A/HRC/33/41 responsible companies for a long time, still provides valuable lessons today; it shows how important it is to take countermeasures quickly as well as how preventive countermeasures should be taken even when there is scientific uncertainty over the cause of the problem.” 113 85. Extractive industries are consistently the source of emissions and residual contamination that has an impact on the rights of the child.114 As the Special Rapporteur highlighted in his previous report, 19 children and 3 adults suddenly lost consciousness and began having seizures in the village of Berezovka, Kazakhstan, about 5 kilometres from one of the world’s largest oil and gas condensate fields (Karachaganak). 115 A medical examination of the residents of Berezovka revealed that 80 per cent of the children were suffering from lung diseases.116 86. Businesses are also required to remediate contamination. The lack of remediation of contaminated sites is a grave problem for the rights of the child. In the case of Chisso Corporation, remediation of extreme levels of mercury contamination took decades to begin and remained insufficient, according to court settlements, 50 years later.117 The case of lead pollution in Kabwe, Zambia, shows how difficult this is in countries with few resources to cope with environmental liabilities. Neither the World Bank nor the Government of Zambia have so far been able to find a sustainable solution for the pollution caused by an old lead mine in the city.118 87. While some businesses act responsibly and in good faith, others behave with impunity. For example, Occidental Petroleum and Pluspetrol have left thousands of contaminated sites in the Peruvian Amazon from approximately 40 years of oil production, contaminating the food and water of local indigenous communities.119 Pluspetrol abandoned the sites without remediating contamination, despite a contractual obligation to clean the contamination left by both companies. A new operator, Pacific Stratus Energy, continues to produce oil in the region, despite heavily corroded pipelines that frequently rupture and spill large quantities of oil, adding to the contamination. 88. Businesses must ensure their products do not contain toxic or otherwise hazardous substances. Toys imported to Europe are regularly found to contain high levels of toxics.120 In 2008, a toxic chemical that can cause renal failure was found in tainted milk powder sold in China. Nearly 40,000 children required urgent medical attention, 12,892 of whom required hospitalization. Four children tragically died in that incident, which followed a similar incident in 2003 that killed 12 children.121 89. Businesses that generate waste, or products that become waste, also have a responsibility. The emblematic case is the illegal dumping of toxic waste in Côte d’Ivoire by Trafigura that killed at least 17 people and injured more than 100,000, with the full extent of the contamination in and around Abidjan unknown. 122 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 18 Ibid., p. 6. Submission from Equidad, Peru. See A/HRC/30/40/Add.1, para. 58. Ibid., para. 59. Jane Hightower, Diagnosis: Mercury (2008). Submission from Terre des hommes. Submission from Equidad, Peru. Submission from GRID-Arendal. Submission from International Service for Human Rights. See A/HRC/12/26/Add.2.