ANKA, Nigeria, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- So-called backyard gold mining in Nigeria exposed thousands of people to deadly levels of lead, a team from the United Nations found.
People in the Nigeria state of Zamfara have been trying to recover gold from lead-contaminated soil near homes. A five-member team from the U.N. Environment Program and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs found thousands of people were at risk and around 400 children died since March because of lead exposure.
"Rapid and coordinated intervention is imperative," the team said in its report. The health effects, the report added, are far worse than recorded as the incidents go largely unreported.
The team didn't call on a ban on the gold mining but warned safer techniques were needed to prevent widespread lead exposure near homes and community centers.
One site examined by the U.N. team found lead levels in the air were 100 times the maximum level of recommended exposure.
Lead poisoning causes severe damage to the neurological system of children and can lead to birth defects. The nervous and digestive systems are affected when lead particles are inhaled.
