One thousand people, most of them women and children, have died from lead poisoning resulting from illegal mining activities in Nigeria’s northern Zamfara state since June 2010, the local Guardian newspaper Sunday quoted State Governor Abdul Aziz Yari as saying.
Those affected are from some villages in Anka and Bukkuyum local government areas of the State since June 2010.
The Governor spoke on Saturday at the launch of a remediation exercise at Bagega, Anka local council, which is one of the worst-affected villages.
He said the state government required 26 billion naira to clean up the affected areas and provide a permanent solution (US$1=155 naira).
Last year, the UN sent an emergency team to Zamfara, where the processing of lead-rich ore for the extraction of gold by illegal miners has caused widespread lead poisoning.
A report released by the team in January 2011 said over 200 children had been killed and more than 8,000 people affected by the high level of lead poisoning in the state.
The report also found that mercury levels in the air in the affected areas were nearly 500 times the acceptable limit.
It said many children over 5 years, as well as adults, who had been tested in the affected areas, also had extremely high levels oflead in their blood and may require treatment.
Other findings include: Drinking water from wells in the affected areas did not meet WHO and Nigerian standards (10 micrograms per litre) for lead limits, and in at least one case, exceeded this limit more than tenfold while water in ponds was often highly contaminated.
The report urged the Nigerian government to take greater measures to limit ore processing activities at sensitive sites, such as water sources from which humans and livestock drink.
Though the Nigerian government banned all mining activities in the state as part of efforts to curb the situation, the ban was lifted in March.