French authorities said Wednesday that 10 more children living near what used to be the world's biggest arsenic mine have tested above recommended levels for the toxic element, stoking parents' fears that waste from the site is leaking into soil and groundwater.

Officials now say that 46 of 143 children aged 11 or younger who were tested in the area have been found with 10 or more microgrammes of arsenic per gramme of creatine in urine samples.

Testing began this summer after residents became alarmed about contamination risks when the former Salsigne mine in southern France was flooded during heavy rains last October.

The ARS health agency for the Occitanie region also said Wednesday that it had re-tested 11 children first tested in June.

Of the 11 children, one still had more than 10 microgrammes, "which can indicate long-term exposure," Jean-Jacques Morfoisse, deputy director of the ARS Occitanie, told AFP.

Two others saw their test results rise above 10 microgrammes, Morfoisse said, while the arsenic readings fell to under the recommended level for the eight others.

The Salsigne mine in the Aude valley, near Carcassonne, was the world's biggest source of the element, as well as Europe's largest gold mine, before it was closed in 2004.

Millions of tons of toxic waste were then stocked at five sites nearby, and local associations say some have begun to leak.

Several parents called on local authorities to take urgent measures, and officials closed off access to some playgrounds and also began soil and atmospheric testing for arsenic.

Officials also prohibited swimming or fishing in the nearby Orbiel river and banned the eating of fruits and vegetables produced in 12 nearby communes for up to four months.

Acute exposure to arsenic can occur after eating certain foods, like shellfish or meat. The ARS acknowledges that "in the large majority of cases" high levels are the result of ingesting contaminated food or water.

Chronic arsenic poisoning can lead to discolouration and hardening of the skin, and eventually cause a variety of cancers.

President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged a "worrying" situation in a written response to two senators from the region seeking an inquiry, and assured that "everything will be done to protect residents".

Lead pollution in Zambia town a public health 'emergency': HRW
Lusaka (AFP) Aug 23, 2019 –

Children living in a central Zambian mining town are still exposed to high levels of toxic lead 25 years after the mine closed, Human Rights Watch said Friday, as lawyers announced plans to take legal action.

Decades of lead mining have left Kabwe, around 150 kilometres (95 miles) north of Lusaka, severely polluted, with serious health implications for residents.

The mine, which operated from the early 1900s until its closure in 1994, was at one time the world's largest lead mine. It was run by the Zambian government from the early 1970s when the mining industry was nationalised.

In a report published Friday, HRW said the town in the Copperbelt area still has extreme levels of contamination and children continue to be exposed to high levels of toxic lead in soil and dust around their homes, schools and play areas.

HRW's children's rights fellow and report author Joanna Naples-Mitchell described the situation in Kabwe as "a public health emergency" and said the government was "not responding with the sense of urgency that is warranted".

"The Zambian government is aware that Kabwe has been severely contaminated… since the 1990s and efforts to clean up have been inadequate," she told AFP.

A class action suit is being prepared to demand compensation for poisoning from Anglo American South Africa, a former investor in the mine, London-based law firm Leigh Day announced Friday. The law firm deals in human rights issues.

The case will be brought in courts in South Africa, where the mining firm is based, said the lawyers, who are acting on behalf of some 200 children who have been treated for lead poisoning.

Anglo American on Friday said in a statement it did not believe it was "in any way responsible for the current situation" in Kabwe.

"We were concerned to learn of the situation at Kabwe as reported by the press," it said, adding "the nationalisation more than 40 years ago effectively placed these issues under the control of the Zambian Government".

– 'Severely contaminated' –

The HRW report said that although lead and zinc mining have stopped in the town, various medical studies conducted over the past seven years show children there still had elevated levels of lead in their blood.

Between 2003 and 2011, the World Bank funded a government project to decontaminate Kabwe's affected townships, and to test and treat children. But some 76,000 people, or a third of the town's population, still live in contaminated areas.

One recent study published last year and cited by HRW estimated that more than 95 percent of children in the townships surrounding the lead mine have elevated blood lead levels and that about half of them require medical intervention.

"This is the worst environmental disaster I have seen in 30 years of practice," said lawyer Richard Meeran of Leigh Day.

Johannesburg-based collaborating lawyer Zanele Mbuyisa said they will argue that "the environmental damage created has potentially contaminated almost three generations of men, women and children".

– Insufficient resources –

Three years ago, the government launched another five-year World Bank-funded project to get rid of the lead and carry out new rounds of testing and treatment.

The project targets around 10,000 people including children, pregnant women and mothers.

"We think this a very important opportunity for the Zambian government to find a lasting solution to this problem," said Naples-Mitchell.

She urged Zambia to find new and effective methods to clean up the lead, adding that their 2018 study indicated that pollution levels were "as high they had been in the 1970s".

In a letter last month, the government indicated to HRW that it does not have enough resources to address the full scale of the contamination.

The government did not immediately comment on the report.

Children are more vulnerable to lead poisoning since they absorb four to five times as much as an adult and this can retard their growth and IQ, while in worst cases it can result in brain damage or even death.