Di cooking pots and toys wey dey cause lead poisoning for Ghana

One of those days for di Madina market for Accra, Ghana.

Rain don fall, wey di market wet as traders dey hope say pipo go still come buy dia stuff.

For Lydia Awo wey dey sell aluminum cookware - pots and saucepans, di market be slow.

But she never know say di cookware she dey sell go fit cause lead poisoning.

“We dey buy di pots from one local blacksmith for Accra wey we dey take come sell for market,” Lydia tok BBC News pidgin.

Di cookware no get any labels, no manufacturer information, nothing.

I ask Lydia if she know say di pots wia she dey sell fit get high level of lead wia go fit be harmful to di health of pipo.

“I never know dis one,” she tok.

Lead poison for cooking pots and toys

One environment NGO, Pure Earth Ghana don do research into 200 consumer products and food samples across four regions, wey show disturbing results.

Di study show high level of lead contamination for metal cookware sabi di one Lydia Awo and im oda traders don dey sell for dis market.

For di result wey dem find, metal cookware show 55% contamination, ceramic cookware don contaminate 18%.

Odas wey get high lead contamination be children toys, 14% as well as local mascara wey get 7% lead contamination.

For one stand for di madina market, some pipo dey buy toys.

Some parents tok say na preparation for christmas.

From small cars, dolls, pistols den spider man pieces, parents just dey buy.

One of dem tok BBC News pidgin say dem dey buy di toys every year as gift give dia pikins.

But how dem don manufacture dem no concern John Owusu, wey buy toy cars for im 2 year-old twin sons.

E no get idea about di fact say di toys fit contain high level of lead wey be harmful give di children.

“So wetin for happun, make we no buy toys give our kids again?”, John dey wonder.

Kontri director for Pure Earth, Esmond Quansah don tok say anoda study dem do show say about 53.5% of children below five years get high level of lead for dia blood.

Oga Esmond add say di research wia dem do for Greater Accra, Ashanti and northern regions show say some of di children get high blood lead poison pass di global average of 33%.

“Some of di children for some areas don get lead poisoning up to 70-80%,” im tok.

How dis lead dey enter body

Lead be one heavy metal wey dey plenty products inside.

E dey fit enter di body if pesin inhale lead fumes for atmosphere, especially places wey dem dey burn e-waste.

Di oda way be say pesin go take am into di system through food, or say children dey eat wall paint or chew toy parts.

Esmond Quansah explain say “if pesin dey chop food wey dem cook for di metallic cookwares, e dey raise di risk of lead poisoning.”

Na so dem do one ‘leach test’ say dem go find percentage of lead wey dey enter food from di cooking pots.

Oga Esmond tok say dem find “52% of di pots don get high concentration of lead wey dey wash enter food.”

Wit di experiment dem do, dem boil water for some of di pots, wia dem test di water for lead contamination.

So dem find say di lead level don dey high for di water afta dem do di test over and over again.

Lydia Awo wey dey sell metallic cookware for di madina market say dis information dey scare am.

Lead poison dey affect children and adults

One report by di world bank don hammer on di “exceptionally high level of lead exposure wia dey link to situation wey pipo dia IQ dey decline.”

Di report show say “children under five years across di world don lose 765 million IQ points.”

Those wey dey low and middle-income kontris “lose 729 million IQ points”.

Health sabi pesin for Kandifo institute, Dr Michael Baah Biney say di effect lead poisoning get for di human body be serious.

Dr Biney tok say for unborn babies, e dey cause loss of some of dia organs.

“Di baby go get no eyes, no mouth, no head or even wen di baby get head, ego be small. Dis dey fit cause stigma for di mama of di baby afta dem born am.”

E also dey cause emotional trauma for di mama of di child, especially if dem struggle before dem conceive.

Im also tok BBC News pidgin say for children wia dem born, di lead poisoning dey slowdown flow of oxygen for di blood.

“E dey block di ability of red blood cells for di body say dem go transport oxygen to di brain.”

“Dis dey affect di development of di brain of di growing child, na so dia IQ dey affected, Dr Biney explain.

For children wey dey grow, lead get impact on dia physical growth.

Dr Biney say “di ability of di bones to grow in length dey affected, na so di child go make short”.

Hospitals across di kontri don record some of dis cases, but some families say na spiritual problem.

For adults lead exposure dey cause high blood pressure.

Im also dey cause wahala for adults dia brain and kidney.

E dey fit cause reproductive health problems also for men den women.

Wetin regulators dey do

Di kontri environmental protection agency (EPA) don tok say dem dey develop lead prevention policy take deal wit di exposure problem.

Oga for di agency, Dr Henry Kokofu say dem “recommend one high level committee wia get science, health den local goment ministries wey go develop dis policy”.

One tin e go ensure be say “ego publish di standard lead concentration wey for dey traditional aluminum cookware”.

For di places wey dey manufacture unsafe cookware without regulation, especially di local blacksmiths, di EPA oga say “dem go task di local assemblies make dem descend on dem”.

Lydia Awo wia don dey sell dis aluminum cookware for Madina market tok say “di move go spoil dia business.”

But im tok BBC News Pidgin say if dem give dem places wey dem dey manufacture di standard pots, dem go try those places.

“Di oda ones go cost plenty, but if dia pots be correct, we no get choice. We no dey want any wahala wit di goment.”

Di assemblies also go pursue di artisanal used lead acid batteries (ULAB) recycling activities wia dey expose pipo to lead poisoning.

EPA also dey intensify education make di public dey aware about di danger wey dey link to lead.

As di regulators don dey do dia part, di health authorities dey advocate say make goment provide di resources for testing den treatment.

One oga for environmental health unit for di Ghana health service, Dr Carl Osei tok say “time don reach say make di state build di capacity of health pipo for goment hospitals” wia dem go test den treat di effect of di poisoning.

“As we dey so, before we go test samples unless we take to ghana standards authority or oda private laboratories”.

As di goment agencies don dey work to deal wit di issues at dia level, individuals and families for take interest in choosing wetin be healthy alternatives.

If e mean say you go throw away di suspicious cookware you dey use, you for do am.

And for parents, you for dey aware of wey kind toys you buy for your children!

E never make late!