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At least 2,000 lead-poisoning victims in northern Nigeria might require treatment to remove the brain-damaging heavy metal in what the World Health Organization describes as an “unprecedented environmental emergency.”
More than 100 children in two villages in Zamfara state have lead concentrations in their blood that are almost 12 times higher than the level known to harm brain development in young children, the United Nations agency said in a statement on its website Wednesday.
The poisoning, which has been occurring since at least March, is related to the processing of lead-rich ore for the extraction of gold, the Geneva-based WHO said.
