How is Europe Polluting Africa?

Africa is suffering from high levels of air pollution. It’s thought that the pollutants in their environment could be causing thousands of premature deaths every year. The cause? Europe. That’s right, according to a new study, Europe is at fault for the pollution in Africa. Find out how and why this has happened as we explore Africa’s (and Europe’s) problem.

Why is it Europe’s fault?

At the root of the cause is so-called ‘dirty diesel’, which is being sold by European traders in Africa. The highly polluted fuel is being poorly produced with a high sulphur content. It’s then being delivered, sold and used around Africa. In the Public Eye Investigation, samples of diesel were taken from Angola, Benin, Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal and Zambia.

They diesel samples were found to have high sulphur levels which, as well as polluting the air, can actually destroy the emission controls of vehicles. This means other dangerous pollutants like particulate matter are emitted into the environment. Consequently, people in these areas are suffering from a number of related illnesses and eventually premature death.

Getting away with it

Why is this happening? Basically, Europe is exploiting the weak standards for fuel in Africa. Swiss companies are selling these products because they know they won’t be stopped. European (EU) standards dictate a maximum of 10ppm sulphur content. For comparison, African countries have an average sulphur limit of 2,000ppm. They have by far the weakest fuel standards in the world, according to the report. And it’s clearly causing big problems, particularly in cities, that will only get worse if things stay the same.

Some parts of Africa (Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, Morocco) have introduced a 50ppm regulation. It’s thought if the problem areas improved their standards to the EU levels, they could make a 50% cut in the air pollution caused by traffic. This is a clear suggestion in the report, as well as a call for the Swiss trading companies to stop exploiting weak standards.

Particulate matter

One of the big problems in Africa is particulate matter. But it’s not just a problem in the air. It can also get into water sources, resulting in polluted water that’s not fit for consumption or use. Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) are one solution to this problem. They can treat the water so it becomes higher in quality and suitable for use. Read more on this innovative solution in ‘Side Stream Air Lift MBR Development and Successful Application of a New Generation of MBR’.