KOLWEZI, Democratic Republic of the Congo – A Mongabay investigation found that industrial and artisanal mining of cobalt and copper in the Democratic Republic of Congo could pose risks to women’s reproductive health. Both cobalt and copper are critical minerals in demand for their essential role in battery-powered technologies, including renewable energy technologies. We collected testimonies from female residents, healthcare workers, and researchers in Kolwezi, the “world’s cobalt capital” in the south of the country. They highlighted a rising number of cases involving birth defects, stillbirths, infant deaths shortly after birth, and genital infections. Although reports are still unclear about the extent to which contact with mining waste, ores, and contaminated water affects women’s health, preliminary studies are underway. Ongoing research suggests the existence of acidifying industrial pollution in waters and high radiation levels in certain ores. Scientists say radiation contamination can spread into rivers and affect artisanal miners and refinery workers alike. The risk is particularly high in artisanal mining, where long-term exposure is compounded by factors such as dust, poor ventilation, and lack of protective equipment. Female artisanal mine workers in one site handled the ore with their bare hands, sat on sacks of ore, or had their bare feet in the river water. Although manufacturers have been cautious about buying products from artisanal miners, the practice persists through an intermediary and anonymous buyers, women told Mongabay. Hundreds of women living in Kolwezi buy the minerals from the mostly male miners and resell them to distributors, who are…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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