DRC southeast: investigation reveals sulphur dioxide pollution around copper and cobalt mine
A new investigation by the consortium Mazingira pour tous reports sulphur dioxide peaks around Tenke Fungurume Mining's 30K plant in Lualaba, in the south-east of the DRC. At Manomapia, a neighbourhood near the plant, investigators recorded a sulphur dioxide peak of 1,834 micrograms per cubic metre over ten minutes, 3.7 times the value recommended by the World Health Organization for that duration, and the study followed 209 people over eighteen weeks, with four in ten of 103 Manomapia participants reporting eye irritation and nearly two in ten nosebleeds. The study follows a March report by EIA and PremiCongo, while TFM rejects the pollution accusations, disputes the methods and says its own readings respect applicable limits.
Why it matters: The dispute bears on the briefing's critical-minerals theme, because the cobalt extracted at the site enters the supply chains of several carmakers and the authors are asking for an independent inspection and publication of TFM's data so the state can adjudicate between the two accounts.