Problems
Air pollution in Kabwe, Zambia
More than a third of the population of Kabwe, Zambia—more than 76,000 people—live in lead-contaminated townships. Studies show that half of the children in these areas have elevated blood lead levels that require treatment. In Kabwe, the capital of the Central Province of Zambia, there was a lead mine between 1904 and 1994. During that period, fumes from the smelter covered a large part of the surrounding soil with lead dust. The mine, which was opened when Zambia was a British colony, was owned and operated by British companies until 1970 when the Zambian government nationalized the mining industry. The government closed the mine in 1994 and privatized its assets the following year. Since then, seasonal flooding and wind-blown dust from the mine dump, as well as continued small-scale mining, have worsened the pollution. 25 years after the mine closed, high levels of lead, exceeding international standards, remain in the soil and dust around the former mine, particularly in the villages of Kasanda, Makandanyama, Chowa, Mutwe Wansofu, and Makululu in Kabwe. The former mine site itself still contains tailings and other waste from the mine and smelter, including a large dump known locally as "Black Mountain", and has become a site for artisanal and small-scale mining.
Risk for children
Children in Kabwe are at particular risk because they are more likely to be exposed to lead dust from playing in the soil, their brains and bodies are still developing, and they absorb four to five times more lead than adults. Consequences for children exposed to high levels of lead and left untreated include reading and learning barriers or disabilities, behavioral problems, growth disorder, anemia, damage to the brain, liver, kidneys, nerves, and stomach, coma and convulsions, and death. After prolonged exposure, the consequences are irreversible. Lead also increases the risk of miscarriage and can be transferred through both the placenta and breast milk.
The Invisible Threat
Lead contamination is invisible because lead-contaminated soil is no different from uncontaminated soil. Many of the health effects of lead also go undetected, given that long-term damage to internal organs or brain development may not manifest as immediate symptoms. Even the strongest effects of lead are hidden in Kabwe. Although there is limited data on hospitalizations and deaths of children from lead poisoning since the early 1970s, there are no recent records because Zambia's health system does not track such cases.
Research conducted to address the problem
With contamination still present a quarter of a century after the mine closed, this report documents the impact of lead on children's rights and the Zambian government's response to the crisis. Human Rights Watch conducted three field research missions to Zambia between June 2018 and April 2019, interviewing government officials, civil society representatives, pollution-affected families, and others to assess the government's approach and its implications for children's rights for health and a healthy environment, education, and play. Government efforts to address lead contamination were far from adequate. From 2003 to 2011, the World Bank funded the Copperbelt Environmental Project (CEP) to clean up lead in affected villages and address its health impacts. The government has failed to adopt an effective model to achieve the project's goals and has not done enough to address pollution since then. Instead of developing and implementing a comprehensive restoration program, government interventions have relied on planting grass in homes and schools, some topsoil replacement, and community education on dust reduction. The government's focus on planting grass as a housing recovery measure proved unsustainable after the CEP ended. The government has also failed to address other sources of lead pollution, including road dust.
Gallery
6
Timelines
2023
July
"The Zambian government should make comprehensive efforts to clean up the contaminated former lead mine in Kabwe, the capital of Zambia’s Central province" - Environment Africa and Human Rights Watch said. The organizations released a video in which youth activists from Environment Africa describe life in a dangerously polluted town and actions needed to remedy the situation.
March 02
At a roundtable conference hosted by the alliance in Lusaka, Zambia's Acting Green Economy and Environment Minister, Elijah Muchima, announced a plan to turn Kabwe into a "green city" could provide an important opportunity to tackle the problem of toxic lead, which has been harming residents for decades. But Kabwe can only be considered green if cleaning up the source of the pollution, the toxic mine, is the government's number one priority. The Ministry of Green Economy and Environment stated that "construction in Green Kabwe City should take place on top of buried lead surfaces". The term "buried" suggests that the government will close the dumps of the mine in such a way that they do not pollute the environment. This method is sometimes referred to as "plugging". This method has been successfully used in a comparable lead-zinc mine in the US and other countries. The Lead-Free Kabwe Alliance said the capping process should be part of a comprehensive plan to secure remedies, meet recovery standards, and include ongoing monitoring.
2022
March
President Hakainde Hichilema asked the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment to set up a technical committee to "review and guide the comprehensive recovery process" in Kabwe. However, the technical committee held only one meeting, which was attended by representatives of government agencies, the University of Zambia civil society organization. Since then, the subcommittee has been working on the committee's terms of reference. The process of finalizing the terms of reference was slow and the committee's terms of reference were not made public.
2021
November 27
On July 26, the UN published a letter from two UN special rapporteurs, toxics and human rights expert Marcos Orellana and disability expert Gerard Quinn, to the Zambian government about serious lead contamination and serious human harm. rights issues in and around a former mine in Kabwe, Central Province. They questioned the Zambian government about its steps to address the toxic threat and called for decisive action to end long-standing violations of health rights and ensure the health, safety, and well-being of the people of Kabwe. The experts also sent a letter to Jubilee Metals, a South African company that plans to recycle metals at the former mine, and a letter to the South African government, demanding information on the human rights impact of their business.
2020
October 21
In October 2020, residents of Kabwe filed a civil lawsuit against South Africa's subsidiary Anglo American on behalf of approximately 100,000 children and women who reported having health problems because of decades of lead mining near their homes. The Court's decision on whether or not to entertain this class action lawsuit will affect the victims' right to an effective remedy and access to justice.
2019
August 13
25 years after the mine closed, high levels of lead, exceeding international standards, remain in the soil and dust around the former mine, particularly in the villages of Kasanda, Makandanyama, Chowa, Mutwe Wansofu, and Makululu in Kabwe. The former mine site itself still contains tailings and other waste from the mine and smelter, including a large dump known locally as "Black Mountain", and has become a site for artisanal and small-scale mining.
April 29
Research by Human Rights Watch (which lasted from 1/06/2018) found that lead pollution in Kabwe has a disproportionate impact on the poor for at least three reasons: malnutrition increases the amount of lead absorbed by the body, lead dust is a particular hazard in informal settlements, and water is needed to support grass and dust reduction is costly to community members. A Human Rights Watch report states that one-third of the Kabwe population, or more than 76,000 people, live in areas contaminated with lead. Later this year the government told Human Rights Watch that at least some cleanup and health efforts would begin by the end of 2019.
2017
May 28
Fumes from the giant state-owned steel plant, which closed in 1994, left dusty soil in the surrounding area extremely high in lead. The metal, which is still used worldwide in car batteries, is a potent neurotoxin and is particularly harmful to children. But children swallow the most, especially when they are babies when they start playing outside and often put their hands in their mouths. What is evident in Kabwe is the extreme level of pollution. A major World Bank project that ended in 2011 identified the problem, although it did little to address the pollution. Soil lead levels are about 10 times the US safety limit in affected communities and much higher in hot spots.
2016
December 01
The government launched a five-year World Bank-funded Zambia Mining and Environment Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (ZMERIP) to offer much-needed environmental cleanup along with a new round of testing and treatment. However, more than two years after the project was launched, there has been no recovery, testing, or processing.
2013
November 14
Kabwe was once again on the list of the most polluted places in the world for 2013. The report says high levels of lead pollution now affect more than 300,000 Kabwe residents, mostly children. Several pollution sources and contaminants are cited, including hexavalent chromium from tanneries and heavy metals released during smelting.
2010
November 02
The Blacksmith Institute established a local NGO, the Kabwe Environmental and Rehabilitation Foundation (KERF), whose function is to provide education and health services to each community. At the insistence of Blacksmith and KERF, the World Bank provided a grant of US$15 million for the cleanup, with a further US$5 million also coming from the Nordic Development Fund. These results demonstrate that Blacksmith's initiatives can be used to enable major global institutions to make major contributions to tackling serious pollution problems.
1994
In Kabwe, the capital of the Central Province of Zambia the lead-zinc mine was nationalized and closed. The mine started operating during the British colonial period. But the mine's toxic waste was never cleaned up.