Lead poison kills 400 infants in Zamfara

Posted by admin State News, Zamfara Monday, March 7th, 2011

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has disclosed that no fewer than 400 infants have died and over 500 persons were admitted in various hospitals in Zamfara State as a result of the outbreak of lead poisoning, just as experts blamed illegal miners for the scourge.

The Director General of NEMA, Muhammad Sani-Sidi made the disclosure in his keynote address at the national workshop on the Mitigation of the Risk of Lead Poisoning Associated with Gold Mining and Processing among Rural Communities in Zamfara State.

Sani-Sidi said as a result of a reported increase in infant mortality in Zamfara State suspected to be associated with lead poisoning due to mining activities among rural communities, local and international responders rendered initial short-term interventions and make necessary Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
The EIA, according to him, confirmed the number of casualties.

He added that “the immature body system of children, exposed to contaminated soils and gold processing tools, tends to rapidly absorb associated lead and in the process they were poisoned which led to convulsion, paralysis and even death.”
Sani-Sidi, therefore, called for an effective environmental management, land use planning and strict compliance to occupational safety and industrial regulations as the society exploits its natural resources to sustain livelihood.

Meanwhile, on the occasion, experts and stakeholders accused gold miners and processors over the lead poisoning in some northern states by using materials and chemical that were banned or controlled while wastes generated from the processing of gold were not property disposed or managed by the illegal miners.

These observations were made in Gusau, Zamfara State at a workshop organized for stakeholders by National Emergency Management Agency to find lasting solutions to the problem of lead poisoning ravaging some states in Nigeria.
The experts further observed that gold veins were running with heavy concentration of lead, which was an anomaly, especially in Zamfara State.
In view of the health hazards of lead poisoning, the experts at the forum recommended that there should be the development and implementation of sustainable plans for monitoring and maintenance of landfills to prevent pollution of water sources and sustained heath and environmental education, including animal health, advocacy and dialogues in the affected communities.
Participants on the occasion were from various local international bodies including Ministry of Mine and Steel, National Miners Association of Nigeria, Centre for Disease Control, UNICEF and World Health Organization and NESREA.

-Sunwp_posts