Prevalence of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Blantyre - Malawi
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2017
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Abstract
The industrial and agricultural revolutions have led to the development of a variety of chemicals ranging
from insecticides, pesticides, fungicides and bactericides. However the demand for these chemicals led the
manufacturers to manufacture the chemicals without considering the sustainability of using such chemicals. During
the last half of the 20th century, the global environment has become contaminated with a number of persistent and
fat-soluble chemical contaminants, commonly referred to as the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). These
compounds generally have low water solubility, do not degrade readily in the environment, bio-accumulate in food
chains, and have been linked to adverse health effects in both humans and wildlife. In order to develop appropriate
strategies and institutional responses, it is pertinent to assess the prevalence of the variety of organic pollutants and
the people’s understanding and awareness of POPs that pose a threat to the biophysical aspect of the environment, if
used or disposed of in unsupervised means. Thus, this study sought to assess the inventory of POPs, level of
awareness and measures used in dealing with the chemicals in Blantyre, Malawi. The researchers used a qualitative
research design. The research instruments used were a questionnaire, key-informant interviews and observations.
The study focused on Ndirande peri-urban area comprising Mulanje, Thyolo, Zomba, Chiradzulu and Njuli. A
random sample of sixty-four respondents was selected and a total of 64 questionnaires administered. The survey
covered 5 sites that included markets, agro-dealers, hardware shops, estates and chemical companies. Descriptive
statistics were obtained from key- informant interviews and observations. Findings revealed that despite the banning
of POPs in Malawi as a signatory to the Stockholm Convention of 2001, the illegal usage and selling of banned
POPs was rampant with hardware shops, agro-dealers and vendors. The survey also revealed low level of awareness
and knowledge about POPs pesticides especially among the general public in Ndirande Peri-urban. There was
presence of Chlordane as the most common pesticide used to control termites and was mainly sourced by the local
farmers from the market vendors, hardware shops and Agro-dealers. The pesticide DDT was identified as
resurfacing with its source into the country linked to Mozambican traders. The majority of the farmers cited DDT as
the main pesticide used to control termites and protect crops such as maize after harvest. In addition the survey
revealed the presence of a power utility with a number of obsolete transformers suspected to be contaminated with
PCBs still waiting to be disposed for incineration at Blantyre West Sub-station. The researchers observed that this
placed at high risk the workers at the power utility of PCBs due to lack of adequate protective wear. It was observed
that children were mainly exposed through improperly disposed obsolete pesticides, insecticides and chemical
containers. The study concluded that there is need for education of people to ensure their awareness of the dangers
associated with the illegal pesticides usage. Integrated Pest Management was recommended as the best alternative
approach in peri-urban agriculture
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Citation
Eugine, M. and Tanyanyiwa, V., 2016. Prevalence of persistent organic pollutants in Blantyre-Malawi. Am J Environ Prot [Internet], 4(3), pp.61-6.