Dumpsite Emission: A Silent Killer

Story By Kunle Awosiyan

Mary could not stand the smoke anymore as she hurriedly ran away from dumpsite, leaving her money for the dustmen who had come to pick wastes from the dunghill. She roams the streets to sell groundnuts. She sold for the scavengers at the dumpsite but was choked by the emission from the site.

When our correspondent accosted her and asked why she was running away, the groundnuts seller who simply identified herself as Mary narrated her ordeal.

“The scavengers are my good customers. They buy groundnuts from me everyday but today the smoke at the dumpsite is too heavy. I cannot stand it. It can kill. I will come back to collect my money.” She said.

Air pollution has been responsible for over 50, 000 death in Lagos. In 2021 alone, Lagos recorded over 30,000 premature deaths, according to Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, LASEPA.

A statement signed by the former General Manager of the agency, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe,  confirmed that 22,500 children were among the 30,000 people that died in 2021, representing 75 per cent.

This is coming barely two years that a study by the World Bank showed that excessive waste burning, generator smokes, industrial waste and fumes from vehicular activities contribute to high rate of pollution and premature deaths of residents in Lagos.

The study, published in the World Bank Blog identified Lagos as one of the world’s fastest growing megacities but with high rates of illness and premature death caused by unhealthy air to the citizens.

The study shows that inadequate waste infrastructure without a proper waste management system, makes people resort to open burning of waste and illegal dumping, causing the emissions of toxic pollutants.

It estimates that illness and premature deaths due to ambient air pollution caused losses of $2.1 billion in 2018, representing about 2.1% of Lagos State’s GDP. In the same year, it caused an estimated 11,200 premature deaths, the highest in West Africa. Children under five were the most affected, accounting for 60 percent of total deaths while adults suffered from heart disease, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

“Without a proper waste management system, people resort to open burning of waste and illegal dumping, causing the emissions of toxic pollutants. Nigerian ports statistics state that in 2017, 33 million metric tons of cargo passed through the two major ports of Apapa and Tin Can. Every day, about 5,000 highly polluting diesel trucks seek access to the ports or park around for months, picking up or waiting for their loads, causing heavy congestion and pollution,” according to the study.

EchoNews visited the popular Olusosun in Oregun and Igando dumpsites where it observed the indiscriminate burning of wastes mostly by scavengers who had since turned the place to their homes. They build shanties around the dumpsites.

Residents around these areas complain of air pollution as a result of waste burning, which also affects passersby. At Seven Up area of Ikosi, Ketu, both residents and commuters lament over the bad quality of air in the area.

“We thought the government was ready to provide a better waste management when it deployed the police to remove the shanties built by the scavengers at the Olusosun but up till now, nothing has happened. We breathe in bad air,” a resident, Bukola Bamgbose said.

“I cover my nostrils each time I drive towards Seven Up Bus Stop due to the bad air from Olusosun dumpsite. This is not good for the image of Lagos State at all,” a commuter who identified himself as Banji told Echonews.

The Igando dumpsite is worse and government is not taking it lightly with some residents who are in the habit of burning wastes not only at the dumpsite but also at homes.

Despite the Lagos state environmental law, many residents still burn wastes at home while scavengers move around various dumpsites in Lagos to burn wastes.

Section 14 (A and B) of the state’s environmental sanitation law says no person shall burn or cause to be burnt, waste of any description on a tenement, or dump waste at any place other than a waste disposal site. Any violation of this law is liable to terms of imprisonment or fine or both, violators caught in the act will face severe penalties, including N50, 000 fine imprisonment or fine or both, violators caught in the act will face severe penalties, including N50, 000 fine.

In their own findings tagged, “Preliminary Assessment of Air Pollution Quality Levels of Lagos, Dr. Francis Olawale Abulude of the Environmental and Sustainable Research Group (ESRG). Science and Education Development Institute Akure Ondo State , Usha Damodharan, Sunday Acha, Federal University of Technology Minna and Ademola Adamu, PhD Analytical Chemistry concluded that the burning of fossil fuels, vehicular movements, high population rise, rapid economic development, and re-suspended soil dust are the contributing variables of airborne contaminants in different cities of the world, including Lagos.

The results of their research indicate that biomass burning and vehicular emissions in such areas as Ojodu, Maryland, Ikeja, and Opebi are high, which they describe as ‘Very Unhealthy’ but most results in Eti-Osa area are ‘good’ due to its location near the lagoon.

Reacting, the General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency ( LASEPA), Dr. Babatunde Ajayi stressed the need for green and improved air quality across the state to ensure healthy living for the citizenry, noting that the present air quality in many parts of the state as indicated in the state’s Air Quality Index is unhealthy.

He said that the government has dislodged the scavengers and those who burnt tyres at the Olusosun dumpsite. However, there are many smaller dumpsites across the state where wastes are still being burnt, with smokes and odorous emission being released into the air.

As a result, the State government has called for the understanding and joint efforts of the public towards achieving a common and sustainable action plan, geared towards mitigating the climate change effect and its attendant consequences on human health.

Ajayi noted that the air quality index as released by his Agency recently was an indication that there is a need for people to be more conscious of what they do to the environment, imploring residents to retrace their steps and join hands with the government in protecting the environment through actions and activities that are more environmentally friendly.

According to him poor air quality as indicated in the index, stated that people in the affected areas may suffer from respiratory-related diseases such as lung infections, asthma, cystic fibrosis, mesothelioma, pulmonary hypertension and running nose among others.

Other common diseases that may be found in areas with poor air quality, according to the General Manager, include high blood pressure, sight problems, irritation, heart problems, worsened underlying health conditions and other related health issues.

While highlighting some of the human activities aiding poor air quality and other climate change-related problems, Ajayi listed emissions from generators in residential areas where there is no regular supply of electricity, adding that vehicular emissions also contributed in no small way to poor air quality in some areas as most motorists pay little or no attention to the maintenance of their vehicles.

He also identified agricultural and industrial emissions as another major contributor to poor air quality, noting that there are other worrisome issues of agricultural activities such as the burning of cow skin as well as emissions from areas with large concentrations of industries.

“The entire Lagos has pockets of industries in different areas, so in areas with high industrial concentration, you will have poorer air quality’’, Ajayi stated.

To regain green and quality air for improved healthy living, the LASEPA boss underscored the importance of tree planting and urged residents to cultivate the habit of planting trees in homes and neighbourhoods to absorb carbon dioxide emitted into the environment.

He urged the people to mark their major celebrations with tree planting to increase the number of trees in public places, adding that tree planting advocacy must be strengthened in all public and private schools so that the youths can imbibe the culture.

The General Manager also advised that people must reduce the number of vehicles on roads through carpooling or a preference for public transportation rather than individuals putting their vehicles on roads daily.

He vowed that his agency would continue to monitor the environment and implement policies that would ensure compliance with government regulations and guidelines towards achieving a cleaner, safer and pollution-free environment befitting the status of the state as the nation’s Centre of Excellence and the 5th largest economy in Africa.

Meanwhile, the World Bank is working with the authorities in Lagos to support the city’s efforts to improve air quality. Its Pollution Management and Environment Health Program (PMEH) offers opportunities for change and collaboration with IFC helps to leverage private sector investments.

It is clear that no single action can solve the challenges faced by a high energy consumption megacity like Lagos. But, we propose various options, keeping in mind that they can be effective only when implemented simultaneously. Low emission vehicles could reduce air pollution if they adopt cleaner fuels. Old generators could be decommissioned but alternative power sources must be put in place first.

Lagos is making some progress in initiating laws that still need to be implemented. In 2017, standards for sulfur content in fuel were lowered to reduce emissions: from 3,000 parts per million (ppm) to 50 ppm for diesel; and from 1,000 ppm to 150 ppm for gasoline.

Through the Lagos PMEH/Air Quality Management Program, we are working with the Lagos government to prepare an air pollution control plan based on deeper research on key emission sources and implementation cost. We are also advising them on the adoption of policies that create incentives to purchase cleaner passenger vehicles, improve vehicle inspection, retrofit the most polluting vehicles, shift to public transport, and adopt cleaner fuel.

Meanwhile, the study concluded  by proffering some solutions to the pollution problems that emissions from dumpsites, industries and power could be lowered with better technologies such as solar power. The massive amount of waste illegally buried, burned, or dumped requires investment in technologies, teams that monitor and penalize these activities, and appropriate waste management infrastructure. We are working with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to create a recycling market for plastic waste.

In the future, priorities could include long-term monitoring of air pollution, centralized health data by age and cause of mortality or morbidity, an inventory of polluters and better analysis of the impacts of indoor pollution on health.