Zambian authorities should address recent reports that polluted water and soil from an acid spill in Zambia's copper mining region pose a serious health risk, Human Rights Watch said today.
On February 18, 2025, a dam in Chambishi, Copperbelt province, holding mining waste from Chinese mining company, Sino-Metals Leach Zambia, burst its walls and released acidic effluent into Kafue River's watershed. Sino-Metals is a subsidiary of the Chinese government-owned China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group. The pollution killed fish, burned maize and groundnut crops, and led to the deaths of livestock, wiping out livelihoods of local farmers and posing harm to residents.
"Recent reporting on the immediate and long-term health effects of the February acid spill show the need for the Zambian government to investigate the health hazards and take comprehensive action to prevent further harm," said Idriss Ali Nassah, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The authorities are obligated to ensure that the internationally protected rights to health and to a healthy environment of the affected communities are respected."
Zambian authorities should conduct a comprehensive investigation with international and domestic experts to identify environmental health risks, and test affected communities for possible acute and cumulative heavy metal poisoning.
Civil society groups contended that the acid spill resulted from "a broader pattern of gross corporate negligence and inadequacies in environmental compliance, oversight and enforcement." An official from a local environmental organization told the media that "people unknowingly drank contaminated water and ate affected maize. Now many are suffering from headaches, coughs, diarrhea, muscle cramps, and even sores on their legs."
In the days after the toxic spill, Sino-Metals apologized for the environmental disaster and the harm caused to local communities, and promised to remedy the situation by cleaning up the river and to restore people's livelihoods "to the best of our abilities."
However, in August, six months after the acid spill, a travel advisory by the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs had information showing that water samples from the area of the acid spill contained 24 different heavy metals, 16 of which, including nickel, lead, arsenic, zinc, and uranium, exceeded the threshold values set by the World Health Organization. High exposure to these metals can pose serious health hazards, especially for children, older people, and pregnant women.
On August 6, the US government ordered the immediate evacuation of all US government personnel from areas affected by the acid spill. The United States stated that newly available information had revealed "the extent of hazardous and carcinogenic substances … as well as the immediate and long-term health threats that exposure to these contaminants pose as long as they remain in the environment. Beyond contaminated water and soil, contaminants from the spilled mine tailings may also become airborne, posing a health threat if inhaled."
After the disaster, the Zambian government ordered Sino-Metals to restore the polluted river, rehabilitate the surrounding environment, and compensate over 500 affected farmers. Since then, however, the government has denied that the acid spill still posed a serious health risk, stating that "laboratory results show that the pH (acidity) levels have returned to normal and concentrations of heavy metals are steadily decreasing, which means that the immediate danger to human, animal and plant life has been averted."
The Zambian government has undertaken some measures to mitigate the harm, including using lime to reduce acidity levels in the affected waterways. However, Human Rights Watch spoke to two environmental activists who said that community members in areas affected by the pollution still complained of headaches, coughs, diarrhea, and other health issues that increased after the spill. Some said they had not received the promised compensation.
The Zambia Environmental Justice Coalition also expressed concern over the scale of the disaster and the long-term impact on affected communities. The coalition urged the government to "renegotiate all compensation agreements-ensuring the full involvement of affected communities-to promote intergenerational justice and restore livelihoods."
Mining has caused other serious environmental and health harm in Zambia. In Kabwe, Central province, a lead and zinc mine, closed in 1994 but never cleaned up, has caused severe lead poisoning among residents. A civil society coalition has called a full clean-up and compensation for those affected by the pollution.
Under the 2011 Environmental Management Act, everyone in Zambia has the right to a "clean, safe and healthy environment." Further, Zambia is a party to international and regional human rights treaties that obligate the government to protect the right to health and the right to a healthy environment. The right to the highest attainable standard of health is guaranteed by article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and by article 16 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.
"Zambia's economy is heavily reliant on the mining sector, but the government still has an obligation to protect the right to health of those affected by mining activity," Nassah said. "Donor governments should help Zambia achieve this though support and cooperation."
