Alex Masi

Ibrahim Abubakar, 22, a man working in artisanal gold processing and mining, lost his two-yeal-old daughter Abdelmajid Abubakar, to lead poisoning, when he lived in a contaminated cluster of houses where 8 children died in a two-year spam. He has now another daughter, Fatima Abubakar, 1 year and 9 months. She is healthy, as the families living in this heavily contaminated compound joined together and remediated the soil by removing tainted soil and replacing it. Many villagers in Zamfara state now claim to be working in agriculture, and to have nothing to do with gold, mainly because the health crisis that emerged. Given the lucrative option, locals believe that most people in the area are, in some way, involved in the gold business. The contamination is caused by ingestion and breathing of lead particles released in the steps to isolate the gold from other metals. This type of lead is soluble in stomach acid and children under-5 are most affected, as they tend to ingest more through their hands by touching the ground, and are developing symptoms often leading to death or serious disabilities. The treatment with MSF starts when blood lead level (BLL) samples reach 45 micrograms per decilitre. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that a BLL of 5 ?g/dL or above is a cause for concern. The cycle of medicines lasts for 20 days. After that, the child's blood is tested and a new round of treatment is provided. Treatment can last years, as lead is reduced in the blood, but it persists noticeably within the bones, especially if the patients return to the same polluted environment. Remediation of the affected villages, a campaign of awareness, and the introduction of safer mining techniques are pivotal to the long-term solution of a hazardous trend that has already killed over 460 children, and it is bound to grow in size, alimented by the ever-rising price of gold.