A study has found that Ugandan children living near Kiteezi landfill in Kampala are at high risk development and intellectual impairment because of exposure to lead metals.

The Kiteezi landfill is known to contain high levels of lead and other heavy metals which are dumped there.

Uganda children

The research evaluated 163 children aged four to eight from nine schools located near the Kiteezi landfill and found out that 20.5 percent of the children had elevated blood lead levels (EBLL) greater than 10 micrograms, the level believed to cause developmental and intellectual impairment.

The lead researcher from the US based Mount Sinai School of Medicine Leonardo Trasande says the effects have been worsened by lead contamination of the water supply system.

Trasande appealed to the Uganda government and all stakeholders involved to put in place systems which ensures proper waste management to curb the prevalence of lead in the population.

Leads remain a threat to the environment and human health in the developing world although policies have been put in place to ban lead in paint and gasoline.

Solomon Akugizibwe, Ultimate Media