Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)
5 October 2007
The United Nations environment agency has confirmed what residents, experts, churches and other organisations have repeatedly told the Kenya government - that Nairobi's main dumpsite is a killer.
A study released today by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) shows that Dandora Municipal Dumping Site, one of Africa's largest, is a serious threat to children living nearby and the city's environment generally.
The study commissioned by UNEP examined 328 children aged 2-18 living around the site and its health implications. It also examined soil samples from the site.
Half of the children tested had concentrations of lead in their blood exceeding internationally accepted levels, while 42 percent of soil samples recorded lead levels almost 10 times higher than what is considered unpolluted soil (over 400 parts per million (ppm) compared to 50 ppm).
Children have been exposed to pollutants such as heavy metals and toxic substances through soil, water and air (smoke from waste burning) with implications for respiratory, gastrointestinal and skin diseases. Almost half of the children tested were suffering from respiratory diseases, including chronic bronchitis and asthma.
"We had anticipated some tough and worrisome findings, but the actual results are even more shocking than we had imagined at the outset," said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director.
Mr Steiner said UNEP was ready to assist the local and national authorities in the search for improved waste management systems and strategies including ones that generate sustainable and healthier jobs in the waste handling and recycling sectors.
"It is clear that urgent action is needed to reduce the health and environmental hazards so that children and adults can go about their daily lives without fear of being poisoned and without damage to nearby river systems," he said.
The 30-acre large Dandora Dumping Site receives 2,000 tonnes of assorted rubbish every day, generated by some 4.5 million people living in the Kenyan capital. The study also found evidence of the presence of hazardous waste, such as chemical and hospital waste, at the dumpsite.
Every day, scores of low-income people from nearby, including children, use the dump to find food, recyclables and other valuables they can sell, at the same time inhaling the noxious fumes from burning waste. Waste often finds its way into the Nairobi River that runs just meters away.
St. John's Catholic Church and Informal School is located in close proximity to the dump. Between 2003 and 2006, the Church dispensary has treated 9,121 people per year on average for respiratory problems.
"We have been witnessing an alarming situation regarding Dandora children's health: asthma, anaemia and skin infections are by now endemic," said Njoroge Kimani, principal investigator and author of the UNEP report. "These abnormalities are linked to the environment around the dumping site, and are exacerbated by poverty, illiteracy and malnutrition."
Mr Kimani and his team conducted detailed research into the site's impacts on public health and the environment. Experts from the University of Nairobi, Kenyatta University, Kenyatta National Hospital and Kenya Agricultural Research Institute as well as community leaders from St. John's Catholic Church in Korogocho have supported the study.
"The poor are the best recyclers in the world; nothing of value goes to waste. But this should not put them and their families' lives in danger," said Fr Daniele Moschetti, a Comboni missionary priest working with the community in the slums surrounding the dumpsite.
"The local community is advocating for a closing and relocation of the dumpsite, whereby a controlled and well-managed waste processing facility should be established."
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