Sustainability of artisanal mining of cobalt in DR Congo
Célestin Banza Lubaba Nkulu,
Lidia Casas,
Vincent Haufroid,
Thierry De Putter,
Nelly D. Saenen,
Tony Kayembe-Kitenge,
Paul Musa Obadia,
Daniel Kyanika Wa Mukoma,
Jean-Marie Lunda Ilunga,
Tim S. Nawrot,
Oscar Luboya Numbi,
Erik Smolders and
Benoit Nemery (ben.nemery@kuleuven.be)
Additional contact information
Célestin Banza Lubaba Nkulu: University of Lubumbashi
Lidia Casas: KU Leuven
Vincent Haufroid: Université Catholique de Louvain
Thierry De Putter: Royal Museum for Central Africa
Nelly D. Saenen: Hasselt University
Tony Kayembe-Kitenge: University of Lubumbashi
Paul Musa Obadia: University of Lubumbashi
Daniel Kyanika Wa Mukoma: University of Lubumbashi
Jean-Marie Lunda Ilunga: University of Lubumbashi
Tim S. Nawrot: KU Leuven
Oscar Luboya Numbi: University of Lubumbashi
Erik Smolders: KU Leuven
Benoit Nemery: KU Leuven
Nature Sustainability, 2018, vol. 1, issue 9, 495-504
Abstract:
Abstract The sustainability of cobalt is an important emerging issue because this critical base metal is an essential component of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. More than half of the world’s cobalt mine production comes from the Katanga Copperbelt in DR Congo, with a substantial proportion (estimated at 15–20%) being extracted by artisanal miners. Here we show, in a case study performed in the town of Kolwezi, that people living in a neighbourhood that had been transformed into an artisanal cobalt mine had much higher levels of cobalt in their urine and blood than people living in a nearby control area. The differences were most pronounced for children, in whom we also found evidence of exposure-related oxidative DNA damage. It was already known that industrial mining and processing of metals has led to severe environmental pollution in the region. This field study provides novel and robust empirical evidence that the artisanal extraction of cobalt that prevails in the DR Congo may cause toxic harm to vulnerable communities. This strengthens the conclusion that the currently existing cobalt supply chain is not sustainable.
Date: 2018
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natsus:v:1:y:2018:i:9:d:10.1038_s41893-018-0139-4
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DOI: 10.1038/s41893-018-0139-4
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