Health reports confirmed widespread over-exposure to toxic arsenic at Tsumeb smelter in Namibia

Following Bankwatch’s revelations about toxic pollutants at the Tsumeb smelter in Namibia, the smelter’s owner, Canadian mining company Dundee Precious Metals (DPM), contested our findings in Namibian news reports. Without substantiating its claims with facts, however, and in light of the results of local health surveys the company’s reassurances ring hollow and meaningless.

The Tsumeb smelter extracts arsenic and other compounds from copper ore, half of which coming from the Chelopech mine in Bulgaria. The smelting leaves behind the pure metal, but also highly toxic waste like arsenic trioxide. Bankwatch had warned that the smelter may be contaminating the local environment with these toxic substances both through evaporation during the production process as well as through contamination from the waste site.

In the Namibian Sun, a DPM’s spokesperson claimed that our blog post represented a “distorted and inaccurate view of [DPM’s] operations in Namibia”. The company cites a health study which “tested the urine of over 1 700 locals and found no unexpected elevations”, but doesn’t provide the study itself to support its claim. (Neither does DPM clarify what those expected elevations were and whether they can be considered safe – a crucial question, considering that already small amounts of arsenic trioxide can lead to multiple organ damage and death.)

The company even argues that “[…] there have been and are currently no significant health impacts from the smelter on workers and community members” – an assumption that is in dramatic disagreement with international standards of acceptable levels of arsenic intake.

Information available to Bankwatch shows that arsenic levels of Tsumeb workers have been way above safe limits defined by health institutions.

As we learned from the local community, health tests have been conducted by the government in three consecutive years since 2011. A preliminary report published in August 2013 (pdf) that summarises the findings from the 2013 survey states that “[r]ecent urinary arsenic concentrations confirm current widespread over-exposure at the plant”.

In its introductory notes, the report, prepared by the National Institute of Occupational Medicine (NIOH) and supported by the Ministry of Environment And Tourism Namibia, refers to findings from surveys in March 2011. At that time the average arsenic concentrations in the urine of DPM workers were at 251 micrograms per gram creatinine (251 μg/g). This is much higher than the maximum acceptable level set by a range of health institutions worldwide.

As a reference value for over-exposure the report uses the Biological Exposure Indices (BEI) set by different institutions. A BEI is a reference for recommended concentrations of hazardous substances. As the report notes, the South African BEI (defined by the Department of Labour) lies at 50 μg/g.

Since basic urine tests don’t distinguish between toxic and non-toxic forms of arsenic, the report notes that 50 μg/g should not be used as a threshold without more detailed tests, but that values above 100 μg/g “generally indicate excessive absorption of inorganic [i.e. toxic] arsenic (but may be explained by organic [non-toxic] arsenic […]).”

Whichever one of these levels is being consulted, the Tsumeb smelter workers average arsenic concentration was by far higher than any level that could be deemed safe.

Continued contamination at reduced capacity

Following the results of audits in 2011 into the Tsumeb smelter’s health and environmental impacts, Dundee Precious Metal had to reduce its capacity feed by half in 2012 and was ordered by the Namibian government to introduce technological improvements. The capacity restrictions were lifted in December 2013 after the government had accepted DPM’s upgrade measures.

However, as we found out during our visit to the Tsumeb community, a cloud of doubts hangs over the company’s promises to have cleaned up its operations – just as the cloud of white dust that could be seen hovering over the smelter.

And indeed, the 2013 survey produced equally disturbing results.

As the tables below show, of 1082 DPM employees at the time, urinary arsenic levels of above 300 μg/g were measured in all sections of the smelter except the Slagmill. 69% of the people tested exceeded the level of 100 μg/g.

The most affected 3.5% of cases even reached levels between 507 and 1357 μg/g.

Source: Preliminary Report on the Survey of Namibia Customs Smelter Workers, Tsumeb, Namibia, pg. 6-7

In the Republikein newspaper, DPM claimed in early December that the exposure to inhalable arsenic has been reduced by half in 2014. These claims have so far not been substantiated with publicly available documents, let alone with results from new health tests. But even if such reductions were achieved and effective, almost one third of the workforce would still be above the critical level of 100 μg/g. [1]

The 2013 health report states several times that more detailed analysis will be presented in a final report. If DPM’s claims about its success in reducing arsenic pollution are supported by this report, why is it not being made public? Does such a report exist at all? The people in Tsumeb that we interviewed during our visit had not seen or heard of it.

Unclear impacts on the town of Tsumeb; company and government remain silent

Even more uncertainty surrounds the impacts on the town of Tsumeb. The health reports Bankwatch had access to only covered DPM employees and former employees. But without evidence to the contrary, the information available so far and the situation we have found on the ground suggest that arsenic contamination in Tsumeb by the smelter is at least likely. With the smelter’s capacity not being restricted anymore, the arsenic trioxide generated by the smelter’s operations could turn into an environmental time bomb for Tsumeb.

As Bankwatch has described earlier, the production waste that includes the highly toxic arsenic trioxide is being stored in sugar bags at a dump-site located just a few hundred metres away from houses in Tsumeb (see photo).

A satellite image showing the close proximity of the dump site to residential houses in Tsumeb.

DPM claims it has an elaborate monitoring system to make sure no air and water contamination takes place and that the dump site is regularly being inspected by the Namibian government. Without substantiating these claims with facts, however, and in light of the health reports’ outcomes such claims sound hollow and meaningless.

A closeup of the Tsumeb waste disposal site. Clearly visible are the damaged bags containing residue from the smelter.

Nine months ago Bankwatch began requesting information from both Dundee Precious Metals and the Namibian government regarding the environmental permits of the Tsumeb smelter. Even though documents like the Environmental Impact Assessment and the Environmental Clearance Certificate should by law be publicly available [2], neither Bankwatch nor our Namibian partners Earthlife Namibia and the Legal Assistance Center were able to get access to them.

Until detailed information on the environmental performance of DPM’s Tsumeb smelter is available to others than those with a vested interest in the project, the continued poisoning of the town of Tsumeb is a possibility that cannot be ruled out.

Given the health impacts of substances like arsenic trioxide, such a risk should not be taken lightly, neither by Dundee Precious Metals nor by the government of Namibia.

Notes

1. This is based on the simplified assumption that the arsenic levels in the table above would now be half as high and thus all results above 200 μg/g in the table would now be above 100 μg/g.

2. As stated in the Environmental Management Act 7/2007 of the Republic of Namibia in Art. 17 (g) and (h) the Environmental Commissioner should maintain a register of the undertaken Environmental Assessments and the issued Environmental Clearance Certificates and “a copy of the record must be made available for public inspection at the office of the Environmental Commissioner during office hours” Art. 38 (3)