Anti-corruption Chief Mohamad Khattab Cairo – Marwa al-Baz Four Egyptian companies have been dumping industrial waste in the Nile, sources said. The companies areMisr Spinning and Weaving Co., El-Nasr Spinning, Weaving & Dyeing Co,, Tanta Oils and Soap Co. and Alexandria Oils and Soap Co. The pollution resulted in mass deaths among fish populations in the al-Gharbeyya and Kafr el-Sheikh districts. The effects on human consumers have included a spike in hepatitis C, especially among farmers. Other effects include muscular dystrophy, osteoporosis and paralysis and coma due to high levels of lead in the water, sources said.
Officials demanded President Mohammed Morsi to open an investigation and take necessary measures about dumping industrial waste.
Anti-corruption Chief Mohamad Khattab said: “The centre has been receiving complaints from citizens. The pollution also rendered land unusable for farming and has lead to deaths in fish populations, affecting fishing resources. Even though this has cost the country millions of pounds, the disaster continues.”
When asked, the Manager of the Kafr al-Sheikh Liver Institute said that “The danger lies in the pollution of water used for land irrigation and the produce that is then eaten.”
The Veterinarian Authority of Karf al-Sheikh stated that “The cause of fish death is the chemicals dumped into the Nile by factories and other sources, and also the drained waste of oil factories.”
Former Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohyeddin said “despite the resources wasted and the fact that the deadline has passed, the pollution continues. The centre made some investigations and discovered enormous violations. Most samples taken by monitoring bodies were given to their representatives.”
“These establishments are run on personal interest alone,” he said and called on the President to “stop practices that are damaging agricultural land and spreading disease.”