Class action seeks compensation for lead poisoning in Zambia

 21 October 2020

Gilbert Marcus SC, Patrick Ngutshana and Chris McConnachie are acting for the plaintiffs in a major class-action lawsuit against mining company Anglo American over alleged lead poisoning in Zambia. The lawsuit claims that generations of people in the Kabwe district – over 100 000 people – have been poisoned through exposure to toxins from a lead mine in the area.

 The mine was nationalised in 1974 and closed in 1994, but was part of the Anglo American South Africa (AASA) group holdings from 1925 until nationalisation. The case was filed in Johannesburg by 13 plaintiffs in late October 2020. Applicants want compensation and a clean-up of the area.

In a statement to the media, Anglo American said: “Once the claim is received, the company will review the claims made by the firm and will take all necessary steps to vigorously defend its position.”

They added: “By way of context, Anglo American was one of a number of investors in the company that owned the Kabwe mine until the early 1970s. Anglo American was, however, at all times far from being a majority owner.”

The court papers claim however that AASA failed to fix design flaws that ultimately led to the lead emissions, and that they did not ensure clean-up of the affected land before handing it over.

Kabwe is considered one of the most polluted or toxic areas in the world. A report from Human Rights Watch, released in 2019, alleges that more than a third of people in the area are living in townships that are lead-contaminated. Exposure to high levels of lead can impair growth and cause organ damage, particularly to the liver and brain. Children are considered particularly susceptible, and lead exposure in high levels can also increase the risk of miscarriage.

A recent article in The Economist – 10 December 2020 – claims that soil with more than 400 mg of lead per kilogram is considered hazardous. “In three townships near the old mine the soil contains six, eight and 15 times that amount, according to analysis in 2014 by Pure Earth, an environmental NGO,” the authors write.