her back, and the child might inhale the dust that way. Or the dust ended up on the ground — and on children's hands and in their mouths.
The history of this disaster can be traced to the initial crisis that sparked by a rise in gold prices, which soared from $600 per ounce in 2006 to nearly $1,900 per ounce in 2011 and the current value is about $1,300 per ounce. In a desperate attempt to realise more money, local residents began processing ore for gold.
Medical reports confirm that not less than 734 children below the age of five, out of 5,395 kids within the age bracket, have been confirmed killed by lead poisoning between 2010 and 2013 in Zamfara State and earlier this year, a bit frightening reocurrence was experienced.
Complete characterisation of the problem, remediation of all contaminated villages, recontamination as well as treatment of affected children are the major challenges facing experts in tackling the incident. Others include the poor implementation of safer mining practices, lack of continuous community awareness/monitoring activities and ineffective collaboration with stakeholders.
In view of this disastrous phenomenon, I think that three things must be seriously implemented for an effective response to the crisis. These are: 1. Medical care such as chelation therapy including health education 2. Environmental remediation and 3. Safer mining practices
Chelation therapy will only work with remediation (otherwise the child continues to live in a contaminated environment and ingest lead), and in the long term effective remediation requires safer mining practices to be introduced. |
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24 Comments
You have all spoken well. Thank you so much. As Yasmine rightly pointed out, efforts are being put in place to stem the tide. We will continue to be hopeful.
Posted 09-12-2014 20:14
I can't believe such things happen :/ unfortunately poor and unaware people end up as victims in these cases . Thank you
Posted 30-11-2014 22:59
Meaningful Article, thanks for sharing
Posted 30-11-2014 22:09
You have pointed out an apt issue of lead poisoning in mines.
Young & innocent children are the victims. We must make all efforts to protect them.
Posted 30-11-2014 17:37
After all ,, we all must unite to face these disasters as one strong kind hand
Posted 30-11-2014 07:06
Nice article bro , im with the mining policy change
Posted 30-11-2014 07:05
Love the article thank you so much
Posted 30-11-2014 05:27
Thanks for sharing)
Posted 30-11-2014 04:08
It saddens me that these kinds of things still happening. They should have a security in labor. Providing the workers with the safety equipment, and what about the mother carrying a baby that inhale the dust? Cmon, where is the regulation. I think that safety is the first priority in every area of work, especially in mining ore or golds. I hope the government or company not being profit-oriented and be more care to their people. Thank for sharing.
Posted 30-11-2014 01:51
this help me much
Posted 30-11-2014 01:15
very useful
Posted 30-11-2014 01:15
It is such a tragedy when hearing about number of mortality caused by heavy metal contamination. Have the goverment or NGO done something yet for this case? They should take a quick action
Posted 29-11-2014 22:50
usefull information. i will use in my next report
Posted 29-11-2014 16:37
Nice article bro. We hope the authorities will take necessary actions to curb this major issue.
Abel A.
Posted 29-11-2014 06:23
Thanks for the info
Posted 29-11-2014 03:20
I'm sorry that lead poisoning happened in Nigeria. Coming up with safe mining practices is of paramount importance. Keep us updated!
Posted 28-11-2014 21:18
by the way great article. good luck for the rest.
Posted 28-11-2014 20:22
Thank you for sharing, Atitebi!
Posted 28-11-2014 20:21
also they said that they are working with the state ministry of health to give health education and create enlightenment on the dangers of illegal mining
Posted 28-11-2014 20:21
Two treatment camps were established by health authorities to deal with the crisis. The World Health Organization, Medecins Sans Frontieres and Blacksmith Institute assisted with the epidemic.
Posted 28-11-2014 20:20
Thanks for sharing a different issue. It's really pathetic that mother with child in her back could be grinding the rocks. Sad! Regulations and lawas should ne drafted and implemented for safer mining practices.
Posted 28-11-2014 19:39
great article. thanks for sharing :)
Posted 28-11-2014 19:21
Useful article thank you :)
Posted 28-11-2014 19:00
Agree with u, thanks for this great article. very informative
Posted 28-11-2014 16:19