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               Nigeria Pledges to Clean Up Deadly Lead Poisoning

   by Heather Murdock

   ABUJA -- The Nigerian government is preparing to release more than $4
   million to clean up the site of the worst outbreak of lead poisoning in
   modern history.
   International aid group [1]Doctors Without Borders says it fears that
   without measures to ensure the funds reach the communities, thousands
   more children could be infected by what they call "staggering" levels
   of poison.

   A few years ago, gold prices surged and small-time miners in Nigeria's
   Zamfara State increased their incomes as much as tenfold, to $10 or $15
   a day.  Since then, lead poisoning associated with the mining has
   killed hundreds of children and about 4,000 are still sick.

   In June, the Nigerian government pledged more than $4 million to clean
   up the lead.
   Now, as they get ready to disperse the funds, some people worry that
   with so much cash being spread around in a country well known for
   corruption, some of the funds may disappear.

   "I think everyone in Nigeria has seen programs gone awry due to issues
   of accountability.  It is my fervent hope that this will be an
   exception because this is not a game.  Children are dying.  It's really
   important that corruption not derail this effort," said Ivan Gayton,
   head of Nigeria's Doctors Without Borders.
   He says thousands more children could be infected, risking death or
   severe brain damage if the cleanup is not successful. [2] Human Rights
   Watch says children have been found in Zamfara with as much as 70 times
   the amount of lead in their blood than is considered safe.

   But Gayton says people continue gold mining despite the danger.  He
   says if authorities attempt to enforce a recently-reported ban on gold
   mining, it will only drive miners underground.  Fear already keeps many
   parents from reporting that their children are sick, he says.

   "People are very poor there and when they come across this fairly
   lucrative economic activity they can do they're afraid to lose it.  And
   I have to say, if it's a choice between poisoning your child in the
   future but being able to feed your child today," said Gayton. "It may
   sound easy for us to say, `Well, you shouldn't do this.'  But it's very
   hard to not go out and earn the money that allows you [to] feed your
   child today."
   Gayton says after the villages are cleaned up, safer mining practices
   need to be put into place and sick children need treatment.  He says he
   hopes that some of the government funds allocated for clean-up will be
   diverted towards establishing safer mines for the future and urges
   authorities to both literally and figuratively "get the lead out."
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   [3]http://www.voanews.com/content/nigeria-pledges-to-clean-up-deadly-le
   ad-poisoning/1501234.html

References

   1. http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/
   2. http://www.hrw.org/
   3. http://www.voanews.com/content/nigeria-pledges-to-clean-up-deadly-lead-poisoning/1501234.html