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More than three weeks in Ojota area of Lagos State, fumes at the 25-year old Olusosun open dumpsite continues, with experts now opining that the hazard might cause future disease burden.
According to the experts, the uncontrolled burning threatens the health and quality of life of citizen in the state, and they say the state government should get better waste disposal systems.
For commuters along that axis (Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and Ikorodu Road), it has not been easy in early and late hours each day as the smoke continues to distort visibility and breathing.
Doyin Odubanjo, chairman, Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, Lagos Chapter, said the health risks and impacts from dumpsites are similar to fire wood burning which public health experts have been pushing against.
“One of the most harmful pollutants released during open burning is dioxin. Dioxin is a known carcinogen and it is associated with birth defects,” said Odubanjo. “This compound is a highly persistent toxin that degrades slowly in the air and, it can travel long distances in the atmosphere. The state government should be worried about the people living in those environs.”
“Government should get rid of the dumpsite totally and change the states ways of disposing waste, not just trying to control the burning for the time being, having the dumpsite in the open is generally not a good idea,” Odubanjo added.
Lagos, as Africa’s most populated city, is managing waste with old infrastructure constructed in the ‘70s for a population of 3 million.
Over 20 million inhabitants of Lagos state generate 13, 000 metric tonnes daily according to Lagos State Waste Management Authority, (LAWMA).
Worldwide scientific research has conclusively demonstrated that burning of waste at dumpsites produces air toxins.
Typically, burning occurs at low temperatures (250 oC to 700 oC) in oxygen-starved conditions. Hydrocarbons, chlorinated materials and pesticide compounds under these conditions produce a wide range of toxic gases harmful to the environment and public health.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that environmental exposure contributes to 19percent of the incidence of cancer worldwide.
Additionally, a WHO Global Health risks report looked at five environmental exposures, (unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene, urban outdoor air pollution, indoor smoke from solid fuels, lead exposure and climate change), and estimated they account for nearly 10percent of deaths and disease burden globally and around one quarter of deaths and disease burden in children under the age of five.
Adeola Deborah a medical practitioner based in Lagos said the dumpsite is a real threat on the lives of the workers and the nearby residents.
According to her, inhalation, ingestion, and skin contact are the exposures linked to the hazards of the smoke and it could cause either acute or chronic health defect.
“The health symptoms may appear immediately after exposure or later in the future which can affect the respiratory system, cause cancer or liver failure,” said Deborah.
“Those tiny amounts of hazardous substances can lead to harm, some substances are absorbed and stay in human bodies rather than being excreted. They accumulate and cause harm over time.”
Researchers have analysed 373 toxic waste sites in India, Indonesia and the Philippines, showing that an estimated 8.6 million people are at risk of exposure to lead, asbestos, hexavalent chromium and other hazardous materials.
Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode recently justified the decision of the State Government to shut down the Olusosun dumpsite in Ojota, saying the location of the facility was no longer healthy both for trading activities and residents living in the neighbourhood.
“What we have decided now is that there will not be dumping of refuse here any longer,” Ambode said.
Governor Ambode said in as much as government was unwilling to make people in the area lose their means of livelihood, it was important for all the stakeholders to agree on what to be done going forward.
Despite the enormous task involved, effective waste management is one of the basic services expected of any good government and in deference to the current reality in Lagos State, the Ambode-led administration says it is poised to deliver a clean and healthy city.
“With the rapid urbanization of Lagos and the significant rise in the state’s waste generation, prospective challenges are bound to be numerous and unavoidable,” according to Lagos State government.
ANTHONIA OBOKOH
