Kabwe, the African city where children carry the burden of lead poisoning
Kabwe, the African city where children carry the burden of lead poisoning
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Located about 150 kilometres north of Zambia’s capital Lusaka, Kabwe is considered one of the most polluted places in the world, following decades of lead and zinc mining. A simple blood test of two children confirms reports of severe lead contamination. FRANCE 24’s Caroline Dumay, Stefan Carstens and Eunice Masson report.
Named Broken Hill until 1966, the capital of the Zambian Central Province, Kabwe, carries an invisible threat because of decades of mining: soil saturated with lead. In its most affected areas, more than 95 percent of children exceed the World Health Organization’s safety threshold of 50 micrograms of lead per decilitre of blood. For children, playing in the dust and walking barefoot is dangerous, as lead poisoning can cause intellectual and physical disabilities.
Today, an estimated 140,000 affected women and children are collaborating with international role players in a class action suit against the mining giant, Anglo American South Africa Limited (AASA), in the Johannesburg High Court. Judgment for the class action is expected later this year.