OUMA, O. ZEPHANIA
COUNTRY REPORT
KENYA
RISK ASSESSMENT AND
MONITORING FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALS
KENYA general information
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Kenya is located in Eastern Africa
Total land mass area of 582,646 square
kilometers
Capital City: Nairobi
Official language: English
National language: Kiswahili, JAMBO!
Currency: Kenya shillings (1US$ approximately
Kshs. 70)
Income per capita: US$ 475
Political regime: multiparty political system with a
coalition Government
Religion: mainly Christianity (70%), muslims and
others (30%)
KENYA general information
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Kenya is famous for:
The Masai Mara Game Reserve
Amboseli Game Reserve
The Great Rift Valley and Mt. Kenya
Long distance athletes
Beautiful coastal beaches
Flamingos in Lake Nakuru
Not forgetting Kenyan Tea e.t.c.
Nairobi is a host to UNEP Headquarters
Kenya is chequered heritage to Barrack
Obama the Illinois senator on the race to White
House. Obama’s late father was a Kenyan
Organization-National Environment
Management Authority (NEMA)
Corporate body of Ministry of Environment & Natural Resources
 The Authority was established by The Environment Management
and Coordination Act, 1999 (EMCA), 1999.-framework
Environmental Law
 Goal of NEMA:
To exercise general supervision and co-ordination over the matters
relating to the environment and to be the principle instrument of
government in implementation of the policies relating to the
environment.
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Activities of The Authority include:
 Co-ordination on matters of environment
 Provision of natural resource Use guidelines
 Research on Emerging Environmental issues
 Build Capacity through Environmental Education and Awareness
Programs
 Compliance promotion and Enforcement
Board of Management
Director General
Director Education
Information Public
Participation
Director
Compliance
and
Enforcement
Director Legal
Services
Director
Finance &
Administration
Director
Planning
and
Research
Deputy Director
Compliance and
Enforcement
Chief Compliance Officer
(Monitoring and Inspection)
Senior
Compliance
Officer
(Incident
Management)
Environmental
Inspectors
(Inspectorate)
Chief Compliance Officer
(EIA and Environmental AuditEA)
Principal
Compliance
Officer
(Waste
Management)
Senior EIA
Officer
( EIA Unit)
Assistant
EIA Officer
Senior EIA
Officer
(EA Unit)
Assistant EIA
Officer
Senior EIA Officer/Environmental
inspector-functions
Review of EIA Reports
 Review of Environmental Audit reports and
where necessary carry out control Audits
 Carry out periodic inspections and Monitor
activities of facilities (sampling for
analysis, install monitoring equipment) to
ensure compliance with standards
 Issue appropriate improvement notice
 Order immediate closure until appropriate,
prescribed remedial measures are put in
place
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Environmental Protection Policy
Adoption of export oriented industrial
development-high quality products,
environmentally friendly and effective
completion globally
 1999: policy paper on Development and
environment which emphasized the
integration of environmental concerns into
the developmental agenda
 August 2000-Signatory to the
International declaration on Cleaner
Production-establishment of Kenya
National Cleaner Production Center
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Environmental Protection Policy
and Conventions
Signatory to Stockholm Convention on
POPS and Kenya has finalized the National
Implementation Plan spearheaded by
POPs Country Office under Ministry of
Environment
 Signatory to Vienna Convention on the
Protection of Ozone Layer-ODS Country
office under Ministry of Environment
established and operational
 Signatory to Basel and Bamako
conventions
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Problems associated with
environmental chemicals
Public and Occupational Health and safetybiomagnifications and bioaccumulation,
diseases and deaths
 Illegal use of banned chemicals, poor
disposal and inappropriate use has led
contamination of the environmentpollution of soil, air, water sources
(surface and groundwater)
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Major events related to chemical
substances in Kenya
1995-2002: Invasion of Lake Victoria by
water hyacinth was a manifestation of
eutrophication caused by pollution by
urban wastes and agrochemicals from
agricultural fields and industrial effluents.
Studies have found traces of
organochlorine and mercury in fish and
sediments.
 1990s:A Paper and pulp factory saturating
the air with emissions of sulphur
compounds whose precipitates had turned
all the trees yellow and eroded iron roofs
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Major events related to chemical
substances in Kenya
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July 1993: A Liberian-registered tanker Ms
Sunetta went aground with a load of 80,000
metric tons of oil in the high seas off Mombasa. It
was salvaged with no major spill, but this
signaled the necessity for high degree of disaster
preparedness.
2005: Liquid effluents from a flower farm kills
over twenty (20) cows as studies point to
lowered sperm count on male workers in the
flower green houses.
Poorly managed open dumps sites by the Local
Authorities and frequent dumping of solid wastes
in undesignated areas.
Major events related to chemical
substances in Kenya
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October 2006: a chemical plant explodes in
Nairobi’s Industrial area killing 16 workers on
night shift. It was later revealed that toxic and
highly flammable chemicals were stored in the
production area and that no lives were saved
because the factory was locked from outside by
Managers
Frequent oil spills in rivers, forests and land due
to tanker accidents. Many human scavangers
have been killed when tanker explodes in certain
occasion.
Geogenic pollution of groundwater sources due to
high flouride levels had caused colouring of teeth
to many in certain areas of the Country
Regulation of Environmental and
industrial chemicals in Kenya
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Role of the Pest Control Products Board (PCPB)
which operates under Pest Control Produce Act
(cap 346)-regulates manufacture, importation,
distribution and use of pesticides to control pests
Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Services
(KEPHIS) checks quality of and levels of
agrochemical residues at its laboratories
Food, Drugs and Chemical Substance Act (cap
254) deals with chemicals that may contaminate
food
The Factories and other places of work Act (cap
514) mandates the Directorate of Occupational
Health and Safety Services to handle Chemicals
exposures in the work place
Regulation of Environmental and
industrial chemicals in Kenya
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Environment Management and Coordination Act,
1999 (EMCA) empowers NEMA to coordinate all
issues related to risks and hazards that result
from environmental chemicals
Environmental (Impact Assessment and Audit)
Regulations 2003. requirement for EIA and
Environmental Audit for facilities
Water Quality Regulations, 2006-details
procedure for effluent discharge into environment
(requirement for effluent discharge licence),
prescribes standards for effluent discharge into
the environment and provides a monitoring
guide.
Regulation of Environmental and
industrial chemicals in Kenya
Waste Management Regulation, 2006
details handling of industrial wastes,
hazardous and toxic wastes, biomedical
wastes and pesticides.
 Disposal and treatment of the wastes are
also provided.
 Kenya through NEMA are in the process of
finalizing regulations and standards on air
quality, noise pollution, ozone depleting
substances and on economic instruments
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Environmental Standards
Quality standards for sources of domestic
water
 Standards for effluent discharge into the
environment
 Standards for effluent discharge into
public sewer
 Standards for irrigation water
 Quality standards for recreational waters
 Standards, guidelines, criteria, procedure
for installing and operating incinerators
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Management systems for
Environmental/Industrial chemicals
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General obligation by industrial undertaking to
install anti-pollution equipment and adopt CP
technologies and practices
Statutory requirement to adhere to developed
environmental standards for discharge of
effluents into the environment.
Annual Environmental Audits as a means of
compliance checking
Monitoring and inspections by Environmental
Inspectors and prescription of appropriate
improvement notice/order
ISO Certification (14000, 9000 series)
coordinated by the Kenya Bureau of standards
Available Technology for Chemicals
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Analysis carried out in NEMA Accredited
Laboratories (analytical and reference) for
analysis of environmental parameters
Laboratories apply arrange of instrumentation
(GC, HPLC, TLC, AAS, AFS and Bioassays)
Issuance of certificate of analysis stating the
methodology adopted
On-site analyses/field measurement is still
confined to interpretational physico-chemical
parameters such as pH, temperature, TDS and
conductivity. A Hydrolab is mainly used.
Experience on Risk Assessment
and chemical monitoring
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Nutrients and selected heavy metal analysis and
behaviour in River Kuja with reference to Lake
Victoria (June 2001 to September 2001)
Buffering processes and capacity (agrochemical
cleansing) of wetlands on Kenya side of Lake
Victoria (July 2004 to December 2004)
Attempts to categorize the 5,200 Environmental
Audit reports submitted to NEMA into low,
medium and high risk facilities as guided by the
Risk Based classification system of the UK
Environmental Agency (Oct. 2006)
Experience as a Environmental Inspector (2006
to date)
Purpose for attending the training
course
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The science of Risk Assessment and
knowledge of emerging analytical
techniques and instrument analysis will;
enhance my capacity to review chemical
based EIA and Audit reports, evaluate
the risk associated and therefore a guide
to informed decision making
Enhance my sampling and technological
skills to monitor environmental
chemicals
Provide critical knowledge on the
evaluation of the accredited laboratories
DOMO ARIGATOO
GAZAIMASHITA
OWARIMASU