Ethiopia said yesterday that about 3,000 tons of obsolete pesticides stored at almost 1,000 sites around the country are contaminating the environment and threatening public health. For example, at one location in Addis Ababa, overturned metal drums leaking toxic waste are just 500 yards from a grain silo. A strong smell of chemicals pervades the site, where men without protective clothing are guarding the drums. An expert with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, Alemayehu Wodageneh, said, “People are living in a toilet of toxic waste.” Ethiopian Deputy Agriculture Minister Belay Ejigu is asking international donors and the chemical industry to help fund a clean-up effort.
