At least 40 slaughterhouses in Bomet could be shut for failure to comply with public health regulations on effluent discharge.
The county-managed abattoirs are said to be operating illegally without the mandatory effluent discharge licenses.
Nema now wants the relevant department -Urban Planning and Veterinary Services- to acquire the necessary licences within 30 days failure to which the abattoirs will be shut.
Nema county director Wilfred Osumo said in a notice the abattoirs have been discharging untreated waste, a health hazard to residents.
He stated all the slaughterhouses in the county release waste to the sewers and aquatic environment contrary to regulations.
The effluent discharge license, Osumo pointed out, stipulates conditions under which treated waste is to be discharged.
It also provides guidelines and standards for the discharge of poisons, toxins, noxious, radioactive waste and other pollutants into the environment.
Speaking to the press in his office, Osumo said the facilities have been ignored for long despite discharging harmful waste.
“These abattoirs are in a deplorable state. They have not been upgraded for a long time and that is why we also want the county to set aside funds for renovating and modernizing them,” he said.
Also targeted are hotels and lodges in major towns in the county which, he said, are yet to comply with directives.
The director said some businessmen were releasing raw effluents directly into the environment.
