By JOHN SAKALA
A Chinese smelter for Chen Di Dong today spilled acid slurry into homes of Chikola Loop and Kankoko area.
The acid dam whose walls are made from sand bags collapsed early this morning spilling much of the slurry into the drainage leading into Twatasha stream.
The other spillage went directly into homes where residents drink water from wells.
The Director for JM & J Contractor George Phiri doing drainage along Twatasha-Lulamba road complained that the acidic slurry had potential to weaken the structure of the drainage.
Mr Phiri said there seemed to have been an agreement between Avic and Mr Dong to flush out the slurry from the drainage.
He said he had called Zambia Environmental Agency (ZEMA) to inspect the area but Avic quickly went with the bowser and flushed the area.
A check by The Independent Observer found Avic bowser flushing the slurry from the drainage into the stream.
The flushing annoyed Chingola Mayor Titus Tembo who wanted the acidic slurry to be neutralized with lime before being pushed into the stream.
The mayor who was accompanied by a team of Health Inspectors from Chingola Municipal Council directed the inspectors to immediately arrange for public address system and warn the residents.
Mr Ding apologized to Mr Tembo when he visited the smelter located along Lulamba road.
But Mr Tembo still ordered him to his office.
Kankoko and Chikola Loop areas are illegal settlements which seats on land initially designed as industrial area.
