Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Gdansk University of Technology, Narutowicza 11/12, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Apr 25;19(9):5195. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19095195.
Lead (Pb) pollution from smelters and lead-acid battery has become a serious problem worldwide owing to its toxic nature as a heavy metal. Stricter regulations and monitoring strategies have been formulated, legislated and implemented in various parts of the world on heavy metal usage. Developed countries such as the USA and in Europe largely operate within the set standards, however, developing countries such as Kenya, Nigeria and India, with limited regulatory capacity, resources and sufficient data, face poor Pb waste management and exposure of the population to health risks. This study assessed the pollution concerns from Associated Battery Manufacturers (East Africa) Limited (ABM), located in the Nairobi Industrial Area in Kenya. Samples of air, extracts from plants (leaves) and factory wastewaters were taken from different operations units, prepared and analysed with Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). Pb traces remained fairly controlled with averages of 1.24 ± 0.42 parts per million (ppm), 1.21 ± 0.02 ppm and 0.29 ± 0.01 ppm in the air, plant extracts and effluents, respectively. The conducted research shows that the obtained lead concentrations in the air, wastewater and surrounding plants exceeded the recommended standards, and are potentially harmful not only to workers, but also to the surrounding villages.
由于铅（Pb）是一种重金属，具有毒性，因此来自冶炼厂和铅酸电池的铅污染已成为一个全球性的严重问题。世界上许多地区都制定了更严格的重金属使用法规、监测策略，并将其立法和实施。美国和欧洲等发达国家在很大程度上都遵守了这些标准，但肯尼亚、尼日利亚和印度等发展中国家的监管能力、资源和数据有限，面临着铅废物管理不善和民众面临健康风险的问题。本研究评估了位于肯尼亚内罗毕工业区的东非联合电池制造商（Associated Battery Manufacturers，ABM）的污染问题。从不同的作业单元采集了空气、植物（叶片）提取物和工厂废水样本，用原子吸收光谱法（Atomic Absorption Spectrometry，AAS）进行了制备和分析。空气中的铅痕迹控制得相当好，平均值为 1.24±0.42 百万分率（parts per million，ppm），植物提取物和废水中的平均值分别为 1.21±0.02ppm 和 0.29±0.01ppm。进行的研究表明，空气中、废水中和周围植物中的铅浓度超过了推荐标准，不仅对工人，而且对周围的村庄都可能造成潜在的危害。
