Accumulating poop on Mt. Everest is becoming a 'health hazard'


Talk about a load of crap.
Nepalese officials are concerned that the human waste climbers leave on Mt. Everest is becoming a "major problem," The Associated Press reports. Ang Tshering, the chief of Nepal's mountaineering association, said Tuesday that Nepal's government should make the climbers dispose of their waste properly. More than 700 people scale the mountain each climbing season.
Tshering said the waste has been "piling up" for years around climbers' camps, which include tents and supplies, but no toilets.
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"It is a health hazard, and the issue needs to be addressed," Dawa Steven Sherpa, who has been leading cleanup trips on Mt. Everest since 2008, told AP.
Last year, Nepal's government created rules that each climber must bring 18 pounds of trash down to the mountain's base camp, but there are no rules about human waste.
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Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
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