By Patrick Otoe Nudzi
Accra, Sept. 26, GNA – UNICEF Ghana, in collaboration with the Partnership for a Lead-Free Future (PLF), an agency under the United Nations, has visited Recyclers Ghana Limited, a used lead-acid battery (ULAB) smelting company at Afienya in Greater Accra, to learn about safe battery recycling practices.
The visit, on Friday, by Mr Abdullas Fadil, Global Director of PLF, formed part of his Ghana country mission, facilitated by the Department of Factories Inspectorate, which provides oversight of factories in Ghana.
The partners said proper recycling of ULABs was essential to reducing lead pollution and protecting workers, communities and, especially, children from the harmful effects of lead poisoning.
Mr Fadil commended the infrastructure and safety measures at the facility, saying the recyclers were meeting the required standards but could continue to improve to safeguard human health and the environment.
He said the Global Partnership for a Lead-Free Future was not intended to eliminate lead from the world but to ensure that people, particularly children, were not exposed to lead in their daily lives.
“Children receive lead four to five times more. It impacts their cognitive development. So, UNICEF is interested in making sure that no child is exposed to lead. The air, food, water and toys should not have lead in them,” Mr Fadil said.
From a global perspective, legislation was important for enforcement, capacity building of regulators and enforcement agencies, as well as resource allocation, he noted, adding that Ghana’s Parliament could help in that regard.
He commended the country for the progress made in completing some surveys on the issue, saying two levels of a national representative survey measurement would soon take place to determine the sources of lead exposure.
Mr Piyush Makwana, Country Manager of Recyclers Ghana Limited, said the company bought used lead-acid batteries from locals and neighbouring countries and, after properly extracting the lead, exported it to the United States and Turkey.
The company, he said, melted the plastic components of the batteries and sold it to manufacturing companies for use in producing plastic chairs.
Mr Makwana said its infrastructure, logistics, processes, safety equipment and mechanisms were supervised by the Department of Factories Inspectorate, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other relevant agencies.
“Our workers are mostly Ghanaians, and we test them to determine whether they have lead components in their bodies. Our challenges are that skilled labour is not available and the prices of our raw materials keep rising,” he said.
Mr Samuel Adjetey Boye, the Deputy Chief Inspector of Factories, called on Parliament to pass the new Occupational Safety and Health Bill to equip and resource the Inspectorate, saying the Factories, Offices and Shops Act, 1970 had outlived its relevance.
“We lack the technology and equipment to function efficiently; we do not have enough human resources and capacity building, we have logistical constraints, and we do not have vehicles to move inspectors to factories for monitoring,” he added.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Patrick Ofoe Nudzi