Via Xinhua :
" BRISBANE, Aug. 2 : One child develops lead poisoning every nine days in the Queensland mining town of Mt Isa, a new report revealed on Monday.
The statistic is published in the Medical Journal of Australia and comes amid legal action against Xstrata that allege its activities have left children brain damaged.
The report's co-author, Macquarie University associate professor Mark Taylor, has studied existing data on the problem and noted there is an obvious public health risk in the city.
"The evidence is clear. There is a single primary source of environmental lead in Mt Isa: the historic and ongoing mining and smelting activity," he said in the report.
"A purported lack of knowledge of the lead source is no longer a tenable response and provides no long term resolution for Xstrata, the government or the children of Mt Isa whose futures are at risk."
He said the city will continue to be at risk as long as stakeholders, including Xstrata, keep blaming natural lead levels in the environment."
The article from Australian Medical Journal. (click for link)
Showing posts with label Lead Poisoning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lead Poisoning. Show all posts
Monday, August 2, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Nigeria : mass lead poisoning from mining activities, Zamfara State
A statement from WHO :
" 7 July 2010 : A major outbreak of lead poisoning in children has been occurring in Zamfara State, Nigeria since at least March 2010, related to the processing of lead-rich ore for the extraction of gold.
During March-April the Zamfara State Ministry of Health was informed by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) of an increasing number of childhood deaths and illness in villages in the two Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Bukkuyum and Anka. At the request of the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health, the United States Centers for Disease Control (US CDC) deployed a response team to assist in investigating this outbreak. At the same time, the Blacksmith Institute sent a team from TerraGraphics Environmental Engineering Inc to conduct an environmental assessment. These teams worked with the national and state authorities, MSF, and the country office of the World Health Organization (WHO). The investigations confirmed severe lead poisoning in more than 100 children in the villages of Dareta and Yargalma, with a mean blood lead concentration of 119 μg/dL (levels as low as 10 μg/dL are associated with impaired neurological development in young children). Moreover, lead concentrations in soil of >100,000 ppm were found in and around habitations in the villages (the limit for residential areas applied in the USA and France is 400 ppm).
WHO response
The Nigerian authorities requested WHO to provide further technical and financial assistance to contain the current outbreak and prevent similar outbreaks in the future. WHO deployed a team comprising three epidemiologists, a clinical toxicologist, a paediatrician, an environmental health expert and a laboratory specialist. This team, working with staff from the State Ministry of Health, confirmed a high degree of environmental lead contamination from the same cause in 5 additional villages (Tungar-dadj, Abare, Duza and Sunke (Anka LGA), and Tungar-guru (Bukuyum LGA)). A random sample of 56 children under 5 years from the villages of Abare and Tungar-guru revealed that >90% had blood lead concentrations above 45 μg/dL (for which chelation therapy is recommended) and >70% had concentrations above 70 μg/dL (for which urgent treatment is needed). A high incidence of convulsions and death in young children has been noted in these villages, and there is a strong likelihood that this is due to lead poisoning. An extrapolation from the above figures suggests that >2000 individuals are in need of chelation therapy in the 5 villages. Data from the State Ministry of Health hospital registry suggest there are still more villages where lead poisoning may be a problem.
Situation update
MSF is currently providing chelation therapy for around 100 children in two specially established units within the general hospitals of Bukkuyum and Anka. WHO has been collaborating with MSF and a number of international clinical toxicologists on the development of treatment protocols. The WHO team has also helped to set up a laboratory service for measuring blood lead concentrations in Gusau, and has provided training in surveillance and the management of lead poisoning.
In order to prevent further deaths and long-term neurological impairment in affected children it is essential that the lead contamination is removed from villages and particularly the domestic compounds. In addition, it is essential that poisoned children are identified and given appropriate chelation therapy. For chelation therapy to be effective, however, children must be removed from exposure to lead, which means that they cannot return to their homes after treatment until their environment has been cleaned. The Blacksmith Institute and TerraGraphics are working with the Zamfara State authorities to decontaminate the villages of Dareta and Yargalma. Considerably more resources are needed to decontaminate the other 5 villages and to identify and treat all of the children, as well as affected adults (in particular pregnant women) in these villages."
" 7 July 2010 : A major outbreak of lead poisoning in children has been occurring in Zamfara State, Nigeria since at least March 2010, related to the processing of lead-rich ore for the extraction of gold.
During March-April the Zamfara State Ministry of Health was informed by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) of an increasing number of childhood deaths and illness in villages in the two Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Bukkuyum and Anka. At the request of the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health, the United States Centers for Disease Control (US CDC) deployed a response team to assist in investigating this outbreak. At the same time, the Blacksmith Institute sent a team from TerraGraphics Environmental Engineering Inc to conduct an environmental assessment. These teams worked with the national and state authorities, MSF, and the country office of the World Health Organization (WHO). The investigations confirmed severe lead poisoning in more than 100 children in the villages of Dareta and Yargalma, with a mean blood lead concentration of 119 μg/dL (levels as low as 10 μg/dL are associated with impaired neurological development in young children). Moreover, lead concentrations in soil of >100,000 ppm were found in and around habitations in the villages (the limit for residential areas applied in the USA and France is 400 ppm).
WHO response
The Nigerian authorities requested WHO to provide further technical and financial assistance to contain the current outbreak and prevent similar outbreaks in the future. WHO deployed a team comprising three epidemiologists, a clinical toxicologist, a paediatrician, an environmental health expert and a laboratory specialist. This team, working with staff from the State Ministry of Health, confirmed a high degree of environmental lead contamination from the same cause in 5 additional villages (Tungar-dadj, Abare, Duza and Sunke (Anka LGA), and Tungar-guru (Bukuyum LGA)). A random sample of 56 children under 5 years from the villages of Abare and Tungar-guru revealed that >90% had blood lead concentrations above 45 μg/dL (for which chelation therapy is recommended) and >70% had concentrations above 70 μg/dL (for which urgent treatment is needed). A high incidence of convulsions and death in young children has been noted in these villages, and there is a strong likelihood that this is due to lead poisoning. An extrapolation from the above figures suggests that >2000 individuals are in need of chelation therapy in the 5 villages. Data from the State Ministry of Health hospital registry suggest there are still more villages where lead poisoning may be a problem.
Situation update
MSF is currently providing chelation therapy for around 100 children in two specially established units within the general hospitals of Bukkuyum and Anka. WHO has been collaborating with MSF and a number of international clinical toxicologists on the development of treatment protocols. The WHO team has also helped to set up a laboratory service for measuring blood lead concentrations in Gusau, and has provided training in surveillance and the management of lead poisoning.
In order to prevent further deaths and long-term neurological impairment in affected children it is essential that the lead contamination is removed from villages and particularly the domestic compounds. In addition, it is essential that poisoned children are identified and given appropriate chelation therapy. For chelation therapy to be effective, however, children must be removed from exposure to lead, which means that they cannot return to their homes after treatment until their environment has been cleaned. The Blacksmith Institute and TerraGraphics are working with the Zamfara State authorities to decontaminate the villages of Dareta and Yargalma. Considerably more resources are needed to decontaminate the other 5 villages and to identify and treat all of the children, as well as affected adults (in particular pregnant women) in these villages."
Monday, June 7, 2010
Nigeria moves to address lead poisoning outbreak
Via Xinhua :
" LAGOS, June 6: The northern Nigeria's Zamfara State government has approved 240 million naira (1.6 million U.S. dollars) for rapid response towards controlling the outbreak of lead poisoning which killed 163 people in the state.
But local newspaper Tribune on Sunday put the death toll at 250, quoting local health officials as saying.
Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Health had on Friday in Abuja released a report which indicated that 163 deaths out of 353 cases of lead poison, emanating from mining activities were recorded in the two local government areas.
State Commissioner for Health Idris Saa'd told a news conference on Saturday that government was disturbed by the development.
Idris said the money approved would be used in the purchase of drugs and other infection control facilities as well as the excavation and disposal of contaminated soil from the mining areas."
" LAGOS, June 6: The northern Nigeria's Zamfara State government has approved 240 million naira (1.6 million U.S. dollars) for rapid response towards controlling the outbreak of lead poisoning which killed 163 people in the state.
But local newspaper Tribune on Sunday put the death toll at 250, quoting local health officials as saying.
Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Health had on Friday in Abuja released a report which indicated that 163 deaths out of 353 cases of lead poison, emanating from mining activities were recorded in the two local government areas.
State Commissioner for Health Idris Saa'd told a news conference on Saturday that government was disturbed by the development.
Idris said the money approved would be used in the purchase of drugs and other infection control facilities as well as the excavation and disposal of contaminated soil from the mining areas."
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Nigeria : Lead poisoning kills 100 children in north
Via BBC :
" More than 100 children have died of lead poisoning in Nigeria in recent weeks, health officials say.
The number has been rising since March, when residents started digging illegally for gold in areas with high concentrations of lead.
The victims were from several remote villages in the northern state of Zamfara.
A total of 163 out of 355 cases of poisoning have proved fatal, a Nigerian health ministry official told Reuters.
Dr Henry Akpan, the health ministry's chief epidemiologist, said: "[The victims] were digging for gold, but the areas also have large concentrations of lead."
" More than 100 children have died of lead poisoning in Nigeria in recent weeks, health officials say.
The number has been rising since March, when residents started digging illegally for gold in areas with high concentrations of lead.
The victims were from several remote villages in the northern state of Zamfara.
A total of 163 out of 355 cases of poisoning have proved fatal, a Nigerian health ministry official told Reuters.
Dr Henry Akpan, the health ministry's chief epidemiologist, said: "[The victims] were digging for gold, but the areas also have large concentrations of lead."
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