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Written by Steve Mbogo   

Business Daily Africa

Dandora dumpsite

April 10, 2009: The Dandora dumpsite will be moved to Kayole’s abandoned quarries as a stop-gap measure before it is settled in Ruai.

The Nairobi City Council is assessing the impact of the move on the environment and will have the quarries lined with chemicals to block leakage, said the National Environmental Management Authority (Nema).

Spokesperson Ruth Musembi said the focus of the assessment would be to find out whether the waste will contaminate underground water resource among other effects.

One of the reasons why Damndora dumpsite is being moved is the environmental and health hazards it has brought to its neighbourhood. The Ruai dumpsite was to be developed by the government with support from the Unep was supported to have modern waste recycling facilities, which lack at the Dandora site.

Nema however did not confirm when the project will start. The City Council has been under pressure to relocate the 32 acre Dandora dump site because of its environmental and health effects.

The site is near the informal settlements of Kariobangi North, Korogocho, Dandora and Baba Ndogo, which hold millions of predominantly low income informal sector workers. At least 2,000 tonnes of waste deposited there daily, according to a statement from Comboni Missionaries.

Indeed experts argue that the Dandora dumpsite contravenes international environmental laws, which require that dumpsites be closed down after 10 to 15 years of usage, yet the site has been in place since 1980s.

Past studies which involve an analysis of soil samples from locations adjacent to and within the dumpsite show high levels of heavy metals emanating from the site, in particular lead, mercury, cadmium, copper and chromium.

“A medical analysis of the children and adolescents living and schooling in its neighbourhood revealed a high risk of diseases associated with high exposure to these metal pollutants,” said the  statement.

Toxic levels

“For example, about 50 per cent of children examined who live and school near the dumpsite had respiratory ailments and blood lead levels equal to or exceeding internationally accepted toxic levels while 30 per cent had size and staining abnormalities of their red blood cells, confirming high exposure to heavy metal poisoning,” the statement added.

But relocation to Ruai, as has been on the cards for long, delayed by the huge expensive investments required in form of recycling and other waste management facilities.