30 June 2014 Fact Finding Mission to Libreville, GABON

by andrewproudlove

The fact finding Mission to Libreville consisted of: Andrew PROUDLOVE (Team Leader, Key Expert (KE), Work Package (WP) leader WP1), Horst-Jürgen HERBERT (Key expert, WP leader WP2) and Alexandre CUSTAUD (Non-Key Expert (NKE) WP1)

The Mission was organised with the kind advice and assistance of the Gabon National Focal Point, Mr Jean-Maurice AYINE of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Mission held a workshop for the Gabon National Expert Team on the first day.

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SITE VISITS

Municipal waste site

The Team visited Libreville’s MunicipalIMG_1913 waste dump, the ‘decharge public SOVOG, Clean Africa’, on the outskirts of the city

Key points from this visit and subsequent discussions are as follows:

  • There was no triage (separation) of waste in Gabon and so all kind of wastes were deposited on the site that was estimated to contain 1.3 million tonnes of mixed waste, including hazardous Bio & Chem waste
  • Solid and liquid wastes were dumped there
  • Illegal disposal of used oil products was a common practice
  • There were no fences around the site
  • The general public have free access to the site
  • Domestic habitations surround the site
  • A small river flows around the base of the site and a variety of toxic wastes can be seen leeching into the stream which flows into the sea at Libreville
  • The heavily polluted water of this river used by local inhabitants for washing their cloth and children were seen playing on the site and in the river, totally unaware of the dangerous environmentIMG_1924

University Hospital in Libreville “CENTRE HOSPITALIER UNIVERSITAIRE D’OWENGO”

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  • Most of the different laboratories (Pharmacology, Toxicology, Chemistry) are not adequately equipped for hazardous waste disposal
  • Most of the existing equipment is unserviceable
  • Roofs of some of the buildings leaked leading to damage to existing equipment (example: in the Pharmacology Department, a gas chromatograph and chromatograph had been destroyed by rainwater.
  • There was no waste management system in place
  • BC waste and expired chemicals could not be disposed of so hazardous BC materials are stored unlisted in the labs on the floors, in drawers, in small cupboards and rooms and in the roof space.IMG_1942
  • No security system was in place, i.e. there was free access to poisonous chemicals
  • Technical services were not adequate; refrigerator out of order, vents out of order, air conditioning out of order, etc.
  • no neutralisation of hazardous (contagious) biological waste, UV equipment for sterilization out of order
  • biological waste from the Pathology Department was stored in the department for six months (in order to allow relatives to claim body parts for burial) and then shipped to the SOVOG municipal waste dump if not claimed
  • no incinerators were available so
  • one existing, aged incinerator did not work properly, it’s operation is costly and will be therefore be stopped after the end of an extant project which covers the expenses. Hazardous waste was burned in the open air.
  • solid waste from the laboratory is accumulated in plastic bags in special yellow recipients, collected and transferred to the municipal waste dump or burned in the open airIMG_1971
  • liquid waste is poured down the drains into the sewer
  • There is no waste water treatment capability in place
  • the ‘fosses septiques’ are emptied by a private company and the liquid waste is transferred to the municipal waste dump
  • There is no treatment of chemical waste produced in the laboratories for the analyses performed there
  • The teaching program of P35 was warmly welcomed

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire & Institut de Cancérologie ANGONDJEIMG_3095

The P35 Team met the Director, the Technical Director and the Head of the Hygiene Service of the University Hospital Angondjé, home of the Gabon Cancer Institute and the first medical facility in Gabon to meet international standards. In stark contrast to the ageing University Hospital D’OWENGO, this facility cost around 82 million Euros and was opened in 2012. It prides itself in a state-of-the-art waste filtration and management system for liquid and solid BC waste, including a modern double-chamber, pollution-free, General Electric diesel fuelled incinerator that can cope with the hospital’s incineration requirements but not external waste.IMG_1988

Centre Forces de Police Nationale (FPN) – INTERPOL Office

The P35 Team visited the ‘Centre Forces de Police Nationale’ and talked with INTERPOL and FPN staff.

The P35 Team visited the new FPN Forensic laboratory that was under construction.IMG_3120

World Health Organisation – Regional Headquarters

The P35 Team visited the World Health Organisation Regional Director, Dr Boureima Hama SAMBO MD., PhD. in order to present P35. Key points from this visit and associated discussions are as follows:

  • Hazardous BC waste in Gabon, particularly in Libreville, is the most serious threat to the health of the population
  • There is to be a regional conference on the environment of West Africa 20-23 October 2014. P35 should be represented
  • A new anti-poison centre is planned for Libreville
  • International Health Regulations were critical for P35IMG_3140