Thousands of people in a poor urban district in Kenya face serious health consequences from toxic lead from a battery recycling plant, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday. The crisis is the result of the Kenyan government's failure to adequately regulate the lead smelter in the Owino Uhuru district outside Mombasa, the New York-based human rights watchdog said in a press release.
Human Rights Watch released a film, Kenya: Factory Poisons Community, documenting the health and environmental damage caused by the smelter, threats to activists working on the issue, and efforts by local residents to seek justice. At least three workers at the smelter have died from lead poisoning, and the community of 3,000 people remains contaminated. Human Rights Watch called on the Kenyan government to provide lead poisoning testing, clean up homes and public spaces in the community, and provide compensation for victims.
"The Kenyan authorities in Mombasa authorized the smelter as part of a program to stimulate investment," said Jane Cohen, senior environment researcher at Human Rights Watch. "But investment should not come at the expense of the lives and health of workers and residents," he added.
Since the smelter began operations in 2007, residents in Owino Uhuru say they have experienced an increase in miscarriages and impotence, and parents told Human Rights Watch that their children always seem sick.
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