Bamburi Cement Shut Down
Bamburi Cement has ceased its operations temporarily after receiving a directive from the Mombasa County Government on Monday.
The cessation of the company’s activities occurred due to accusations of depositing coal dust in open fields, resulting in negative reactions from nearby residents of the Coastal County where the factory is situated.
On Monday, Deputy Governor Francis Thoya of Mombasa County, along with representatives from Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), visited the factory’s site to address the issues raised by the community.
Upon reaching the site, the authorities had no choice but to promptly shut down the factory when they found out that coal dust was being openly disposed of instead of being stored properly in silos as previously advised.
“I have ordered the operations of dumping the coal to be halted immediately and further ordered that their shipment at the port of Mombasa be withheld immediately,” Thoya remarked.
People residing close to the factory had raised concerns about how the dust was impacting their well-being, leading to respiratory illnesses.
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“The residents had complained to us demanding to know what action we were going to take,” Thoya noted.
“We have done our investigations in partnership with the Public Health and we realized that for the last two months, Bamburi cement has been depositing the dust here.”
The County Government additionally mandated the factory to create guidelines outlining their approach to addressing the problem before they could resume operations.
“They should come with draft regulations on how this coal dust can be eliminated or stored in silos, and this order begins immediately,” the deputy governor commented.
“They deposit their coal dust in their land though in the open, something which is abnormal.”
Inhabitants had turned to wearing face masks and socks as a measure to safeguard themselves against the black dust, which they had observed had significantly impacted them over an extended period.
Bamburi Cement Shut Down