People that have visited Lafarge Wapco Pls, a cement manufacturing company, which has been in operation in the country for over 50 years, have their stories. For the residents close to Dangote Cement Company that is in the same neigbourhood at Ewekoro and staff at the cement plant at Sagamu, it is the same sad tale. The chemical contents of cement like calcium carbonate, limestone, calcite, cement kiln dust, iron, silicon and fly ash combine to emit air-borne particles, which are dangerous to health. A report by the Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (CREN) titled “Earthworm as Bio-indicator of Heavy Metal Pollution around Lafarge, Wapco Cement Factory in Ewekoro, Nigeria”, seem to lend credence to this fact.
It stated that “heavy metal pollution of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems has long been recognised as a serious environmental concern. The use of earthworm as bio-index of soil heavy metal pollution was examined to reach such conclusions. Using the Lagos/Abeokuta express road as transect, four replicates each of the soil and earthworm samples were collected from five points for analysis. “Using spectro-photometry method, heavy metal concentrations (Pb, Cu, Mn, Zn, Cd, Co) were measured in all samples of soil and earthworm. Histological studies were conducted on earthworm sections.” The result revealed dark spots and patches on the tissues of the earthworm samples collected from the cement factory area compared with clear earthworm tissues at the control site. Bioaccumulation of heavy metal in soil and earthworm was noticeable around West Africa Portland Cement factory at Ewekoro and could serve as a possible bio-index of heavy metal pollution.” The report further stated that the pollution is dangerous to humans, and so, it cannot be any less perilous to properties as well. As could be seen when Sunday Mirror visited, vehicles parked within the premises or homes nearby suffer one form of damage or another. A former distributor of Lafarge at Sagamu, who did not want his name in print said the problem has been there for over 40 years of the company’s existence. “You see, when the factory was constructed, it occupied several acres of isolated land on the Sagamu-Ikorodu road. There were no residential houses at the time. But these days, expansion of the town has culminated in the construction of residential houses around the factory,” the former distributor said.
Heavy metal pollution observed in cement production factories –Report
He did not stop there. But said, “sometimes, the lorries will wait for days within the vicinity of the company, taking turns to load. During this period, we had to watch our vehicle daily, inhaling the particles. After sometime, many had to remove their truck because of the corrosive effect of the pollutants.”
Motorists as well as commercial motorcyclists, who ply the area, are not spared of the heavy dusty particles from the company. They have to use nose masks to contain the toxic particles on that route, while the company has a custom-built car wash within its company premises for staff and customers. Residents of Sagamu community in particular, who maintained a structured relationship with Lafarge, said though, the company has maintained a good relationship with them, they have not discountenance the need for them to conform to international best practices. “They should at all times ensure adequate regard for the environment they operate as well as the residents in the vicinity,” they stated.
The Secretary of Sagamu Community Development Council (SCDC), Oba Sikiru Bello, Elegushe the V1, said the community holds regular meeting with the company to address all these issues. “We have notified them of the pollution and the impact such pollutions are having on our health and property. On a daily basis, we wash our vehicles because of these emissions from their plant,” the Oba said, adding, “the insidious nature of the dust pollution emanating from the exhaust pipe projected into the sky at the company’s factory is frightening. If these particles could be so damaging to the paint of the vehicles, one can imagine the impact they would have on our heart and other organs.”
The traditional ruler, however, has some kind words for the company. “They have made their impact felt in the areas of youth empowerment, construction of ICT training centre and digging of boreholes; we want them to carry out regular assessment of the impact of their production on our community and address the problem. The dust here is too much. We are aware of the fact that it has further been compounded by the on-going construction of the Sagamu- Ikorodu road by the Federal Government. You see, if you come here during rainy season, the road is almost impassable. All these factors must be addressed,” the Elegushe said.
Bernard Uzo, a dealer on electronics in Ewekoro town, also said, “when we sleep and wake up, we start to cough because every air we are breathing in is contaminated by dust. No matter how much one tries to shut the door against cement dust, one would still wake up each morning to see the bed covered with dust. We have spring water here but we cannot drink it because it has dust deposits. Chest congestion, rasping and constant cough are common sickness we experience here. I personally don’t find it easy to breathe in and out.”
One Pastor Paul of Winners Chapel, Ewekoro also explained that the air in the community is just full of dust. “The moment you decide to stay here that means you have accepted that you will have to live with the dust of the environment and will endeavour to take remedies to neutralise its effects in the body system. Those who know the secret ensure that they drink enough milk or ensure regular intake of red oil to neutralise the chemical, at all the times. The pollution has serious effect on everyone who lives or does business in this community. I have lived in Ewekoro for 10 years and I know how I have been affected by the dust. My family had to move out of this place because of the dust; I could not relocate with the rest of my family because I had to do my business here,” he told Sunday Mirror.
Apparently aware of this danger, workers and visitors to the plant at Sagamu adhere strictly to an observable health and safety policy, by utilizing personal safety equipment. These range from goggles, nose masks to helmets, which are considered compulsory before entry into the plant. Experts have said that cement dust inhalation is dangerous to the respiratory system of people exposed to it, and could cause cancer of the lungs. According to Dr. Ezekiel Ogunlewe, Consultant Cardio Thoracic Surgeon and Senior Lecturer at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), “it has adverse effects on the lungs of those who work or reside where cement is produced. It affects the lungs and also the covering of the lungs called the pleura and this can lead to cancer of the lungs or pleura, which is called Mesothelioma.” Ogunlewe told Sunday Mirror that a lot of people, who work in construction companies and live within cement production firms, do visit the hospitals with related complaints. “Most times, people do not know that they are damaging their lungs by inhaling cement dust until it is too late,” he added.
For Adeboye Yekini Babatunde, who also teaches Chemical Engineering at UNILAG, that factory is, indeed, a source of pollutants to the environment. “It is not just the vegetation that will be affected, people and animals living in that environment are subjected to danger, because the natural environment has been altered. Residents of the area will begin to inhale dangerous chemical compounds, and other addictives associated with cement including calcium carbonate, limestone, calcite, cement kiln dust, iron, silicon and fly ash, which are dangerous to health,” he explained.
According to the Cardio thoracic expert, the best way not to endanger one’s health is to avoid inhalation of cement dust on constant basis. Ogunlewe agrees with him even as he urged government to stop cement factories from citing industries where people live. “And if you work or live in such location, please always use nose mask to cover,” the don advised.
Health and safety issues, our concern –Cement Company
But, the company is not unaware of the danger posed by the factories and it has thus made safety concern a major company policy for workers and the community. Lafarge’s Head of Corporate Affairs, Mrs. Temitope Oguntokun, insisted that the company is a responsible corporate entity, which carries out periodic environmental impact assessment and ensured environment friendliness. She, nonetheless, promised to look into the complaints of the communities, adding that relationship with the community has been cordial in terms of safety and environmental concerns. She restated the fact that her organisation has a full scale policy and implementation on health and safety. “And that cuts across all cadres of staff. In terms of visible ones you can see, we have our policy on Partners Protective Equipments (PPE), which are mandatory for not only our staff, but for everybody that visits our factory. If you had attempted to enter that site, they will not allow you to enter without a PPE; you will have to undergo a safety induction; and the PPE is essentially protective equipment like goggle, nose mask, ear muff, the helmet and the boot. All of these things are compulsory for the people within the factory.”
To the residents, she said, “in Ewekoro, we have a lot of health and safety initiatives that we have put in place at all our locations. It comes as our community Social Responsibility activities (CSR). It cuts across four key areas. We have health and safety as our number one activity that we do. We have education; we have youth empowerment and we have shelter and contribution to basic and infrastructural development within the community. On health and safety, we do a lot of enlightenment campaign within the community. We get the (NGOs) that go into the community to enlighten our people.”
Oguntokun, however, deny claims that her companies pollutes its environment of operation. “We do not produce dangerous gas, which is why you need to understand the process of cement production. As regards the issue of pollution, it is just like any other manufacturing concern. There are times you have something like technical issues. When we have a technical issue, once in a while, it can lead into substitutions emission; basically dust emission. But, as an organisation that is very proactive when it comes to health and safety, may be you would have seen that with Lafarge, health is our number one priority. And with health and safety comes with the issue of environment as well, in term of protecting the environment. So, when we have such technical issues, it will just be dust pollution but we are very proactive and the communities will attest to that,” she said.
Source: NationalMirrorOnline
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