Toxic smoke harmful to foetus’ sex organs

By Maore Ithula

A pall of dark smoke spirals into the morning air, blacking out a section of Nairobi’s Outering Road, beside which street children are burning tyres.

Motorists stuck in a morning jam can be seen winding up their windows to avoid the acrid sting of the smoke.

Pedestrians cringe as they pass the affected section, but still some can be heard coughing as they choke from the smoke. The scene is common in many slums in Nairobi and at garbage dumpsites.

Health experts have identified the type of dark smoke emitted from such burning as among the most serious health hazards. Irresponsible garbage disposal and burning poses many health risks to humans.

The toxic chemicals can cause cancer and heart diseases and interfere with the formation of sex organs to an unborn child if the mother inhaled dioxins within the second and 12th week of gestation.

If one is exposed for long or regularly to fumes released when plastic or rubber waste is burnt, says Dr Paul Saoke, he could suffer a depressed immune system, can develop cancer and other devastating conditions.

The physician says fumes released by burning plastics contain dioxins, which are ‘very toxic to humans’.

Saoke, who is the head of Physicians for Social Responsibility, Kenya Chapter, quotes a survey, which he supervised at the Dandora dumpsite, where it was established many people suffer from effects of burning plastic wastes.

"We found that people and animals living around this area have tell-tale signs of the toxicity of dioxins," he says. Short-term exposure to dioxins may result in skin lesions and patchy darkening of the skin and altered liver function. Long-term exposure impairs the immune system and in children, the development of the nervous, the endocrine systems and reproductive organs and affect functions.

Inhaling fumes

People who inhale fumes from burning plastics will suffer from upper respiratory tract infections, which are characterised by coughs, running nose and reduced IQ.

He says solid wastes can also be dangerous to handlers at every point of the disposal. Some health hazards, he says, include nasty wounds that could be caused by sharp-edged waste metals and broken glass.

Saoke says garbage scavengers almost always suffer from serious diseases like hepatitis, tuberculosis and even HIV and Aids, courtesy of the solid wastes they come into contact with. A few of them have been injured when they scramble for refuse dropped by garbage trucks at the Dandora cesspool. Saoke says whereas it is easier to avoid the obvious health risks posed by garbage, Kenyans need to be sensitised on the dangers of burning plastics.

Categories of solid waste include plastic, paper, metal, wood, linen, medical waste and electronic waste.

According to State of Environment 2005, Kenya by the National Environmental Management Authority in conjunction with the Environment Ministry, Kenya’s per capita waste generation is about a half kilogramme of waste per day or person. This figure is for the three forms of wastes, which includes solid waste (garbage), liquid and gaseous wastes.

Only 40 per cent of the waste is disposed in designated sites, the report says.

 

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