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A class action lawsuit has been filed against the mining giant Anglo American on behalf of more than 100,000 people in Zambia believed to be suffering from lead poisoning.
Those affected include children under the age of 18 and girls and women who have been or may become pregnant in the future, according to a statement released by the plaintiffs’ attorneys Wednesday morning.
The application was filed by 13 representative plaintiffs and filed in the Gauteng High Court. They are represented by Mbuyisa Moleele, is a Johannesburg-based law firm led by Zanele Mbuyisa and Leigh Day, an international law firm specializing in human rights and mass environmental claims.
According to the statement, the alleged poisoning is related to operations at the Kabwe zinc and lead mine, which was part of the AASA group from 1925 to 1974.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys say “generations of children” were poisoned by soil, dust, water and vegetation contamination associated with smelting, mineral processing and tailings dumps.
“Plaintiffs, primarily young children, suffer alarming levels of lead poisoning which, depending on various factors, including the level of lead in the blood, causes a variety of major conditions, from psychological, intellectual and behavioral harm to serious and permanent physical harm. on your body organs, neurological systems, and fertility In extreme cases, severe brain damage and death occur.
“In pregnant women, lead they ingested as children is absorbed into their bones and released during pregnancy. Women are also exposed to lead during pregnancy from the surrounding environment. Lead is known to cross the placenta, causing it to it causes the fetus to be subjected to the same concentration of lead as the mother. Not only can the baby’s health be harmed, lead puts pregnant women at increased risk of pre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension and miscarriage. “
The application asks for compensation and a blood test for children and pregnant women at Kabwe.
* This is a developing story. More to follow.
