toxics and poverty · rondonia, brazil: gold mining. mercury use in extracting gold from sand/dirt....
TRANSCRIPT
Presenter’s Name
Date
Toxics and Poverty
Lynn R. Goldman, MD, MPH
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Consultant, IFCS
(Photo by Shezhad Nooranishows child employed in battery recycling in Bangladesh)
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The Problem
• In many developing countries poor people living and working in close proximity to toxic chemicals.
• The consequences—illness, and in many cases death—are preventable tragedies
• In urban areas, where many of the poor are moving and entering the informal sector of the economy, there are many new kinds of toxic hazards.
Photo Shezhad Noorani
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Hazards of toxic chemicals
• Acute illness and death• Chronic effects:
Neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, endocrine system disruption, reproductive toxicity, and developmental toxicity.
• Cancer
Photo Shezhad Noorani
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Poverty is an important aspect of risk
• Risk is NOT simply a function of hazard and dose of a chemical
• Other important factors are co-exposures, nutrition, and preexisting conditions, all of which are strongly related to poverty
• Age is another important factor; Particularly children who are poor are most likely to work, and to work in the most hazardous conditions.
– 250 million working children between the ages of 5 and 14 in the poor developing regions of the world
– International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that more than 60 percent have been exposed to hazardous conditions
– 2/3 the hazards occurred in rural areas– Children in “informal” labor and scavenging may be
most at risk– health of children is to be taken up in another session
of this meeting.
Photo Shezhad Noorani
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Chemical Hazards in Developing Countries
• ~100,000 chemicals have ever been manufactured
• Most are probably not toxic, but information is scarce
Morocco Tanneries: Curt Carnemark, World Bank Library
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Growth Rates for Chemical Production by Region W
este
rnE
urop
eR
ussi
aO
ther
E.
Eur
ope
Afri
ca
Mid
dle
Eas
t
Chi
na
Indi
a
Japa
n
Pac
ific
Rim
Oth
er A
sia
US
/Can
ada
Latin
Am
eric
a
Petrochemicals 1990-00
Petrochemicals 2000-10
Plastics 1990-00
Plastics 2000-10
Many higher production chemicals (pesticides and plastics) are shifting manufacture to developing countries
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Date
Rondonia, Brazil: Gold mining. Mercury use in extracting gold from sand/dirt. ©John Maier, Jr./ The Image Works CMAE0542
Metals• Metals are persistent and some of
them are very risky– Lead, mercury, arsenic,
manganese neurotoxicity– Arsenic, lead, cadmium,
chromium VI carcinogenic– Lead, mercury cardiovascular
toxicity– Mercury immunotoxic
• Increased exposure among those in poverty– Lead– Manganese in fuel South Africa– Arsenic in Drinking Water
Bangladesh
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Poverty and Exposure to Lead
0 50 100 150 200Decreased IQ
HeartStature
Body WeightHematological-enzymes
Hematological-anemiaPeripheral Neuropathy
RenalBlood Pressure
ImmunologicalGastrointestinal Colic
NeurologicEncephalopathy
Death
• Lead pottery usage in Arab countries• Children employed in the ceramic tile industry in Ecuador• Children in Manila whose parents repaired and recycled batteries at home• Adults recycling batteries in Taiwan, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic • People living near battery–manufacturing facilities in Nicaragua• People living near a former lead smelter in Jamaica• Uncontrolled lead waste disposal in Chile
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Pesticides and poverty• Pesticide use is intentional; exposures
may be intentional or unintentional• High rate of exposures to agricultural
workers worldwide; illnesses are largely unreported but are probably substantial (see case study from Nicaragua). Chronic health burden is unknown.
• Our investigation for the World Bank found that poorest nations use the riskiest pesticides
• Within nations the agricultural workforce is often economically disadvantaged
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Pesticides in Trade
Pesticide Exports for Industrial and Developing Countries, 1961-2004
0.00
2.00
4.00
6.00
8.00
10.00
12.00
14.00
1961
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2004
Source: Worldwatch Institute 2006
Bill
ions
of d
olla
rs (U
S 20
05)
Industrial Country Developing Country
• “Conventional”pesticides are those used for the control of agricultural and household pests.
• In 2004, only 21.% of pesticides in international trade were from developing countries however this ratio has steadily increased since 1961.
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Wastes
• Mixing of industrial wastes with household wastes
• Lack of containment of wastes
• Scavenging of waste dumps and lack of protection of waste workers
• Very little information on exposures and health risks (Bangkok case study)
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Most frequently found toxic chemicals at waste sites and former sources (EPA, 2001)
Chemical Selected Sources*
Arsenic Mining, manufacturing, pesticide usage
Lead Mining, gasoline additives, paint, solder, etc.
Mercury Manufacturing, incineration, dental office wastes
Cadmium Mining, paint, metallurgy
Vinyl chloride Degradation in the environment of chlorinated solvents
PCB's Transformer fluids
Benzene Solvent usage, gasoline
PAH's** Soots, tars, oils, products of combustion
**PAH's are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, typically occurring as complex mixtures of related compounds.
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Transfer of Hazardous Industries and Substances
• Benzidine Dyes: – When benzidine was phased out in developed countries, due to cancer risk
concerns, manufacture of benzidine dye was moved to developing countries (OECD)
• E-Waste Recycling:– Disposal and recycling of computers and other electronic equipment. – Africa alone receives “tons of used computers, fax machines, cell phones,
and other electronics ”. – It has been reported that “up to 75% of the electronics shipped to Africa is
junk”.– Source: Schmidt CW. Unfair trade: e-waste in Africa. Environmental Health
Perspectives, 2006, 114(4):232-235.
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Toxic Dumping in the Cote d'Ivoire
• August 19 & 20: 400 tonnes of petrochemical waste residue dumped at between 10 and 14 sites in Abidjan by local disposal company. The waste had been transported there by a Dutch company and transferred to a local firm
• Toxic chemicals include: hydrogen sulfide, mercaptans, phenols, and hydrocarbons
• Thousands of people live and work near these sites. • To date:
– Seven are dead, including at least two children– 6,000-10,000 have received medical care– Unknown thousands have had nausea, rashes, fainting,
diarrhea and headaches– There is an “atmosphere of fear” that continues, along
with angry protests– Seven people have been arrested and the president has
announced a cabinet shuffling• Impacts to water supplies and the food chain are unknown
Photos: Associated Press
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Risks Vary by Level of Development
Burkina Fasso, Gold mining, Curt Carnemark, WB Lib
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Risk scenarios• Pesticide application, storage, and disposal• Use of riskier pesticides and agricultural employment of children• Obsolete stocks of POPs and other hazardous chemicals• Use of lead• Hazardous exposures in mining• Lack of appropriate technology and knowledge for chemical safety• Chemical plant spills and accidents• Employment in toxic industries, mostly in the informal sector• Uncontrolled dumping and burning of hazardous wastes• Scavenging in dumps• Lack of workplace and environmental standards • Lack of safe manufacturing processes for products• Increased occupational health risks for those in poverty• Contamination of food and drinking-water supplies• Disproportionate pollution in poorer communities• Overproduction of wastes • Overuse of energy and toxic pollution from burning fossil fuels• Accumulation of POPs in Arctic areas and indigenous populations
Less Developed
More Developed
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THANKS
• Collaborators (over the years): –Nga Tran, PhD
–Samar Khoury, MPH
–Chad Lipton, MS• Reference: The Impact of Toxic Substances On
the Poor in Developing Countries–Lynn Goldman and Nga Tran–World Bank, August 2002