Chinese factory accused of poisoning Somaliland water supplies

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jul/02/chinese-factory-somaliland-water


Bags of corrosive material lay open, spilling harmful substances on to the floor of the Jeronimo compound. Photograph: Sean Williams

A Chinese-owned tanning factory based in Somaliland has been accused of dumping dangerous chemicals in waterways. But the government has failed to intervene for fear of spooking foreign investment, according to local people.

Jeronimo Group of Industries and Trading PLC, a subsidiary of Chinese glove-making firm Phiss, is the first and only foreign-owned company in the breakaway east African state. It has been operating a factory in the village of Dar-Buruq, 60km outside the capital Hargeisa, since 2008.

People living near the factory have made numerous complaints about respiratory problems. A former worker at Jeronimo named Ibrahim said that one day, while mixing chromium compounds without a mask, he was overcome by the smell and fell down, hitting his head. "The company did not take me to the hospital," he says. "To this day I still have breathing problems." Other locals confirmed many health complaints had been made.

When the Guardian investigated the Jeronimo compound it found an unbearable smell, and workers with no face masks or proper shoes and sacks of corrosive material spilling onto the factory floor.