No fewer than 400 children and women have been killed in Nigeria, following the outbreak of lead poisoning in two states between 2010 and 2015. AYONI M. AGBABIAKA reports on the effects and government efforts at tackling and putting an end to the scourge since the first outbreak in Zamfara state in 2010
Deadliest chemical poison
Lead poisoning is said to be among the deadliest chemical poisons as it affects mainly people living in mining communities and especially children as it destroys their vital organs leading to permanent disability and lack of mental capability and in most cases death. Victims are affected through contaminated air, water and food.
Lead is a toxic chemical that poses a vast range of dangers to human health and the environment if not property managed. Children and adult in virtually every region of the world are being exposed to unsafe levels of lead in the environment not only from artisanal gold mining but from different sources, such as paint, gasoline, batteries, toys and solder, and through different pathways such as air, food, water, dust and soil.
Industrial chemical disease
According to stakeholders reports at the second International Conference on Lead Poisoning Associated with Artisenal Gold Mining with special focus on prevention in Abuja yesterday, lead poisoning is the oldest and one of the most well-known of the industrial (chemical) diseases.“Nigeria is at the threshold of industrialisation and one of the known prices of industrialisation is chemical poisoning.
Unfortunately, “the diagnosis of chemical is poorly understood and often ignored in the developing countries in favour of the perceived more important infectious diseases,” Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole said.
“The recent Zamfara lead poisoning episode in Nigeria was a very severe case of lead toxicity in two local government areas -Ania and Bukkuyum of Zamfara state.
The occurrence “Unleashed one of the most unprecedented outbreaks of lead poisoning in human history.
He said: “The resultant mortality put at a conservative estimate of over 400 children within a very short period, aside from the morbidity, raised very serious concern. An outbreak of a lower scale was also reported in Niger state in 2015.
Multi-stakeholders partnership needed
However, a lot has been done to address this but like we all know response is multidisciplinary and requires multi-stakeholders partnership.
Nonetheless “a whole lot more is needed for prediction, control, prevention, surveillance, laboratories, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and to remain prepared,” Adewole said.
Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jibril, who was represented by Director of Public Control, said the Federal Ministry of Environment as the UNEP focal point and coordinating body for all chemical related issues in Nigeria and the institution that advises the federal government on chemicals management matters, plays active role in the implementation of relevant global initiative on heavy metals management including lead management like Minamata Convention on Mercury and Strategic Approach to International Chemical Management (SAICM).
“The ministry is actively involved in addressing the issues of heavy metals contamination arising from Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) in Nigeria.
Remediation
The Ministry in collaboration with critical stakeholders including the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, the Federal Ministry of Health, and Medecins Sans Frontiers carried out remediation of lead contaminated villages in Bagega, Zamfara state in 2013; and Shikara in Niger State between 2016 and 2017, the treatment of lead poisoned citizens of the affected villages, and the training on safety mining practices and techniques.
According to him, the Federal Ministry of Environment employs multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary, and broad based approach to chemicals management through the National Committee Management (NCCM) and its Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC).
National Action plan
“One of the key outcomes of this approach is the current collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Environment and the Ministries of Mines and Steel Development and Health to develop and implement the National Action Plan on Mercury use in the Nigerians Artisanal and Small Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) Sector Project.
“The goal of project is to improve national capacity and capability for the management of Mercury (and lead), through the preparation and implementation of a National plan,” he said.
In his keynote address, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Abubakar Bawa Bwari, recalled that lead poisoning associated with artisanal gold mining was first formally reported in Yargalma village in Bukkuyum Local Government Area (LGA) of Zamfara in 2010 and within six months, more than 400 were killed in the outbreak.
“Five years later, despite the massive environmental remediation work that was done in eight villages in Zamfara between 2010 and 2013; despite the use of cutting edge treatments for 5000 children in Zamfara State; and despite hosting the first international conference on lead poisoning in Nigeria in May 2012, another severe lead poisoning outbreak killed 30 children in 2 villages in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.
“The critical lesson we must learn is that no matter the scope of remediation and treatment, there will always be some recontamination, there will always be children who do not respond to treatment, and there will always be people willing to defy the dangers of mining gold using unsafe practices.
“Clearly, the only effective long -term solution in ending further lead exposure is through behavioural change, and the use of appropriate and economically technologies.
The cause
He pointed out that, “As you are well aware, artisanal miners currently use rudimentary tools for excavating gold bearing gravels and for dry crushing and grinding them, sometimes in their homes.
“The ground gold is thereafter washed in ponds shared by both humans and animals to recover the gold, resulting in the pollution of the water with lead bearing waste material which animals and humans later use.
Investigation on the Zamfara and Niger lead poisoning incidences showed they were caused by widespread lead contamination of residential areas, with the lead poisoning highest amongst children.
Government approach
“This administration has been quite proactive in dealing with cases of lead poisoning, and following the Shakira incident, government constituted an inter ministerial committee comprising Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Federal Ministry of Health and Federal Ministry of Environment amongst others to tackle the outbreaks in partnership with other key actors including the MSF, Zamfara and Niger state government, Local government councils of affected areas and leadership of host communities.
“As a result, a quick remediation of the contaminated areas was accomplished involving the removal of the contaminated topsoil to be replaced with clean topsoil. The exhumed topsoil was thereafter dumped in pits and covered up. This was followed up with MSF treatment of poisoned persons, mostly crawling children, with the oral chelating agent 2 and other drugs”Other government efforts
Other actions taken comprised embarking on enlightenment campaign on the use of safer mining and processing methods such as wet crushing and grinding using separate clothes for work and leaving them at the place of work after closing using personal protective equipment like nose masks to reduce dust intake.
“Basically, we encouraged miners to stop using household implements for gold processing and to stop processing in residential areas. Above all the enlightenment campaigns warned against using children to process gold or carrying children to gold processing centers.
“We are also determined to encourage the establishment of gold processing zone away from residential areas while also increasing the capacity of artisanal miners to use safer mining and processing method such as the borax and igoli method.
“We have continued to pursue with vigor our formalization exercise that groups artisanal miners into licensed cooperative and supports them with working tools and training on the use of safer mining and processing methods.
“We have also ensured the continuous monitoring of ASM gold mining activities for the purpose of monitoring lead, air and water to prevent lead and other heavy metal contamination of the environment.
