The failure of Zambia’s government to intervene against “blatant violations” of environmental laws is worsening the exposure of a high number of children to severe health risks, mostly lead poisoning, at a shuttered mining site in the country’s central region, warns a new report.
The Human Rights Watch report published on Wednesday said Zambia is allowing South African, Chinese and domestic mining companies to continue to operate in the lead-contaminated town of Kabwe, where residents are already reeling from decades of toxic lead exposure.
