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- Toxic spill at Angola diamond mine pollutes Congo River tributary in DRC
Toxic spill at Angola diamond mine pollutes Congo River tributary in DRC
Democratic Republic of the Congo
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4 months agoProblems
Problems from pollution of a tributary of the Congo River in the DRC due to a spill of toxic substances at a diamond mine in Angola
The Tshikapa and Kasai rivers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have taken on a brownish-red color for hundreds of kilometers due to pollution from industrial diamond mines in neighbouring Angola’s Lunda Norte and Sul provinces. The pollution originates from a major spill at three mining facilities across the border in Angola. Satellite images traced the origin of this pollution front to a tailings pipe rupture at the Catoca mine in northern Angola. While many facts surrounding the incident to date remain unclear. The disaster, according to official Congolese government reports, killed 12 people, sickened thousands of river residents, cut off hundreds of thousands of people from their daily water supply, and caused mass mortality among aquatic life and livestock on the banks. According to a (yet unpublished) recent survey by IPIS’ Congolese NGO partners GAERN and CENADEP, in Kasai province 13 of the 18 health zones were affected by the pollution. These zones include more than 200 villages and almost 1 million inhabitants. The NGO survey also revealed that more than 80 % of the population along the affected rivers consume river water, whereas less than 20 % draw their drinking water from the facilities run by the REGIDESO water company. Researchers fear there could be severe and lasting consequences for the environment and people’s health in affected areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Health effects from pollution of a tributary of the Congo River in the DRC due to a toxic spill at a diamond mine in Angola
The health of people living on the banks of these rivers is also in danger. Communities were using this water right until the announcement of the contamination. Some also ate dead fish and animals that were floating in the river. The environment ministry reported that more than 400 people had reported diarrhea after using contaminated water. The ministry said 13 of the province’s 18 health districts have been affected, potentially exposing more than 950,000 people.
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Timelines
2022
In March, a class action suit was filed in the Tshikapa District Court by a team of lawyers coordinated by parliamentarian Guy Mafuta representing nearly 8,000 aggrieved people from the region. Several civil society organisations have taken civil action in the case, which claims compensation for damages suffered as a result of pollution by the Catoca mining company of the Tshikapa and Kasai rivers.
2021
July 15, analysis of satellite imagery and interviews indicate a reservoir used to store mining pollutants was breached in a diamond-mining area straddling Lunda Sul and Lunda Norte provinces in Angola, said Raphael Tshimanga, director of The Congo Basin Water Resources Research Centre (CRREBaC). In early August, toxic substances from three diamond-processing facilities in neighboring Angola polluted the Kasai River, a major tributary of the Congo. In August 12, authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Kasaï province noticed the Kasai River had turned red. Witnesses said the bodies of hippos and dead fish were seen floating in the river. A government ban on water consumption from the Kasai and Chikapa rivers and their fish stocks, introduced remains in place to this day.