A person cleaning a polluted river in Nairobi with city buildings and informal settlements in the background.
In a new study, water and chemical researchers Patrick Ssebugere, Ashirafu Miiro and Oghenekaro Nelson Odume examined existing research from various African countries to identify the continent’s forever chemical hotspots. The study identifies contamination in 11 African countries: South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Mali and Tunisia. South Africa recorded some of the highest levels. One of the hotspots they identified was South Africa’s Vaal River, where industrial effluents were contributing to contamination. Another was Kenya’s Nairobi River; urbanisation and industrial runoff are driving high ‘forever chemical” levels in this important body of water. Perhaps the most worrying example is Lake Victoria.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION