Homa bay: Activists and environmentalists in Homa Bay county have voiced strong objections to a proposal by a company to dispose of asbestos in the Kaksgunga area of Suba North Sub County. The proposal, put forth by Lakers Consultancy Ltd., suggests disposing of asbestos near the beaches of Lake Victoria, which activists argue poses significant environmental and health risks.
According to Kenya News Agency, the company's proposal follows a government mandate requiring property owners to safely remove and dispose of asbestos materials from both public and private properties. The challenge of finding suitable disposal locations has property owners of older buildings with asbestos struggling to comply with these regulations. A public participation exercise was recently organized by Lakers Consultancy Ltd in Mbita to gather public opinion on the proposal. However, objections from activists, local residents, and environmental groups have prompted the firm to seek alternative disposal sites.
Activists, including Evans Oloo and Eugene Obisa, have raised concerns that dumping asbestos near Lake Victoria will endanger the local marine environment. This issue underscores the enduring struggle to safely dispose of asbestos, a carcinogenic building material banned by the government in 2006. Mr. Oloo described the proposal as environmentally dangerous, socially irresponsible, medically hazardous, and constitutionally unacceptable, emphasizing the threat it poses to the health, livelihood, environment, and future of millions of residents reliant on the lake ecosystem.
In their objection letter, the activists highlighted potential risks such as contamination through floods, water runoff, airborne asbestos fibers, and soil seepage. They warned that any leakages could have long-lasting detrimental effects on aquatic life, public health, and biodiversity within the Lake Victoria Basin. The activists emphasized that allowing such disposal would violate constitutional rights to a clean environment, high health standards, and the protection of ecologically sensitive areas.
Additionally, they cited violations of the Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act (EMCA), Cap 387, which includes the right to a clean environment, requirements for Environmental Impact Assessments, and regulations on hazardous substances. The activists noted that asbestos is recognized globally as a hazardous carcinogen linked to diseases like lung cancer, with organizations like the World Health Organization and International Labour Organization consistently warning against unsafe handling and disposal.
Environmentalists, such as Willis Omullo, echoed these concerns, stressing that dumping hazardous materials near the lake compromises water quality and threatens marine biodiversity. Omullo proposed alternative methods, such as chemically destroying asbestos and recycling its by-products into new construction materials, thereby eliminating the need for toxic underground dumping.
The call for action includes urging the government to ensure strict adherence to environmental laws and recommending alternative environmentally safe disposal locations away from water bodies and ecologically sensitive areas. In Homa Bay, asbestos remains in several structures, including educational institutions and medical facilities, highlighting the urgency for a sustainable and safe solution to asbestos disposal.