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NATURAL RUBBER
23 February, 2021
“Heavy metals bioaccumulate throughout the food chain”
Swedwatch interview with Flaviano Bianchini, the director of Source International. The NGO Source International provides local communits with scientific studies and analysed air and water samples around Firestone Liberia´s rubber processing plant as part of the Swedwatch report Murky Waters - Environmental and human rights impacts of natural rubber processing in Liberia. The interview was carried out in February 2021.
Can you briefly describe how the water and air sample analysis conducted and how accurate it is?
All the analysis we performed were made according to international standards. The methodology chapter of the study lists the exact methodology for each water analysis and all of them are widely recognized by the most important international authorities (mostly US EPA and WHO). For the dust analysis we used an instrument called Aeroqual 500S which is also used by the US EPA as a portable instrument to measure PM10 and PM2.5.
Flaviano Bianchini, director of Source International
Among the substances/chemicals you detected in the wetlands and waterways surrounding the Firestone factory, which two or three did you find the most alarming in terms of health risks to the local community?
It is very difficult and somehow non-scientific to do a ranking of the most dangerous ones. Each one affects the environment and human health in a different way. Heavy metals are particularly dangerous for their residuality. They will never disappear from the environment and they bio-accumulate throughout the food chain up to humans. Some of them are cancerogenic and mutagenic and in general they pose a big threat to environment and health.
Phosphorus and Nitrogen are the main responsible for eutrophication: a phenomena widely present in the Farmington area and responsible for the ecological poverty of the river and for the die-offs of fishes that widely affects the protein intake of local population.
PM10 and PM2.5 are over the limit near the factory. According to WHO these particulates are among the most dangerous pollutant in the world, widely present in urban and industrial areas and responsible for millions of death every year. However, the area of study is a remote and agricultural one and the presence of such pollutants is likely due to Firestone’s facilities.
As I said it is difficult to do a ranking but the combination of all of these is a very high risk to human health in the area. People in the Farmington basin are suffering from shortage of protein (due to eutrophication caused by phosphorus and nitrogen), heavy metal intake and they are breathing high level of particulate matter. All of these together put in serious danger their health.
What substances/chemicals did you find to be far above internationally acceptable levels?
In the wetland, just after Firestone wastewater discharge, Aluminium, Manganese, Copper and Iron are all above the limit. Same for phosphates and total phosphorus and also nitrogen. In the same point also the Chemical and the Biological Demand of Oxygen are both above the limit. As far as we move away from the wetland the concentration of all these elements decrease but most of them remains above the limit along all the Yur-Chu Creek.
PM10 and PM2.5 are above the limit in Owensgrove, just in front of the Firestone factory.
What impact do they tend to have on the local environment and what did you observe?
As mentioned before heavy metals bioaccumulate throughout the food chain and finally they reach human been. Phosphate and nitrogen are responsible for eutrophication of water which is responsible for the reduction of oxygen in the water and it directly affects plants and fishes in the rivers.
What kind of health problems are they known to cause?
Aluminium:
The uptake of aluminium can take place through food, through breathing and by skin contact. Long lasting uptakes of significant concentrations of aluminium can lead to serious health effects, such as: damage to the central nervous system, dementia, loss of memory, listlessness, severe trembling.
People that work in factories where aluminium is applied during production processes may endure lung problems when they breathe in aluminium dust. Aluminium can cause problems for kidney patients when it enters the body during kidney dialyses.
Manganese:
Manganese is one out of three toxic essential trace elements, which means that it is not only necessary for humans to survive, but it is also toxic when too high concentrations are present in a human body.
Manganese effects occur mainly in the respiratory tract and in the brains. Symptoms of manganese poisoning are hallucinations, forgetfulness and nerve damage. Manganese can also cause Parkinson, lung embolism and bronchitis. When men are exposed to manganese for a longer period of time they may become impotent. A syndrome that is caused by manganese has symptoms such as schizophrenia, dullness, weak muscles, headaches and insomnia.
Chronic Manganese poisoning may result from prolonged inhalation of dust and fume. The central nervous system is the chief site of damage from the disease, which may result in permanent disability. Symptoms include languor, sleepiness, weakness, emotional disturbances, spastic gait, recurring leg cramps, and paralysis. Manganese compounds are experimental equivocal tumorigenic agents.
Copper:
Long-term exposure to copper can cause irritation of the nose, mouth and eyes and it causes headaches, stomach-aches, dizziness, vomiting and diarrhoea. Intentionally high uptakes of copper may cause liver and kidney damage and even death. Whether copper is carcinogenic has not been determined yet. There are scientific articles that indicate a link between long-term exposure to high concentrations of copper and a decline in intelligence with young adolescents. Whether this should be of concern is a topic for further investigation.
Chronic copper poisoning results in Wilson’s Disease, characterized by a hepatic cirrhosis, brain damage, demyelization, renal disease, and copper deposition in the cornea.
Phosphate:
Too much phosphate can cause health problems, such as kidney damage and osteoporosis. Phosphate shortages can also occur. These are caused by extensive use of medicine. Too little phosphate can cause health problems.
Are the substances/chemicals common biproducts from natural rubber processing?
They are all substances that can be released from natural rubber processes if not properly managed.
Did you find evidence to suggest that Firestone’s plant may be polluting the local environment? If so, what?
We found heavy metals and phosphates in the wetland near their water dumping. Those elements (especially the heavy metals) are very unlikely to be naturally present in the water. Furthermore, they are not present in the other points along the Farmington river basin, suggesting that they are not naturally occurring in the area. Therefore, all the elements point towards Firestone’s plant.
As for dust emission PM10 and PM2.5 are much higher close to the factory then far from it. The area is a rural and remote area and therefore it is unlikely that there are other sources of dust emission.
Could there be other potential polluters in the area, like farms or other industries, contributing to the contamination?
Firestone is the only big industry in the area. The type of pollution (especially phosphate and nitrogen) that we encountered can also be related to big scale farming; but that one is also carried out by Firestone.
What action should Firestone Liberia take to ensure that it does not release harmful effluents?
They should improve their water treatment plant and install proper filters for their fumes.
&nb...
NATURAL RUBBER
23 February, 2021
“It has become clear that it is the water that makes us sick”
Swedwatch telephone interview with G. Mondyou P. Garmondeh, Chairman of Concerned Citizens' Advocacy for the Protection of the Ancestral Land (CCAPAL), Owensgrove. The interview was carried out in February 2021 as a part of the Swedwatch report Murky Waters - Environmental and human rights impacts of natural rubber processing in Liberia, an investigation of environmental pollution in the vicinity of Firestone Libera´s rubber processing plant in Owensgrove.
How has your community been affected by the Firestone plant?
You were here to investigate the water and air pollution around the Farmington river ... As we speak you would not stand the air pollution we are having here, even for me and I am used to it ... When you come to the riverbank you see the dirty water ... The air pollution and the smell of the factory makes you sick and gives you headaches. The air is highly polluted, and the water is highly polluted. There is no way Firestone can deny … It is clear cut.
How long has this been going on?
For a very long time. People never knew if pollution comes from Firestone ... We have running stomachs, we have to go to the hospital, it has become clear that it is the water that makes us sick ... If you ask those people what is the cause? The cause of the water pollution is Firestone ... The water is polluted. People have come to help us, to test the water and air. People have come to document it again and again. A lot of youth, women and children are still affected and make the same allegations.
What do you want the authorities and the company to do now?
Thank you for the question. The question is very fine. You are speaking to an individual now … I cannot speak for everyone … These pollution things are in the air. But there are other communities that are affected by the pollution of Firestone … What we can do is document complaints to prove … and forward that documentation to Green Advocates.
Is there anything else you want to add?
The pollution of Farmington river and air pollution caused by Firestone has been documented again and again, has been proven by documents by men, by women and youth. We are not afraid to stand to Firestone, to the Liberian government, to the international community to tell them that. It is proven. Firestone cannot deny the allegations. We tell Firestone that our water has been damaged again and again ... If you have the chance to come … Your heart would be brok...
Report
23 February, 2021
Firestone Liberia and Bridgestone Corporation Must Investigate Pollution Claims
Natural rubber is used in many products from car tyres to clothes. Its processing provides livelihoods for millions. But it is also one of the world’s worst water polluting industries. In a new report Swedwatch calls on Bridgestone Corporation, one of the world’s largest tyre companies, and its indirect subsidiary Firestone Liberia Inc to investigate serious environmental pollution in the vicinity of its rubber processing plant in Liberia.
Firestone Liberia operates the world’s largest rubber plantation in Owensgrove, 50 km west of the capital Monrovia, and is the country’s largest private employer with a land concession occupying nearly ten percent of arable land.
During a Swedwatch investigation, air and water samples from around the processing site were analysed by project partner NGO Source International. The water analysis found levels of heavy metals such as manganese and aluminium that clearly exceeded limits for drinking water. According to Source International, these pollutants pose a severe health risk for humans as they bio-accumulate throughout the food chain and can cause serious illness. There were also high phosphate and nitrogen levels and evidence of eutrophication, known to deplete fish stocks.The sampling results suggested that the company’s wastewater treatment system had not been working adequately and confirmed reports from local communities affected by water and air pollution. Similarly, air quality analysis and testimonies from community members suggested that the use of industry-standard air scrubber technology to improve air quality was not sufficient.
“This situation has been ongoing for years and the company still claims that they are treating wastewater and filtering the air,” said Francis Colee, director of Green Advocates International, Swedwatch’s project partner in Liberia. But still, the local communities don’t have enough fish to eat because of water pollution and they have a lot of pollution-related health problems.”Read the full report
Join our webinar "Environmental and human rights impacts of natural rubber processing" 24 Feb 4PM CET!
The odour coming from the Firestone factory affects us greatly. The stench causes headaches and nosebleeds; it can really make you go out of your mind./Community member, Owensgrove
Water samples, taken by Source International, from around Firestone Liberia´s processing site revealed concentrations of heavy metals far above the standard set by the World Health Organization.
Heavy metals (mg/l)
WHO human consumption
Local creek
Local wetland
Aluminium
0,2
0.16
6.3
Iron
0,3
3.8
19
Manganese
0,05
0.18
0.42
Infections, nausea and food shortages
In meetings with local residents in early 2020, Swedwatch collected reports of people falling ill after consuming local water supplies and suffering from a range of health problems such as infections, nausea, as well as food shortages caused by dwindling fish stocks. Some described the smell from the factory as so intense that it causes headaches and nosebleeds. Just ahead of the report’s publication, community representatives described the situation as unchanged.
The industrial production and processing of natural rubber has long been associated with wide-ranging negative human rights impacts around the world, including child labour, environmental pollution and land grabbing. This report adds to extensive documentation by national and international civil society groups on how local communities continue to be affected by pollution around Firestone Liberia’s factory in Harbel.Communities want transparency
Local community leaders have long called for transparency regarding the severity of suspected water pollution, as well as an objective assessment of overall pollution levels. In dialogue with Swedwatch, Firestone Liberia acknowledged that certain nutrient constituents in the wastewater have, on multiple occasions, exceeded permitted standards but claimed to be unaware of any harm or damage resulting from this. Furthermore, the company claimed to operate within all required air-permits.
Community members told Swedwatch that this information has not been readily available to local communities.
The environmental pollution reported by local community members contradicts the vision of a fair, equitable and environmentally sound natural rubber value chain and principles of safe water management agreed by the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) members, including Bridgestone Corporation. The alleged lack of access to information is not in line with the company’s commitments under the GPSNR Policy Framework or with international guidelines, such as the United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
Swedwatch and its project partners Green Advocates International and Source International call on Firestone Liberia and Bridgestone Corporation to urgently conduct human rights due diligence and a human rights and environmental impact assessment in relation to its rubber processing plant in Liberia. These results must be shared with communities and action taken to rectify any shortcomings.We found heavy metals and phosphates in the wetland near their water dumping. Those elements … are very unlikely to be naturally present in the water./Flaviano Bianchini, director of Source International
The pollution of Farmington river and air pollution caused by Firestone has been documented again and again ...... It is proven. Firestone cannot deny the allegations. /G. Mondyou P. Garmondeh, Chairman of Concerned Citizens' Advocacy for the Protection of the Ancestral Land
Press Contacttom@swedwatch.org
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2013: Cut and Run
2019: Business, Human Rights, Environment and Sustaining Peace – Experiences from Liberia and Sierra Leone
Additional materialInterview with the community leader and Chairman of Concerned Citizens' Advocacy for the Protection of the Ancestral Land.Interview with Flaviano Bianchini, director of Source International.Bridgestone statement in response to Swedwatch Repo...
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