Source M.S.F
Introduction
In
March 2010, the international humanitarian organization Médecins Sans
Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, MSF) discovered an outbreak of lead
poisoning in remote villages in Zamfara State, Nigeria. More than
17,000 people were severely poisoned and 400-500 children died as a
result of soil lead contamination associated with artisanal gold
mining/processing in residential compounds. International organizations
collaborated with Nigerian health authorities and local civil and
traditional governments to provide emergency medical, environmental,
technical, and public health response.
Remediation
activities, conducted in three phases from May 2010 to July 2013, were
modeled on Idaho/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “Superfund”
protocols. Post-cleanup activities included medical treatment in MSF-run
clinics, monitoring the sustainability of the remediation, and
implementation of safer mining practices. The epidemic has been
characterized as unprecedented, and the ensuing cleanup one of the
largest and most comprehensive ever undertaken by an African
government.
Remediating
the villages presented numerous resource, logistic, cultural,
institutional, and technical challenges. The remote area is difficult to
access and has little infrastructure. Village life is ruled by
overlapping civil, tribal, and Sharia governments, exhibits
gender-segregated social structure, suffers numerous endemic diseases
with limited healthcare, and a workforce dependent on primitive tools
and labor practices. The cleanup evolved from an emergency response
initially developed and directed largely by international personnel from
TerraGraphics (TG) to a multi-disciplinary program carried out by
Nigerian federal, state, and local governments employing village
workers.
The Source of Lead Poisoning
The
source of the epidemic was artisanal gold mining that became prolific
in 2009-10. For several months, ore processing was conducted at numerous
sites within the villages. Because local religious and cultural
practices include the sequestration of married women, ore crushing,
washing, and gold recovery were undertaken within homes to utilize the
women’s labor. During the rapid increase in mining activities, a
dangerous gold ore exceeding 10% lead was introduced. By April 2010,
with death and illness prevalent, the local Emirates ordered a temporary
suspension of artisanal ore processing and later required that all
operations be moved approximately outside the villages. However,
extremely hazardous waste and contaminated soils remained in the
residences and communal areas.
MSF/TG
focused on emergency medical treatment and environmental response. MSF,
ZMOH, and FMOH developed village chelation therapy clinics. All
entities agreed that children could not live in contaminated homes as it
would compromise the treatment. Coupled with local resistance to
relocation, this required the villages to be remediated prior to
commencing chelation.
Remediation Activities
Remediation continued over three and one-half years in three phases, encompassing 8 villages and 17,000 residents.
Phase I
Remediation was an emergency response in two villages (Dareta and
Yargalma). While MSF and ZMOH established village clinics and
implemented treatment protocols, TG and ZMOE developed emergency
remediation protocols appropriate to local resources. The work was
conducted by ZMOE with TG providing technical guidance. By September
2010, remediation and relocation of mining activities had reduced the
average blood lead level of children entering treatment from 173 µg/dL
to 86 µg/dL.
-
June 2010-July 2011
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Funding: Zamfara State, TG, Blacksmith Institute (BI), and MSF
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148 Homes remediated
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Exposures reduced for >2,100 residents
-
Allowed MSF to treat >100 children
Phase II
Remediation addressed five villages (Abare, Duza, Sunke, Tungar Daji,
and Tungar Guru) resident to 6,385 people. During Phase II, further
investigation by the CDC and Nigerian authorities suggested that
artisanal gold mining was occurring in other areas and significant lead
contamination was confirmed in more than 30 villages. Another study
revealed water quality problems related to the mining activities.
Additional
surveys conducted by TG and ZMOE found extensive contamination in
Bagega Village, where 1,500 children under age five were at severe risk
for lead poisoning. An adjacent abandoned processing site (Industrial
Area) had more than 8,700 cubic meters of high concentration lead waste
extending into the main water reservoir serving the region.
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October 2011 - March 2011
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Funding: United Nations (UN) Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Zamfara State, TG, and BI
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Exposures reduced for >6300 people
-
Allowed MSF to treat >1,200 children
Phase III
commenced following 18 months of advocacy encouraging the Nigerian
federal government to complete the remediation in Bagega. TerraGraphics
International Foundation (TIFO), the non-profit humanitarian successor
to TG, was retained to provide remediation oversight when funding was
released in February 2013. Efforts are ongoing by the Nigerian
governments and the affected communities to sustain the remedy and adopt
safer mining techniques.
-
February - July 2013
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Funding: Nigerian Federal Government
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352 homes, 54 public areas, the Industrial Area, the contaminated reservoir remediated
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Exposures reduced for >7,000 residents
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Allowed MSF to treat >650 children
Source: http://www.terragraphicsinternational.org/#!nigeria/c1jis