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Chingola

The Environmental Impact of the Production of Copper

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Copper mining and processing has a significant effect on the health and well being of the people working in the mines and in the surrounding environment of the Copperbelt.

Impact of Copper Production

The mining and processing of the copper ore involves the production of silica dust particles that causes a number of respiratory illnesses such as asthma and tuberculosis, and skin diseases. Between January and June 1996, 21,743 miners were screened for chest ailments at the Occupational Health and Research Bureau. Many suffered from silicosis or pneumoconiosis. Many miners also suffered from impaired hearing from the noise of machinery in underground mine shafts.

In addition waste materials from the mining process use of a number of dangerous chemicals including arsenic and carbon monoxide that pollute the water, soil and the air.

The smelting process also creates considerable pollution. Smelting produces large volumes of low concentration sulphur dioxide that is not worth further processing to remove the sulphur. It is pumped into the environment. The National Council for Scientific Research estimates that 2000 micrograms per cubic metre of Sulphur dioxide are discharged every day from the copper smelter in Kitwe. The World Health Organsation consider 600 an acceptable level.

Only a 100 km away from Chingola in Kankoyo locality of Mufulira town sulphur dioxide omission creating acid rain has devastated crops. Vegetables no longer grow and trees and other plants are withering. Paint peels off the walls as a result of the acid rain from the town's copper smelter.

Impact of Copper Production

The smelting methods do not meet the rigorous environmental standards of most industrialised countries. With falling and fluctuating copper prices and revenues the copper producing firms have had insufficient resources to invest in smelters that produce lower and acceptable levels of pollution. ZCCM built one plant that will convert the sulphur dioxide into sulphuric acid. However, the company is reluctant to build more. Having large stocks of unsold sulphuric acid also has environmental concerns.

The question you might be asking yourselves is whether the newly privatised copper mines and smelters with access to large amounts of foreign capital are more likely to invest in more environmentally friendly copper production which create fewer health problems to their workers and their families?

The Zambian government is starting to appreciate the impact of environmental problems and their social costs. For example, they have recently repealed a bill preventing ZCCM from being prosecuted for environmental reasons. However, there is still much to do.

Overseas Aid is also starting to be targeted at dealing with the problem of pollution from organisations such as Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), World Bank and Japanese International Co-operation Agency.

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Related Glossary Items:
Market failure
Privatisation
Externalities

Related Issues:
Unemployment and Underemployment

Related Theories:
The Theory of Externalities