Disposal clean up in Zambia

A total of 360 tonnes of obsolete pesticides and contaminated materials have been cleared up in Zambia and transported to Britain for high temperature incineration by the disposal company Rechem. The operation, costing US$1.125 million was jointly funded by the Dutch government, the German aid agency GTZ and FAO.  
    The majority of the pesticides were stored in the open in the capital Lusaka where the Zambian Cooperative Society had received donations for distribution to farmer co-ops. The poorly stored stocks had deteriorated to such an extent that a homogenous mass of chemicals was left unprotected and exposed to the eroding effects of the elements. Some of the pesticides which included DDT, diazinon, endosulfan and 2,4-D had already been detected in the city's drinking water and this was the spur for action to be taken. It nevertheless took another year for sufficient funds to be raised to begin the disposal. This was because the actual inventory of materials to be disposed of was far larger than the initial estimates on which budgets were based.
    The clean up consisted of repackaging the chemicals as well as contaminated soil and old packaging into new containers safe for land and sea transportation. The entire inventory was then shipped to the UK for incineration. The work was carried out by specially trained local staff under the supervision of Rechem personnel. The training of locals included personal protection, handling of toxic chemicals as well appropriate storage practices and stock management to help in avoiding similar problems in the future.
    The Zambian disposal operation brings to 10 the number of African and Near Eastern countries where obsolete pesticides have been removed, and the total tonnage to an estimated 1,500. Some small individual operations have disposed of specific chemicals in some countries, such as 50 tonnes of the insecticide/acaricide DNOC which were incinerated in a cement kiln in Tanzania. This total remains a small fraction of the estimated 20,000 tonne total inventory of obsolete pesticides remaining in 54 other countries throughout Africa and the Near East.
    Currently detailed inventories of obsolete pesticides exist or are being carried out in Botswana, Eritrea, Ethiopia, the Gambia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Senegal, and Tanzania. Preliminary estimates suggest that nearly 800 tonnes of pesticides await solutions in these countries. This does not include contaminated soil and other materials and invariably once disposal operations start, more obsolete products are found.
    The biggest stumbling block in dealing with these stocks is the lack of available funds. FAO plays a coordinating role but relies on funds from other sources to implement disposal operations. So far major contributors have included the Dutch, German and US governments and FAO. Other donors and industry who played significant roles in creating the current problem through misguided practices, have so far contributed little or nothing towards the clean up efforts. As a first little step, Shell recently made a contribution to the disposal of dieldrin (its own product) from Mauritania. Shell and other companies also pledged contributions to disposal operations for the Gambia, Senegal and Madagascar. Whether the companies will live up to these expectations still remains to be seen. The pesticide companies and aid donors are considering their positions, but while they do, the contamination of people and their  environments continues. (MD)

Pers comm. Dr A Wodageneh; and, Rechem 1997.

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 38, December 1997, page 23]