Lead poisoning leads to death: (Un)avoidable toxic reality?

Illegal dismantling of used lead-acid batteries in the open air and close to human habitats is a major source of lead exposure. Photo: TBS

The word "lead," a homophone, confusingly has more than one pronunciation. Lead is a chemical element used in ammunition and other objects. Lead also means to influence someone or something. It also means to rule a group of people or a country. Its conjugations include will lead, is leading, led, leads, and more. 

Lead (chemical element) may lead to death. You might not remember or recall the above information since lead poisoning is a cause of forgetfulness.

Bangladesh is the fourth most severely affected country in the world in terms of the number of children affected by lead poisoning. 35.5 million children are affected with blood lead levels above 5 μg/dL, according to the report launched by UNICEF and Pure Earth. 

It is a matter of grave concern that the illegal dismantling of used lead-acid batteries in the open air and close to human habitats is a major source of lead exposure. This poses a severe health risk to both children and adults.

According to a report published by the International Lead Association (ILA), about 1,18,000 tons of lead acid batteries are discarded every year in Bangladesh. But the unfortunate fact is that there are only two government-registered recyclers and four battery manufacturing companies that legally recycle used batteries in the country. So a strict set of regulations is direly needed at this time.

A regulatory framework is a model and the existence of a regulatory framework enables the concerned to reform and enact rules in an effective and logical way. Policymakers may develop a framework with a specific area of interest by setting clear goals, such as improving certification. 

Many government bodies rely on such frameworks for handling regulatory matters and developing flexible and useful networking of regulations, laws and rules. They can develop a list of potential threats and obstacles, discuss methods for circumventing them, and also start to create a timeline for achieving goals in the said regulatory process. 

There is a gazette notification on the used lead acid batteries, which emphasised, "No outdated or ineffective battery can be kept or dumped openly in soil, water or waste disposal sites.
It is now mandatory to impose proper legislation for battery handling, transporting and end-of-life management systems in Bangladesh. The body of lead-acid batteries shall be marked with the country code, company code, serial number of the battery, and warning statement about lead."

According to Statutory Regulatory (SRO 221-Laws/2018) in Bangladesh, lead paint has been banned. A question then essentially arises, why does the exposure to lead remain high in the country? 

The following statement comes forward to address the issue. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) of Bangladesh circulated an Order (S.R.O No. 45-Act/2021) on battery recycling under the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995 on 25 February 2021. The Order of the government will come into effect upon its promulgation. An ambiguity remains regarding the term "battery," the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995, has not been able to find a clear definition of a battery.

An international treaty namely The Basel Convention places restrictions on the transfer of lead-containing waste among countries and makes recommendations for the proper handling of lead-containing waste. However, the Convention has not been ratified by the United States, which is one of the largest exporters of lead-containing waste, and has failed to eliminate widespread transfers of this waste to low- and middle-income countries. 

The Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995 was enacted on the basis of the policy framework provided by the Environment Policy of 1992 and the National Environment Management Action Plan (NEMAP) of 1995 with the aim of fulfilling three major objectives – the conservation of the environment, improvement of environmental standards and the control and mitigation of environmental pollution.

Being a practising lawyer of the apex court, I recognise that our higher judiciary has no original jurisdiction on environmental issues, being not the original forum its writ jurisdiction has been frequently invoked in recent times for protecting and preserving our environment. 

Right after the case of Dr Mohiuddin Farooque (1997) 49 Dhaka Law Reports 1 (SC), the Supreme Court of Bangladesh has been the vanguard against any environmental pollution. The Supreme Court has extended the meaning of the right to life to impose positive obligations on the state through the case between Rabia Bhuiyan, MP v Secretary, Ministry of LGRD and Others (2007) 59 DLR 176 (SC).

Getting a proper law to regulate proceedings in a country like Bangladesh is a massive task. It is a toxic truth that there is no shortage of regulations but proper implementation remains the sole obstacle to achieving the goal. And lead poisoning must be controlled by enacting proper regulations. Otherwise, Bangladesh needs a pat on the back for embarking on this mammoth task of fighting lead poisoning of its own volition. 

M M Khalekuzzaman is an Advocate at the Supreme Court Bangladesh and a policy analyst.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.