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Understanding Kabwe's lead pollution

To understand why Kabwe, Zambia is one of the most lead polluted towns, one has to look at the source of this pollution and its extent. With a history of poor environmental regulation, policies, and public information, the lead pollution caused by mining activities in Kabwe went unmitigated for decades. The natural blood-lead level in humans is about 0.0016 µg/dl, in developed countries like the United States, strict enforcement has resulted into lead levels averaging figures below 10 µg/dl, but in Kabwe, averages lie between 60 µg/dl and 120 µg/dl. Levels over 10 µg/dl are unhealthy, while levels above 20 µg/dl can cause acute poisoning whereas levels over 120 µg/dl often result into death. New environmental and rehabilitation laws were only enacted after a new administration came into office in 1991; however, additional mitigation measures such as obtaining a reclamation bond prior to being issued a mining permit need to be considered. / text

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UTEXAS/oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/28226
Date02 February 2015
CreatorsChilongo, Owen Chasoba
Source SetsUniversity of Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Formatapplication/pdf

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