The Minister of Environment, Mr. John Odey, on Thursday said that developing countries would face a major health crisis unless stringent measures were taken to stop the dumping of toxic wastes in their territories.Odey gave the warning at the EU/African Environment Ministers' meeting in Nairobi. A statement issued by the Special Assistant to the Minister on Media, Mr Rotimi Ajayi, quoted the minister as saying that the dumping of the hazardous chemicals in the countries posed great a danger to the health of their citizens.The minister said, in the statement in Abuja, that uncontrolled exposure and disposal methods of toxic wastes could cause brain damage. He said that the toxic wastes could also impair the people's reproductive systems and kidneys.Odey, however, noted that the chemicals, some of which were components of computers, electronic devices and batteries, came into Nigeria and other developing nations through the importation of electronic products.``The government of Nigeria is of the strong view that we cannot maintain the status quo of voluntary measures in dealing with the menace of mercury, both at the level of environment and human health.``It is for these reasons that Nigeria strongly believes that stringent control actions at the global level must be put in place to address the challenges of mercury. ``As regards lead and cadmium, studies have shown significant data gaps in developing countries that need to be filled, particularly in relation to trade in products and waste management,'' he saidOdey called for sustained data collection by stakeholders to develop an inventory of existing risk-management measures in relation to lead and cadmium. ``It will be beneficial to gather further data and information to complete the comprehensive assessment for global action on lead and cadmium,'' he said.The minister said that world leaders should promptly act on the hazardous chemicals because of their threat to the environment and human health. ``Now is the time for the various governments to demonstrate the necessary political will that will bring about the achievement of our global objectives in managing the chemicals,'' he said.Besides, Odey stressed the need for an inter-governmental science-policy platform, in order to enhance scientific findings on bio-diversity and eco-systems. He also emphasised the need to coordinate all the activities of international agencies in charge of environmental issues.He said that such efforts would help in addressing the challenges of resources and environmental management.
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