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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter 

THE country has recorded a 100 percent increase in spillage of hazardous substances with environmentalists warning the public against trying to recover these substances as some of them are cancerous. 

Last year, Zimbabwe recorded a total of 22 hazardous substance spillage cases and incidences jumped to 31 between January and September.

Concerns have been raised that more cases could be recorded up to the end of the year.

Most of the reported cases involved spillage of petrol and diesel during accidents.

The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) revealed this during a hazardous substance meeting held with various players in Bulawayo recently

The agency noted that even some companies that deal with hazardous substances were not complying with standard procedures in terms of the disposal of the materials. 

In some instances, companies are said to be exposing workers to various ailments by making them work in insecure environments. 

In an interview on the sidelines of the meeting, EMA environmental quality manager Mr Alpha Chikurira said there is a need for more awareness of hazardous substances in communities.

“One of the critical elements that we implement is hazardous communication. We communicate to the communities the dangers of hazardous substances when a spillage occurs,” he said. 

Mr Chikurira said most of the spillage incidents involved petroleum tankers.

He urged members of the public to desist from trying to recover any hazardous materials in the event that a truck is involved in an accident. 

Mr Chikurira said there are incidents when communities have tried to siphon acid during a spillage resulting in some of them being burnt.

“You will find that on many occasions the community moves in to try and recover materials or substances in the event of an accident and materials can be dangerous to human health. They should avoid that lest they get injured or develop serious health consequences,” he said.

“Normally the average number of spillage cases that we record are 22 annually. This year we recorded 31 spillages during the first three quarters of the year, and we anticipate that they could be more in the fourth quarter.” 

The agency is moving in to conduct awareness campaigns targeting truck drivers for them to be adequately capacitated to deal with any eventuality.

Mr Chikurira said EMA is in the process of establishing a hazardous substance disposal facility to handle hazardous waste being generated from the industry. 

“It is quite significant as you would appreciate that chemicals are quite dangerous and they need to be disposed of in an environmentally sound manner. One of the critical components in that equation is to have a hazardous waste disposal facility,” he said.

“We are in talks with one of the local authorities where land has been identified and feasibility studies are being conducted to establish if it is suitable for the construction of that landfill.”

Mr Chikurira said the country does not have such a facility at the moment and the centre will help neutralise all the hazardous materials without harming the environment. 

Speaking at the same event, EMA Bulawayo environmental quality officer, Mr Fredrick Maponga said some companies prioritise economic benefits over health and safety on issues relating to storage of hazardous substances.

He said in the long run employees might suffer from diseases such as cancer due to exposure to hazardous substances. 

Mr Maponga said small scale miners are also at risk of contracting diseases due to exposure to dangerous chemicals. 

“If you go to the industry, you will discover that there is oil seeping into the environment and they don’t care as long as they will be making money. In mining, miners are using cyanide and they handle chemicals barehanded not knowing the effects of the chemicals,” he said. Mr Maponga said in some instances, companies do not report hazardous substances spillages. During the meeting, players in the industry urged EMA to conduct more sensitisation meetings to capacitate communities on how to handle hazardous substances. — @nqotshili