Ethiopia to dispose of 1,100 tonnes of pesticides

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 27 (Reuters) – Ethiopia is preparing to ship 1,100 tons of potentially dangerous pesticides for incineration in Britain, a government official said on Wednesday.

The United Nations estimates that more than 2 800 tons of mainly obsolete pesticides have accumulated at 949 sites across Ethiopia, threatening the health of thousands of people.

Pesticides usually expire two years after manufacture, and many tonnes of out-of-date chemicals have accumulated in Ethiopia over the past few decades, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Biratu Oljira, an official at the Agriculture Ministry, said the chemicals had been brought into Ethiopia decades ago and were stored in 951 dumps in eight towns across the Horn of Africa country.

“They were stocked without adequate monitoring and have now become hazardous both to human beings and animals as well,” Biratu said.

He said the operation will be undertaken by a British waste disposal company that won a tender for the job of transporting the waste chemicals at a cost of about R30-million.

The operation is expected to take three phases, the first beginning before the end of the year.