Notable case, Dandora, Nairobi, Nairobi County, Kenya
Dandora dumpsite
Nairobi's main open dump, next to densely populated informal settlements and the Nairobi river. A 2007 UNEP study found lead above accepted levels in the blood of half of the 328 children examined, and heavy metals in the surrounding soils.
At a glance
- Status
- Not addressed
- Area
- 12 ha on land1
- Media
- soil, air, surface water
- Kind of site
- landfill, open dump
- Area. 30 acres (about 12 hectares) according to the United Nations in 2007.
Contaminants
Mixtures and waste
Status
Not addressed
Declared full in 1996, the dump stayed in use. In July 2021 the Environment and Land Court ordered it closed, but in August 2022 dumping was continuing (AFP/Africanews). We found no source we could consult on any containment work.
Story
Dandora, in eastern Nairobi, receives the waste of a city of about 4.5 million people: some 2,000 tonnes a day in 2007, according to the United Nations. Household, industrial, hospital and agricultural waste is dumped together and burned in the open. According to a 2012 Concern Worldwide report, about 10,000 people, mostly women and children, work there every day recovering materials.
In October 2007 UNEP published the study led by Njoroge Kimani. 42% of soil samples had lead at levels almost ten times those of unpolluted soil; AFP reports 50 to 590 ppm of lead in surrounding soils and 13,500 ppm inside the dump, and mercury at 46.7 ppm in the waste and 18.6 ppm on the river bank.
Informal lead-acid battery recycling workshops also operate around the dump: a 2015 study measured lead in soil and dust in homes and nursery schools in Dandora, Kariobangi and Mukuru (Ondayo et al. 2016). In 2021 Kenya passed a sustainable waste management law and a court ordered the site closed.
Timeline
- 1996The dump is declared full (AFP).
- 2007October: UNEP study on pollution and health around the dump.
- 2021July: the Environment and Land Court orders closure.
- 2022August: the dump is still operating.
Health
In the 2007 UNEP study half of the 328 children and adolescents examined (up to age 18) had blood lead above internationally accepted levels and nearly half had respiratory diseases, including chronic bronchitis and asthma; anaemia and skin infections were also frequent (UN News, 2007).
From the literature
Species that acted on one of this site's contaminants in at least one study. The list is automatic and takes no account of this site's soil, concentrations or climate.
Plants
- Agrostis capillarisCommon bentEvidence: field
- Cannabis sativaIndustrial hempEvidence: field
- Eichhornia crassipesWater hyacinthEvidence: field
- Festuca rubraRed fescueEvidence: field
- Ricinus communisCastor beanEvidence: field
- Robinia pseudoacaciaBlack locustEvidence: field
Fungi
- Agaricus bisporusButton mushroomEvidence: laboratory
- Aspergillus nigerBlack mouldEvidence: laboratory
- Mucor circinelloidesEvidence: laboratory
- Rhodotorula taiwanensisEvidence: laboratory
- Saccharomyces cerevisiaeBaker's yeast, brewer's yeastEvidence: laboratory
- Boletus edulisKing bolete, porciniEvidence: survey of wild specimens
The rest are on the contaminant pages.
Sources
- Toxic dump in Nairobi poses severe health risks to children – UN study (on UNEP, Environmental Pollution and Impacts on Public Health: Implications of the Dandora Municipal Dumping Site in Nairobi, Kenya), UN News, 2007
- Waste pickers at Kenyan dump face cancer and infertility (AFP), Africanews, 2022
- Ondayo M.A. et al. Child Exposure to Lead in the Vicinities of Informal Used Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Operations in Nairobi Slums, Kenya. Journal of Health and Pollution 6(12), Journal of Health and Pollution, 2016
- Dandora (coordinates), Wikipedia, 2026
Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.