A recent study on the "Application of Forensic Geosciences, Environmental Management and Public Health Risks", warns of the environmental pollution caused by cemeteries and cremations and suggests that an in-depth assessment be carried out to get an idea of the scale of the problem at a national level.

Authored by Mozambican geoscientist Gil Aníbal, the study points out that "environmental pollution caused by cemeteries and cremations is a complex issue that requires attention and proper management to protect the environment and the health of the surrounding communities".

According to the author quoted by Terra magazine, climate change tends to increase the scientific community's concern about the impact of decomposing bodies on environmental pollution, due to the "high number of different types of bacteria and viruses that cause diseases, which can be transmitted by water".

"There is a need to carry out a study on Mozambican cemeteries, in the face of climate change that is causing flooding and a high risk of contamination of aquifers, and endangering the public health of communities that consume water from wells or small water supply systems in the neighborhoods surrounding cemeteries, in the Greater Maputo regions, and others in the country," he argues.

According to the study team, "in cemeteries where the water table is shallow, the chances of groundwater contamination are high".

In the municipality of Maputo, for example, hundreds of families have been living near the Lhanguene cemetery, the largest in the country, for several years. Some of them even live inside the cemetery area, exposing themselves to a risk that Aníbal believes should be taken into account.

"The increase in contamination in the soil and water resources near cemeteries is essential to consider them as a problem related to environmental contamination and the spread of diseases," he stressed, and therefore defended the need for "sanitary control of these areas to minimize risks to public health."

(Photo DR)