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Kenyans ill in 'toxic waste' leak | Kenyans ill in 'toxic waste' leak |
(30 minutes later) | |
Hundreds of people near the Kenyan port of Mombasa say they have become ill after a consignment of leaking chemical containers was dumped nearby. | Hundreds of people near the Kenyan port of Mombasa say they have become ill after a consignment of leaking chemical containers was dumped nearby. |
Witnesses told the BBC that the drums were abandoned at Kipevu near the port over a month ago by a truck driver who had noticed liquid seeping out. | |
The city's environmental officer says the drums have traces of nitric acid. | |
A BBC reporter in Mombasa says two women living in a Kipevu slum have complained of having miscarriages. | |
Other slum residents have also complained of breathing difficulties, stomach upsets and chest pains. | |
I had gone to relieve myself in the toilet, while there but was hit by a strong fume Kibibi, slum resident who miscarried | |
The BBC's Odhiambo Joseph says he also experienced breathing difficulties and a stomach upset after visiting the area. | |
Apparently a yellow liquid and noxious fumes have been escaping from the containers. | |
The National Environmental Management Agency (Nema) says it has brought in tonnes of sand and other agents to try to neutralise the spill. | |
Ugandan company | |
The director of environment at the Mombasa City Council says they have sent samples of the chemicals to the government chemist for identification. | |
The chemical cargo was on its way from Mombasa port to a mining company in western Uganda when it was dumped. | The chemical cargo was on its way from Mombasa port to a mining company in western Uganda when it was dumped. |
The Mombasa City Council has ordered the company to appear in court to answer charges of environmental pollution, our correspondent says. | |
The company says an agent in Mombasa is dealing with the case. | The company says an agent in Mombasa is dealing with the case. |
The chemicals are also said to be destroying property, corroding the metal sheets used to build houses and melting anything made of plastic. | |
According to residents in the slum - known as Kalahari Village - the acid seems to have entered the latrine systems. | |
Kibibi, whose house was near the chemical spill, alleges she miscarried as a result. | |
"It was a three-month-old pregnancy. I had gone to relieve myself in the toilet, while there but was hit by a strong fume," she told the BBC's Network Africa programme. | |
"I quickly gathered myself up and ran back towards my room but I could not manage - I fell down and I started bleeding immediately." |