The United States Embassy in Zambia ordered all U.S. government personnel Wednesday to leave a region in the north of the country affected by a toxic spill from a Chinese-owned mine that happened six months ago.
The embassy said in an alert on social media that new information revealed that “hazardous and carcinogenic substances” including arsenic, cyanide, uranium and other heavy metals had polluted a major river system flowing through the town of Chambishi and the nearby city of Kitwe, and had possibly become airborne, following an accident at the mine in February.
