On Wednesday, the US Embassy in Zambia ordered the immediate withdrawal of all US government employees from the Kitwe region and the surrounding municipalities. This decision is related to new findings on the presence of dangerous and carcinogenic substances – such as arsenic, cyanide, uranium and other heavy metals – in the local water system and potentially in the air.
- The US Embassy ordered the evacuation of employees from Kitwe.
- The escape of toxic waste was hit by the Kafue River in Zambia.
- The waste contains dangerous substances such as arsenic and uranium.
- The source of contamination is the pitch of Chinese company Sino -Metals.
- Contamination threatens drinking water 60% of Zambia population.
Toxic waste escaped into the tributary of one of the longest rivers in the country, Kafue, February 18, when the dike of the lake of the lake was broken in the Chinese company Sino -Metals in North Zambia. About 50 million liters of toxic waste escaped into the Kafue River.
The pitch was used to capture waste from the mining process in the copper mine. The media shortly after the catastrophe said that Pollution has expanded from the dam more than 100 kilometers, killing fish and livestock. The area is located approximately 285 kilometers north of the capital of Lusaka and is the center of copper production in Zambia, in which several Chinese companies have also invested.
In the contribution of the US Embassy to does not indicate how many people the command concern. The Zambian government immediately did not comment on it or issued a similar recommendation for its citizens.
In the river basin Kafue that It also serves as a source of drinking water, irrigation and fishing, while approximately 60 percent of Zambie population lives – about 12 million people. Thus, the leakage of toxic substances from the pitch can have not only ecological but also social consequences.