Atlas of Contaminated Sites

Notable case, Owino Uhuru, Mombasa, Mombasa County, Kenya

Owino Uhuru (Mombasa lead smelter)

An informal settlement in Mombasa next to a smelter that recycled lead-acid batteries. After years of campaigning by residents, led by Phyllis Omido, the Kenyan courts recognised the harm and ordered compensation and a clean-up: one of the most cited environmental court cases in Africa.

Mycoremediation

Status
Under assessment
Activity
2007–2014
People affected
3,000 (2020)1
Media
soil, air, surface water
Kind of site
smelter, battery recycling
  1. People affected. Residents covered by the 2020 judgment (Wikipedia; 'more than 3,000' in Capital FM). Wikipedia gives 3,800 inhabitants in 2022.

Contaminants

Metals

Status

Under assessment

On 6 December 2024 the Supreme Court upheld 2 billion shillings: 1.3 billion in compensation and 700 million for environmental restoration, with NEMA and EPZA required to ensure the clean-up. In July 2026, according to The Standard, the compensation had still not been paid. A 2017 study argues that surface soils no longer need intervention; the point remains disputed.

Story

Metal Refinery EPZ, a plant in an export processing zone, recycled lead-acid batteries with a smelter right against the houses of Owino Uhuru. According to Wikipedia it worked from 2007 to 2014 (Capital FM gives 2006 as the start), and its contaminated waste water reached the village's source of drinking water. The government closed the plant after residents complained.

In 2015 a survey by the health authorities with the CDC measured blood lead in 130 children aged 12 to 59 months in Owino Uhuru and in the neighbouring Bangladesh settlement, which has no smelter: 69% of the Owino Uhuru children exceeded 5 µg/dL against 28% in the other settlement, and the geometric mean of lead in soil was 146.5 mg/kg against 11.5. In June 2017 a Pure Earth survey with portable X-ray fluorescence over about 12,000 m² found a mean of 110 mg/kg in surface soils, below US and Canadian screening levels, and concluded that there was probably no need for mitigation. The two readings were discussed in the same journal (Caravanos 2019).

In 2016 the residents sued the owners and the state. In 2020 the Environment and Land Court awarded 1.3 billion shillings to about 3,000 residents; after the appeal, in December 2024 the Supreme Court upheld the compensation and reinstated the 700 million for the clean-up, criticising NEMA and EPZA for failing in their regulatory duties.

Timeline

  1. 2007Metal Refinery EPZ starts operating (Wikipedia's date).
  2. 2014The plant closes.
  3. 2015Survey of children's blood lead and of soils.
  4. 2016Residents sue the owners and the state.
  5. 2020The Environment and Land Court awards 1.3 billion shillings.
  6. 20246 December: the Supreme Court upholds 2 billion shillings in compensation and restoration.
  7. 2026July: a judge gives NEMA seven days to explain the non-payment.

Health

In 2015 the geometric mean blood lead of children aged 1–5 was 7.4 µg/dL in Owino Uhuru against 3.7 in the comparison settlement; values ranged from 1 to 31 µg/dL, and children living within 200 m of the smelter were far more likely to exceed 5 µg/dL (Etiang' et al. 2018). In the court case the residents attributed over 300 child deaths and more than 50 adult deaths since 2010 to the pollution (Capital FM, 2024): claimants' figures, not verified by any epidemiological study we could consult.

Plants and fungi at this site

MycoremediationLaboratory, with soil from the site

Aspergillus welwitschiae, Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus piperis, Aspergillus tubingensis

Seven lead-tolerant fungal strains, all Aspergillus, were isolated from 24 soil samples from Owino Uhuru and tested in the laboratory for lead uptake from solutions of 0.2 to 1.0 ppm. It is a preprint, not yet peer-reviewed when we consulted it.

Outcome A. welwitschiae (strain GRY1) showed the highest biosorption: 0.35 ± 0.1 ppm at a concentration of 0.6 ppm. The soil sample richest in lead was the one against the smelter wall.

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

Fungi

The rest are on the contaminant pages.

Sources

  1. Etiang' N.A. et al. Environmental Assessment and Blood Lead Levels of Children in Owino Uhuru and Bangladesh Settlements in Kenya. Journal of Health and Pollution 8(18), Journal of Health and Pollution, 2018
  2. Ericson B. et al. Assessment of the Presence of Soil Lead Contamination Near a Former Lead Smelter in Mombasa, Kenya. Journal of Health and Pollution 9(21), Journal of Health and Pollution, 2019
  3. Caravanos J. Conflicting Conclusions or Competing Methodologies? Documenting Soil Lead Pollution in Owino Uhuru, Kenya. Journal of Health and Pollution 9(21), Journal of Health and Pollution, 2019
  4. Court upholds Sh2bn compensation for Uhuru Owino residents over environmental pollution, Capital FM, 2024
  5. Judge gives NEMA 7 days to explain Sh2bn Owino Uhuru compensation delay, The Standard, 2026
  6. Owino Uhuru, Wikipedia, 2026

Draft compiled from public sources, not yet reviewed.