It is difficult to breathe in Webuye, Kenya, home of East
Africa`s largest pulp and paper mill. Visitors report that the air smells like
rotten cabbage and "snowstorms" of foam droplets from Pan African
Paper Mill`s (PPM) waste ponds cloud
the sky and burn the skin. Corrugated iron sheets on the roofs of local homes
are corroded within months. Wastewater discharges from PPM’s mill render long
stretches of the Nzoia River unfit for domestic use.
Since 2007, GCM has been employing proven environmental monitoring techniques
(such as air sampling buckets) and community-organizing and advocacy tools to
gather and translate tangible scientific evidence about Pan African Paper
Mill’s water and air pollution into stronger enforcement of environmental standards
that will improve public health and the quality of life for the community of
Webuye.
