The world well remembers the innocent children killed in the tragedy of Thiaroye-sur-Mer in Senegal. The killer not only took the lives of people, but destroyed wildlife and the environment. But rather than war or natural disaster, in 2008 lead was to blame.
Following the death of 18 children in Thiaroye-sur-Mer, investigating authorities identified lead poisoning from local recycling of discarded car batteries as the silent threat stalking the seaside community.
Lead is a well-known toxic substance with wide-ranging negative health effects. Studies have shown that high blood lead levels lead to reduced IQ, hearing loss, hyperactivity, shortened concentration span and poor school performance in children.
“Lead from used batteries is a major issue in Africa. When lead is recycled in an unsafe environment, it can affect children and pregnant women,” says Percy Onainwa, Executive Director, Center for Cleaner Production Technology and Hazardous Waste Management, Nigeria.
“We have seen cases of lead poisoning in various countries in Africa – such as Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal. The poisoning has killed children, and affected soil, water and the atmosphere.”
Lead-acid batteries are widely used in Africa to power everything from cars to telecommunication equipment to backup electrical systems. But when these batteries reach the end of their life, efforts to recycle their lead cores causes widespread environmental contamination.
“Lead is considered to be the workhorse of the rechargeable battery systems for its reliability, low cost, and good operational life,” says UN Environment Chemical and Waste Management Coordinator Abdourahmane Bary. “But inappropriate recycling of used batteries in many African countries poses a high risk for both human health and the environment.”
Representatives from ten African countries gathered in Ougadougou from July 19-21 to discuss the environmental, health and socio-economic impacts of used lead-acid battery (ULAB) recycling in the Africa region at a meeting organized by UN Environment in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment of Burkina Faso.
Countries also discussed regional, sub-regional, and national strategies to address sound ULAB recycling.
“Industrial sectors in Ghana lack pollution control mechanisms. This includes smelters of lead in used batteries, which poses serious environmental and health issues,” says Lambert Faabeluon, Director of Standard, Compliance and Enforcement at Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency. “With help from international experts, we have introduced new measures to control pollution.”
As most African countries lack adequate recycling facilities, many unlicensed battery re-conditioners and illegal recyclers of used lead-acid batteries have been developed. A recent study estimates that there are from 10,599 to 29,241 informal lead-acid battery processing sites where human health is at risk. The 90-country study found that informal lead-acid battery processing sites put the health of as many as 16.8 million people at risk in 2013 alone.
Towards regional collaboration to meet the challenge
Establishing environmentally-safe recycling plants for used batteries requires significant investment. It also takes large amounts of raw material (batteries) for plants to be economically viable.
But UN Environment’s Abdourahmane Bary, says these issues shouldn’t deter countries from pursuing safe battery recycling, highlighting the agreement made at the Burkina Faso meeting to explore establishing sub-regional recycling facilities.
“African countries can come together to develop adequate recycling plants that can receive batteries from other countries and recycle them in a safe environment,” says Bary. “This will limit the growth of the informal recycling sector and strengthen regional cooperation to overcome the issue of lead in batteries in a sustainable manner.”
Informal and unlicensed recycling facilities lack basic safety infrastructure and employees often work in conditions which expose them to serious health risks.
“In this factory, we melt various metals to make cooking pots. This is a source of revenue for us. I make up to 1,500 francs [$2.68] per day,” says Dima Ali, a worker at an artisanal melting shop in Ouagadougou.
The melting shop is located just a few meters from Badeya, a company licensed to collect used batteries in the capital.
“As you can see, workers at this artisanal melting shop don’t use any protection. They melt various metals, sometimes with lead inside. They don’t know the risk they are exposed to,” says Mohamed Dakouo, Badeya’s owner and manager.
“We collect used batteries and we send them to Ghana for recycling. There is a formal company there which has adequate infrastructure to recycle these batteries,” explains Mohamed. “We use good trucks to transport used batteries. This avoids risk in case of any leakage of lead.”
The workshop in Burkina Faso came as UN Environment’s response to support African countries in their efforts to strengthen and enhance national, sub-regional and regional implementation of environmentally sound management of waste lead-acid batteries.
“It is important for us to be part of these discussions to find a comprehensive solution for this complex issue,” Mohammed says of his decision to join the Burkina Faso meeting. “We are on the ground and have a lot to share with experts from other countries.”
Now, with shared recycling on the table, African governments have an opportunity not only to overcoming today’s problems, but to put to rest the mistakes of the past.
“We request our governments to discuss the issue of lead in batteries at the next UN Environment Assembly,” says workshop participant Fagamou Sy, from Senegal. “They need to find a permanent solution so that our people can forever forget the tragedy of 2008.”
The UN Environment Assembly, the world's highest-level decision-making body on the environment, will gather in Nairobi, Kenya, from 4-6 December 2017 under the overarching theme of pollution.
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For more information: Mohamed.Atani[at]unep.org
