Lead contamination from secondary lead smelters in Shoubra El Kheima posed serious health threats to the people living and working near the former smelters. To address this problem, the USAID and the Government of Egypt (GOE) designed a lead clean-up component under USAID’s Livelihood and Income from the Environment Program, Lead Pollution Clean-Up in Qalyoubia Project (LIFE-Lead).
The goal of the project was to remediate lead pollution in five secondary lead smelter sites and identify affected receptor areas (two schools and a medical center) located near the lead smelters in Shoubra El Kheima.
The remediation of the lead smelters aimed to reduce risks to human health and the environment by lowering lead contamination to acceptable levels. In addition to site remediation, the project included activities in community involvement and public participation, communication, capacity building, and policy/legal support.
LIFE-Lead contracted Environics to carry out the environmental assessments for its activities.
Environics prepared Environmental Assessment studies according to USAID requirements as well as the requirements of the Egyptian Environmental Law for all activities of the project.
Within the scope of the services provided by Environics for this project, the firm also investigated the regulatory and institutional needs and requirements for integrating site remediation in Egyptian standards and laws. This entailed developing a legal study concerning the possible legislative and regulatory amendments and additions that would ensure sustainable remediation activities and processes for polluted sites.
The firm’s services also included investigating and screening potential clean-up contractors for emerging business opportunities.