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Ghana |
SOCIAL CONDITIONS
Pollution of the earth’s natural resources is a world-wide problem
The people of the mining communities of Abekoase and Huninso, in the Western Region of Ghana are very wary now. Assurances from state institutions such as the Water Resources Commission (WRC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that the recent cyanide spillage in the area poses no danger to them, have not helped to allay their fears.
Their fears are not unfounded. The River Asuman, that has served generations on end, now seems to be almost dead. The fish that used to dart by for any casual on-looker to see, are no longer there. It has also assumed a coloration which has heightened the suspicions of the local communities. A number of residents have also complained of infections, the causes of which have yet to be ascertained.
«We’ve asked to be relocated because we are afraid of staying in the area,» says the Chief of Abekoase village, Nana Moloba Nyameke. Nana Nyameke said he personally had to send one person to hospital after she recently drank water from the river.
Despite these claims, the government, just like the management of Goldfields Ghana Limited (GGL), operators of the mine, believe the cyanide leakage, poses no threat to lives and property, a situation that has made the villagers live in fear ever since 16 October 2001 when the accident occurred.
The spillage, according to reports, killed some fish in the River Asuman, which flows into Huni River. The Asuman and Huni rivers are the sources of drinking water for Abekoase, Huninso and many other villages. Residents of the community who went to the riverside that morning, found dozens of dead fish floating about, and not knowing the cause, some jumped into the river and picked up some of the fish in order to eat them. Residents were subsequently warned to stay away from the river and its surrounding areas.
Effects of cyanide
Cyanide is extremely poisonous. It is a white, crystalline compound with a bitter odour used in extracting gold from low-grade ore, for electroplating and for casehardening of steel. Medical sources say it can get into the human body through ingestion or can be absorbed through the pores on the skin. In the human body, it extracts all oxygen from the lungs, leaving the person short of breath. It can lead to death if ingested in large amounts, medical sources say.
But Richard Graeme, Managing Director of GGL says the cyanide spill from its mines did not in anyway affect human health or safety. «We responded as promptly as anyone would have responded to an outbreak of fire in his premises,» he claims. Although initial reports indicated that extensive damage had been caused to fauna and flora, Graeme, contested the claim. «The only thing that died was fish, and this was as a result of the introduction of chlorine to detoxify the stream. Fish are extremely sensitive to chlorine, but the chlorine was introduced to kill the effects of the cyanide», he said.
Since the incident, the company has been sending water each day in a tanker to the affected communities. The company claims that about 50 dead fish were actually found in the river and these have been handed over to the EPA for analysis. Residents, however, said they had seen 200 dead fish.
Officials of the gold mine say the amount of leakage, about 680 cubic metres or 200 kilogrammes of sodium cyanide, was a small solution spillage, and would have no effect on life forms in the river and on plants around it. According to them, cyanide degrades in the natural environment extremely quickly down to its constituents — carbon and nitrogen — and has no lingering effects.
The local community, meanwhile, is extremely wary of the outcome of the investigations carried out so far. Concerned groups also say there has not been a thorough investigations into the incident. The community believes the long-term effects on the lives of the people are being glossed over in the quest for economic gain. The WRC‘s examination shows that the concentrations of cyanide at the sampling locations, were below EPA guideline values, «and as such does not pose any health hazard to the communities that live along the river.»
One disturbing feature about the incident is that within days of the occurrence, there was another spillage on 28 October 2001 by a different company, Satellite Goldfields Limited, at Akyempim, which is barely two miles away.
Since then, the communities had cause to complain about the activities of mining companies which they say, are destroying their land and water and taking away their source of livelihood. Their contention is that since the spillage had rendered them vulnerable to diseases, the mining companies should resettle and compensate them adequately.
Some environmental groups have, meanwhile, blamed the Minister for Environment and Science, Professor Dominic Fobih, for condemning the initial media report on the spillage. The minister said the initial report had been «blown out of all proportion». It cannot be doubted that the attitude and pronouncements of the minister have substantially prejudiced the investigations he instructed the agencies under his ministry to conduct,» the environmental groups said.
In the past five years, Ghana has experienced three cyanide spillages, but 2001 is unprecedented since within the space of two weeks, two cases occurred. Ghana, like other developing countries, is often faced with sacrificing environmental consequences for industrial development. No company has been sued, to date, for destroying the plant and fish life.
A recent statement by the Attorney General’s Department says that, it would establish an environmental desk to enable it to «redefine and enforce the country’s environmental laws», has been seen by observers as long overdue. The Minister of Justice and Attorney - General, Nana Akufo-Addo, who announced this, said the desk would take a critical look at the various laws to make them responsive to efforts to ensure a sustainable environment. «Although there are good environmental laws on the country’s statute books, they are hardly enforced,» he conceded, putting the blame on «the poor resource base of the Department,» which he said, limited the Department’s ability to deal with the numerous issues.
But for now, the clarion call by the local community in Abekoase, Huninso and other mining areas is: «Our lives are precious, and we deserve better».
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