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The Poisoned Poor: Toxic Chemicals Exposures in Low- and Middle-Income Countries GAHP EXECUTIVE Table of Contents COMMITTEE

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The Poisoned Poor: Toxic Chemicals Exposures in Low- and Middle-Income Countries GAHP EXECUTIVE Table of Contents COMMITTEE The Poisoned Poor: Toxic Chemicals Exposures in Low- and Middle-Income Countries GAHP EXECUTIVE Table of Contents COMMITTEE Snapshot 3 Details 7 Toxic Sites—Current Knowledge 7 The Initial Screening 8 Health Implications 9 Implications for Economic Growth 13 Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction 15 Strategies for Success 16 A Global Response— The Global Alliance on Health and Pollution 18 Snapshot Toxic chemicals from industry, mining and agriculture affect the health of hundreds of millions of people world-wide. Heavy metals, pesticides, solvents, radionuclides Interventions to mitigate these toxic exposures and other toxic substances can be found at while protecting livelihoods have proven to be dangerous levels at thousands of sites around the manageable and affordable. Projects in a number world, in drinking water, soil, air and food. These of countries, including India, Senegal, Indonesia chemicals (lead, mercury, chromium, pesticides, and the Philippines, have produced cost-effective etc.) disproportionately impact local populations solutions for a wide range of toxics issues. Many of in the poorest towns and neighborhoods. Children them have been conducted in collaboration with are especially vulnerable to the effects of toxic local communities, governments, and international pollution. Without intervention and cleanup, agencies such as the World Bank, United Nations toxic pollution poses real long-term health and Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and environmental challenges, and can significantly Blacksmith Institute. impede economic and social development. Aside from the obvious health benefits, solving A recent review of more than 3,000 toxic sites these problems usually promotes, rather than worldwide, part of the ongoing Toxic Sites inhibits, economic growth. Solutions can increase Identification Program, a project funded by the access to valuable resources, such as more efficient World Bank, European Commission and Asian recovery of lead from battery recycling, or Development Bank, showed that as many as 200 reclamation of land in urban areas. Technical million people may be directly affected.1 A detailed solutions that offer more profit to small-scale analysis of 373 of these contaminated sites in India, players through improved, toxic-free technology Indonesia and the Philippines calculated that the transfer can contribute to sustainable development amount of disease caused by toxic exposures was and poverty reduction. No less important, enact- similar to that of malaria or outdoor air pollution in ing solutions now can avoid longer-term economic those three countries.2 The impact of these diseas- constraints, such as mental disability and cognitive es, in terms of global public health, and the com- impairment of children and rising health care costs mensurate loss in economic capacity, is enormous. from illnesses associated with toxic exposures. The review also showed that the majority of acutely toxic sites, especially in terms of health 1 Based on analysis of trends in the current Toxic Sites Identification Program database. Blacksmith Institute. 2013. exposures, are caused by local business, many 2 Chatham-Stephens, K., Caravanos, J., Ericson, B., Sunga-Amparo of them artisanal or small-scale. Abandoned or J, Susilorini B, Sharma P, Landrigan, P., & Fuller, R. (2013). Burden of Disease from Toxic Waste Sites in India, Indonesia, and the Philip- legacy sites are also quite common. Large pines in 2010. Environmental Health Perspectives. 121:791-796. http:// ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1206127/ multinational corporations are rarely implicated. The Poisoned Poor: Toxic Chemicals Exposures in Low- and Middle-Income Countries 3 Toxic pollution is a serious concern in the Philippines. Our country urgently needs resources and expertise to be able to control active emissions, prevent future pollution, and clean up legacy pollution to protect human health and the environment. > Neric Acosta, Presidential Adviser for Environmental Protection, Office of the President, Government of the Philippines 4 Practical Strategies by Type of Toxic Site Solution: Develop appropriate tailings management Toxic exposures can be categorized into a series of systems. Monitor active mines and clean heavy problems that are seen time and again. Because the metals from land. Successful models in China. categories are similar from country to country, solu- n Toxic site type: Electronics waste exposures— tions to each type are replicable. Generally, cleaner dioxins, PAHs and other toxic chemicals from technologies and better enforcement of environmental burning plastics and cables, and lead and cadmium regulations are needed in coordination with low-cost from CRT recycling. clean-up of legacy contamination. Listed below are Global exposed population: More than 3 million a few examples of commonly seen problems, and people. strategies to address them. More detailed examples are Solution: Formalize the sector, and relocate away presented below under Strategies for Success. from densely populated urban centers. Introduce better technologies and training for recyclers. Examples Models in China and ongoing efforts in West Africa, n Toxic site type: Localized lead poisoning from including Ghana. car battery recycling. Global exposed population:3 More than 20 million Other types of problems include industrial estates, people. municipal/industrial dumpsites, chemicals Solution:4 Develop incentives to formalize the manufacturing, electroplating industries, and smelters. informal sector and assist polluting smelters to institute cleaner technologies. Clean up legacy sites. In general, regulatory responses to these problems Remediation models available from projects in the alone are insufficient. Enforcement capacity in most Dominican Republic, Senegal and Indonesia. countries is sparse, and many regulations exist on paper that are inadequately enforced. Local capacity n Toxic site type: Mercury contamination from to manage toxics exposures, especially from small-scale gold mining. orphaned or legacy sites, is generally inadequate. Global exposed population: Up to 17 million people. This is often due to lack of resources, technical Solution: Train miners in mercury free technologies expertise and trained personnel, rather than lack that increase gold yields. Mercury-free methodology of political will. Large gains in public health can from the Philippines being tested now in Indonesia, potentially be achieved with small investments Bolivia, Tanzania and Ethiopia. in site identification, training and technology transfer. n Toxic site type: Chromium contamination from industry and anaerobic conversion of trivalent chromium (used in tanneries) to hexavalent 3 Global exposed population numbers are an estimate based on analysis chromium. of trends in the current Toxic Sites Identification Program database. 4 Strategies presented here are simplified representations of solutions for Global exposed population: More than 15 million each type of problem. GAHP is not suggesting a one-size fits all solution to each problem, but rather that successful examples of solutions exist for the people. various commonly found types of problems, and as models, they can be Solution: Clean up contaminated sites, and treat used and adapted to the particular context found at each individual site. contaminated ground water. Set up treatment plants for tannery effluents. Models for both in India. n Toxic site type: Heavy metal contamination from mine tailings. Global exposed population: More than 25 million people. The Poisoned Poor: Toxic Chemicals Exposures in Low- and Middle-Income Countries 5 Government Strategies GAHP is tackling an Many countries have been responsive to the issue of toxic pollution and its human health impacts. In important issue for each country, there is a need to first: an Asia that is rapidly — identify hotspots, and cluster them into type of exposure, toxicant and solution; industrializing and —define resources needed to mitigate health impacts; urbanizing. — coordinate international and national resources for effective management, and health risk mitigation. > Rajat Nag, Managing Director General, Asian Development Bank Philippine mercury-free technique to extract gold. A large number of low- and middle-income countries need assistance and transfer of other country experience, technical know-how, successful replicable models, and resources to address these problems. Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) The Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) was formed in 2012 to assist low- and middle-income countries to implement solutions to the problems posed by chemicals and wastes. It is led by the Asian Such processes are at various stages of activity in Development Bank, Blacksmith Institute, the Euro- a number of countries to date, including India, pean Commission, UN Development Program, UN China, South Africa, the Philippines, Indonesia, Environment Program, UN Industrial Development and Mexico, among others. Many countries have Organization, the World Bank and many others. taken action with support of agencies such as the GAHP offers technical expertise, guidance and Asian Development Bank, European Commission, resources to help clean up toxic hotspots, the World Bank, World Health Organization and US prevent re-contamination and guard against Environmental Protection Agency, and UNIDO, Some future pollution. countries have built up their own expertise and are engaging in South-South cooperation to share best This report,
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