By DANN OKOTH
Overexposure to hypersaline water increases chances of spontaneous abortion in pregnant women, a leading scientist and researcher has said.
Dr Mark Chernaik of the US-based Environment Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW) says such incidences especially when pregnant women have to walk long distances to fetch water.
Several women in Magarini, Malindi have had multiple abortions with others giving birth to deformed and retarded children, what doctors linked to possible exposure to sea salt.
Nyevu Safari with her mentally handicapped children at Kwanyale village in Magarini. They were delivered while she worked in a salt harvesting farm. |
Further, contaminants in drinking water that are associated with increased incidence of spontaneous abortion are also found in Malindi, according to Chernik.
"These include: arsenic, fluoride, nitrates and nitrites," Chernaik.
"It is possible that the evaporation of sea salt in ponds in Magarini, Malindi is exposing pregnant women to significant quantities of these contaminants," he adds.
Chernaik, says, if women in the affected area are suffering a higher incidence of miscarriages, then there may be a simpler explanation for this outcome.
"Maintaining a healthy pregnancy requires access to clean water," Chernaik observes. "A woman’s need of clean water rises during pregnancy. Also, if women in a community have the primary responsibility of fetching clean water, then water scarcity during pregnancy would cause women to expend more energy to fetch the commodity, diverting energy needed for foetal development," he explains.
Chernaik adds: "If the salt processing plants are causing a loss of freshwater sources contributing to serious chronic water scarcity, then this alone might cause a higher incidence of miscarriage among the general population."
Some companies have been blamed for deliberately dumping hypersaline water in the sweet water wells as a strategy to force people out of the area.
