Nothing but toxic waste remains in Namibia

In the summer of 2024, I travelled to Namibia to investigate claims by local residents about the health and environmental impacts of an old copper smelter. The smelter was run by a Canadian company and the blister copper was bought by a multinational company based in Geneva, Switzerland. This report is based on two weeks of research in Namibia, a visit to the smelter, 25 interviews with current and former employees, affected citizens of Tsumeb, activists, researchers, the current CEO and management of DPM in Tsumeb. Water, soil, plant and hair samples were also collected on site and analysed at the University of Bern. The results show that the environment is heavily contaminated with arsenic and heavy metals, and that the people of Tsumeb are suffering as a result. Together with co-author Geoffrey York, a long feature on the study was published in "The Globe and Mail" in Toronto. A version of it was published by the "Windhoek Observer" in Namibia. And a full report on the entire investigation was published by the "Coalition for Corporate Justice" in Switzerland, with whom I collaborated on this work.