Introduction
Approximately 85% of the total global consumption of lead is
for the production of lead-acid batteries (ILA, 2017). This represents a
fast-growing market, especially in Asia (Future Market Insights, 2014). The
main uses of these batteries are in motorized vehicles, for storage of energy
generated by photovoltaic cells and wind turbines, and for back-up power
supplies (for both the consumer market and for critical systems such as
telecommunications and hospitals). In developing countries where power supplies
are unreliable, lead-acid batteries are used domestically for lighting and
electrical appliances (UNEP, 2004). The growth in the use of renewable energy
sources and the concomitant need for storage batteries, as well as the
increasing demand for motor vehicles as countries undergo economic development,
mean that the demand for lead-acid batteries will continue to increase. This is
reflected in the increased global demand for refined lead metal, which was
estimated at 10.83 million tonnes in 2016 (International Metals Study Groups,
2016). The demand is being met by increases in both primary lead production
from mines and recycling. Indeed, currently over half of the global production
of lead is from lead recycling (ILA, 2015).
Approximately 85% of the total global consumption of lead is for the production of lead-acid batteries (ILA, 2017). This represents a fast-growing market, especially in Asia (Future Market Insights, 2014). The main uses of these batteries are in motorized vehicles, for storage of energy generated by photovoltaic cells and wind turbines, and for back-up power supplies (for both the consumer market and for critical systems such as telecommunications and hospitals). In developing countries where power supplies are unreliable, lead-acid batteries are used domestically for lighting and electrical appliances (UNEP, 2004). The growth in the use of renewable energy sources and the concomitant need for storage batteries, as well as the increasing demand for motor vehicles as countries undergo economic development, mean that the demand for lead-acid batteries will continue to increase. This is reflected in the increased global demand for refined lead metal, which was estimated at 10.83 million tonnes in 2016 (International Metals Study Groups, 2016). The demand is being met by increases in both primary lead production from mines and recycling. Indeed, currently over half of the global production of lead is from lead recycling (ILA, 2015).
Recycling used lead-acid batteries is of public health concern because this industry is associated with a high level of occupational exposure and environmental emissions. Furthermore, there is no known safe level of exposure to lead, and the health impacts of lead exposure are significant. Based on 2016 data, it is estimated that lead exposure accounted for 495 550 deaths and 9.3 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost due to long term impacts on health, with the highest burden in low- and middle-income countries (IHME, 2016). Young children and women of childbearing age are particularly vulnerable to exposure to, and the toxic effects of, lead.
Nigeria
Over 500,000 tons of used lead acid batteries are generated
in Nigeria and informally recycled to be exported to markets in India and China
During the
course of a research titled: “Soil Contamination from Lead Battery
Manufacturing and Recycling in Seven African Countries,” which was published in
the Journal of Environmental Research.
The researchers tested areas surrounding 16 authorized
industrial facilities in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania
and Tunisia, and claimed that activities in some facilities in Lagos and Ogun
states where recycling occurs posed significant health risks to the public.
A total of 21 soil samples from lead battery recycling
factories sites in Lagos and Ogun states including
Abia, Oyo, Anambra, Kano, Abuja and Kaduna were analysed. Samples
were tested in EMSL Analytical, Incorporation, United States of America, which
show that lead levels around lead battery recycling plants in Nigeria ranged up
to 29,000parts per million (ppm) outside the facilities tested and 140,000ppm inside
the facility tested.
The study
found that spent batteries housed up to 40 pounds of lead, which can cause high
blood pressure, kidney damage and abdominal pain in adults, and serious
developmental delays and behavioral problems in young children because it
interferes with neurological development.
“One of the facilities tested in Ota (Ogun state) is
located within approximately 20 meters of a residential district with about 200
inhabitants. At another facility in Ogijo (Ogun state), “waste water run-off
from the factory is used to irrigate surrounding farmlands.”
“The contamination levels in soil ranged up to 14 per
cent lead with average concentrations of two per cent lead. About 15 of the
samples (71per cent) were greater than 400 ppm or the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) limit for soil. Levels below 80 ppm are
considered safe for children”, Part of the report was collected by SRADev
Nigeria
Leslie Adogame executive director of SRADev Nigeria said
a key problem is that there are no industry specific regulations controlling
the release of lead from these recycling plants or to protect workers and
children in surrounding communities.”
Understandably, the report has generated a lot of
reactions but the problem of lead contamination in Nigeria may actually be
worse than imagined. The tests were conducted in authorised lead recycling
plants, what obtains in unauthorised centres is far worse.
Liquid
acid extraction
The practice of breaking up the acid to drain the acid
before the batteries are transported to Lagos is to reduce the weight when
transporting them. Many local smelters encourage the practice by offering
better prices for “dry” batteries
Makeshift smelters
Informal recyclers then proceed to extract lead from the
used batteries in a process that is injurious to their health as well as the
environment. Many locations where local smelters used to operate in Lagos have
closed down due to the intense enforcement raids by the Lagos State
Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA).
But a few plants exists and many in backwater
communities around Lagos including at Ijora, Ketu, Ojota, Orile, Ajah, Apapa
and Satellite Town. Many operate inside private houses which are often located
at the outskirts of the town. However, their operations follow a basic format
of extracting lead through a heating process.
Reseachers
could not access the facilities of Metal Recycling Industries located in Ogun
state, said to be one of the biggest smelters, but inquiries indicated that
ULABs recycling thrives in the facility which advertises itself as a copper and
metal recycling facility. Collectors as far as Onitsha confirmed that Metal
Recycling Industries were major buyers of ULABs.
Another big smelter, Metal Recycling World in Illupeju
industrial estate, Lagos, process lead dust for exports but the conditions are
not pleasant. I observed that the workers were not wearing any form of personal
protective equipment, some working with their bare hands. Lead dust is blown
into the atmosphere and the facility is near a commercial hub of Lagos —
Oshodi.
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