SLOW DEATH OF ESTATE RESIDENTS BY INDUSTRIAL POLLUTION AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY COMPLACENCY OF GOVERNMENT

My heart wrecks every time a read such heart touching stories which bother on how innocent Nigerian are hastened to early grave by occupational health and safety hazards forced into their ways outside their control.

I personally visited this estate and was shocked to see the level of hazardous emmission that this company generates yet, the company was allowed to seat right behind a high brow residential estate where it currently constitutes immense hazard to residents.

I am really short of words over things that can only happen in Nigeria and the insensitivity on the part of government and its agencies, i do not know how we got here but one thing i am confident of is we can get out of here if only we are true to our individual conscience. Hope seems to be the only answer, we shall live to see that day when Nigerians shall rise up in one voice with an oath to do and support only what is right, this will be the foundation of a new Nigerian nation, the Nigeria of our dream. 

 

This story was published by Punch Newspapers, kindly read and leave a comment afterwards.

 

After spending four weeks in Adekunle Fajuyi Estate, Off Adeniyi Jones, Lagos, TOYOSI OGUNSEYE writes a three-part story on the havoc that gases from a steel company, Universal Steels Limited, are wrecking on the residents

In Adekunle Fajuyi Estate, an upscale neighbourhood in the heart of Lagos, the rich also cry.

Leafy and low density, the estate is the last place anyone would expect to find a weapon of mass destruction. But residents insist that death and destruction are borne by the air they breathe.

On Sundays, the air over the estate is clear. But on weekdays, when the heavy machines of Universal Steels Limited work, dark smoke billow into the sky, and loud sneezes become commonplace.

When our correspondent visited the estate, the fumes from Universal Steels assailed the nostrils with a pungent, choking smell that easily drew tears to the eyes. Residents say inhaling the fumes has become a part of their life. They breathe it, drink it and sleep it. The gases, just like air, will go anywhere the wind blows, seeping even through permanently shut windows.

“I did not open my windows for 15 years,” says Mr. Edmond Norman, who lived in the estate for a decade and a half. “I know it sounds almost unbelievable. It was almost impossible to breathe when we were outside. Two years ago, I made the decision to leave because living was almost becoming impossible.”

Fumes of death

Residents are quick to link the growing incidence of terminal illnesses, sudden deaths, birth defects and other health problems to the fumes bellowing from the factory.

Mr. and Mrs. Mark David have lived in the estate since 2000. In February 2011, Mrs. David fell ill. She was admitted to the Lagoon Hospital, Ikeja and diagnosed, first, for food poisoning. Later, her doctor added ulcer. Her condition grew worse. She experienced bloating, belching, nausea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort and fatigue.

The Davids then decided to seek medical treatment in the United Kingdom. Alas, it was cancer. Mark was distraught. But it was only the beginning.

“The London clinic diagnosed cancer on November 14, 2011; three days after tests were conducted, my wife started treatment for cancer with a £30,000 surgical operation to remove the gallbladder and one third of her liver on November 25, 2011 at the Hammersmith Hospital in London,” he says.

She returned to Nigeria for three weeks in December 2011. In January 2012, she returned to the UK and went for a fresh round of tests. This time, the diagnosis was grimmer.

He says, “Surprisingly, after those three weeks in the estate, another cancer which had not been there in November had emerged on her lymph nodes and pancreas, perhaps, as a result of the fumes in the estate.

“Chemotherapy, which cost £80,000, started in March 2012 and ended on August 15, 2012. She is still having treatment and has to have monthly blood tests using a trial drug which will, hopefully, extend (her life).”

Living a few houses away from the Marks is Mr. Mohammed Yusuf who has lived in the estate for 12 years. Yusuf, who is allergic to metals, says he takes medicine to protect himself from the fumes.

He says, “There was a time I would not be able to breathe properly once I got home (from the office). My driver would rush me to the doctor and I would feel better after taking some injections. But anytime I travel outside the country or leave my house, I am hale and hearty.

“I can’t take this pollution anymore. I am on steroids injection every four months to survive the metal fumes. I am allergic to metals and I am not getting younger. My doctor has told me that I cannot continue taking the steroids. So, I am leaving this place. It is my house, but I am leaving.”

Yusuf is lucky. Mrs. Tokunbo Sotayo, 46, a resident who died of asthma in October wasn’t. She moved, but a little too late.

“My sister was in good health before she started living in Adekunle Fajuyi. No one has asthma in our family; so, you can’t say it is hereditary,” Sotayo’s brother, Taiwo, says.

He adds, “She moved into this estate eight years ago and had her first asthma attack when she was almost 38. We were surprised when she developed it and it made us curious about what might have triggered it.

“Even when she left here, she never recovered from the asthma. She had a bad attack in October and died before she got to the hospital.”

Taiwo suspects that the fumes from Universal Steel caused his sister’s death. He says, “It was when we started to hear that other people in the estate were developing asthma as a result of the fumes that we suspected that the gases from the factory might have been responsible.”

Mark also lays the blame of his wife’s illness on the company. He claims that the metal gases from the steel factory caused his wife’s cancer.

He says, “The doctor said gall bladder cancer is rare in Nigeria and rare in many places. Obviously, we have suffered directly as a result of the lack of environmental management of the steel company’s fumes. Different experts we have spoken to told us that exposure to fumes from a steel company triggers this type of cancer. There was a particular household in the estate where three family members developed cancer. They have relocated abroad now.”

Are these residents merely crying wolf where none exists, or is there an established link between the diseases common in Adekunle Fajuyi Estate and the gases emitted by Universal Steels?

Prof. Albert Ebuehi of the Department of Biochemistry, University of Lagos, who is an expert in the effects of poisonous gases on human health, tells SUNDAY PUNCH that no one should live close to a steel company, especially one that releases its gases carelessly.

He says, “Some of the metals released by steel companies include iron, cadmium, chromium, lead, and zinc, among others. All of them in excess quantities can trigger all types of cancers. Cadmium in particular has been strongly linked to gall bladder cancer.

“Iron toxicity damages the heart, liver and elsewhere, which can cause significant adverse effects, including coma, metabolic acidosis, shock, liver failure, coagulopathy, respiratory distress syndrome, long-term organ damage and even death.”

The professor adds that the inhalation of cadmium-laden fumes can result in metal fume fever, chemical pneumonitis, pulmonary oedema and death.

He says, “High-level exposure to lead can reduce fertility in males. It damages nervous connections (especially in young children) and cause blood and brain disorders.

“Chronic toxicity of zinc may produce gastric ulcer, pancreatitis, anaemia, nausea, vomiting and pulmonary fibrosis. Chromium salts are also the cause of allergic reactions in some people. Contact with products containing chromates can lead to dermatitis, resulting in the ulceration of the skin sometimes referred to as ‘chrome ulcers.’”

A consultant surgeon based in Lagos, Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie, agrees with Ebuehi. He says apart from cancer, lead, which is a heavy isotope, cannot be detoxified by the body.

“Lead causes progressive organ damage and this level of organ injury progresses more in the kidneys than other organs, such that progressive renal damage occurs eventually, leading to renal failure. Cadmium has been implicated in both cancer of the urinary bladder and stomach.

“Chromium is one of the most innocuous metal poisons known to man. It causes skin rashes, dermatitis, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, pyrexia of unknown origin and even convulsions. Zinc, at toxic levels, can cause muscle cramps, headaches, blurring of the vision, severe and often unexplained weakness and even convulsions.

“Iron, in excess amounts, accumulates in the liver, which is the organ for detoxification and interferes with its cellular functions so adversely that the liver begins to shrink in a process known as liver cirrhosis.”

Forbidden fruits

Like most of Lagos low-density premium neighbourhoods, Adekunle Fajuyi Estate is dotted by flowers and trees. On the morning of July 24, 2012, residents woke up to see their trees sickly and their flowers dead.

“I don’t know what type of gas the steel company emitted that day, but it was one of the worst we have ever experienced. Everyone was coughing; water was coming out of our eyes as if we rubbed pepper in them. I looked out of my window and my flowers were lying lifeless. I did not believe what I was seeing.

“You can imagine the toxicity of whatever it was that the company emitted that morning. If plants could die suddenly, that should tell you what we have inhaled into our bodies,” says Mrs. Patience Okon, who has lived in the estate for 12 years.

A giant almond tree is located at the entrance of the Okons’ residence but no one eats the fruits from the tree.

She adds, “The tree is just there as a shade. We can’t eat the fruit because our soil and underground water are contaminated. Only God knows how much toxic chemical is in our soil. Almost everyone here has fruit trees in their compounds, but we don’t touch them. They will be poisonous. The same goes for our underground water.

“We have complained to the company so many times and written several letters to the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, but nothing has come out of our complaints. The company told us that we met them here and that our area was designed to be an industrial estate.”

Okon, who is Mrs. Mark’s friend, decries the fate that has befallen her friend. “Just look at her. There was a time oil spilled from the factory into Marks’ compound and poisoned all their plants. They had to uproot the plants completely. They later got fresh soil to replace the contaminated one.”

Asthma everywhere

Directly facing the emission roof of the factory is the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Busayo Ademola. The first thing Mrs. Ademola did when she saw our correspondent was to put her hand on her window net and draw a palm full of soot.

“That is what I face here every day! I am tired. I have told my husband that we need to leave, but it’s not that easy. Just like most people who live in this estate, we own our home. Where do we go to?”

She says that two of her children developed asthma after the family moved to the neighbourhood.

She says, “My children were not born asthmatic. We don’t have a history of asthma in our family. It was when we got here that they developed breathing problems. My last son’s asthma is really bad.

“Our former neighbour’s son died of cancer. He was a young engineer but after some years of living here, he developed cancer. After his death, the family relocated. We don’t know where they moved to.”

Mrs. Ademola said she had written letters to the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, the Lagos State Ministries of Health and Environment, reporting the activities of the factory; but she got no result.

The letter to LASEPA, dated June 13, 2009, reads, “Universal Steels Limited continually releases into its immediate environment huge amounts of gaseous and other environmentally polluting materials which, over the past 10 years, have taken a very significant toll on the health and standard of living of my family in the following ways:

“Two of my three children have developed asthma. My youngest child’s symptoms are chronic and he has been admitted in the hospital on several occasions, having suffered from attacks of the condition his physicians have characterised as life-threatening.

“The drapes and furniture in my house absorb the filthy gas emitted by the company to the extent that we have to thoroughly wash these items every fortnight — to very little effect.

“I have noticed a recent increase in the emissions to the extent that I wake up in the morning feeling lethargic and nauseous. When I clean my nostrils, I can see the filth we are being forced to inhale as a result of the reckless indifference exhibited by Universal Steels towards their immediate environment.

“We can no longer spread our laundry outside to dry because if we do so, by the time it dries, the laundry would have been sullied once more by the fumes from the factory.

“The examples I have given are the effects we have noticed, but more horrifying for me are the effects we have not seen that may manifest long-term as a result of our exposure to this noxious menace.”

Her son, Bayo, 18, a budding artiste, chips in, “My mum says I was not born this way. We got to this neighbourhood when I was two years old and I have had asthma since then. Often, I get my attacks in the midnight and that’s when the factory emits most of its fumes. When I travel out of the country for holidays, I am in perfect health.”

Recounting what he went through during his last attack, he says, “My last attack last month was scary. It was around 1am. I just could not breathe anymore. My parents had to take me to the hospital and I was on oxygen for days.”

Bayo, like other asthmatic people in the environment is constantly using a nebuliser to breathe. Another family whose children have asthma are the Iloris’ who have lived in the estate for 12 years.

Mrs. Ilori says, “Our last child is just six and he was not born that way. No one has asthma in the history of my family or my husband’s.

“My other son that is 10 years old also has it, but we have found a way to manage it. We use the nebuliser too. They have lived here all their lives and there was a time the attacks used to occur in the middle of the night. My kids don’t have the attacks when they travel or when they leave this environment. It is only when they return that they get sick with respiratory problems.”

24 years and counting

The oldest resident in the neighbourhood has lived there for 24 years. At over 80, he has been involved in the many entreaties to get the company to be considerate of the people living in its environs.

Requesting not to have his name mentioned in print, he says, “My wife and I are lucky that we have not registered any major health problem apart from cold, cough and catarrh. I have been living here for over 24 years and I met the factory emitting their gases in the air. If we are fortunate, what do we say about the future of this estate and the lives of little ones being born here?”

Mrs. Yomi Hopewell whose house is opposite the Ademolas’ and does not allow her children to play outdoors states, “Mrs. Ademola told me that her children developed asthma when they moved here. I have lived here for about seven years and my windows are permanently closed.

“Even with all the efforts I make, my son is always coughing. I am always buying cough syrup.”

Mrs. Okon’s grandchild also has asthma.

She says, “She was not born in the estate but right from when she was a baby, her parents would drop her with me while they went to work and would later pick her at night. I still find her asthma very curious because we don’t have a history of asthma in our family.”

The little girl goes to school in the estate. Apart from her school, two other schools are in the neighbourhood. The management of the schools refused to speak to SUNDAY PUNCH.

At the time our correspondent visited, the playing ground was empty, just like the playing areas of most homes in the estate. In Adekunle Fajuyi Estate, parents seldom allow their children to play outdoors.

“My kids say to me ‘Mummy, we want to ride our bicycle outside,’ but I say no,” Mrs. Hopewell says. “As a mother, I have told them that it is not possible for them to play outside, especially when the factory releases fumes round the clock.”

LASEPA orders investigation

Universal Steels Limited however denied the residents’ allegations. An official of the company, Mr. David Igwe, says, “It is not true. We have an abatement plant that takes care of the gases we emit. We bought the abatement plant two years ago and the Lagos State Government was here during the launch. Go to the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency and they will tell you what we have done.”

LASEPA confirmed that the company bought an abatement plant two years ago. Its General Manager, Mr. Adebola Shabi, said the agency was not aware that Universal Steels was still polluting the environment.

However, when our correspondent insisted that there was evidence to show that the company was still polluting the environment, he ordered an investigation into the allegation.

 

Editor’s note: The real names of all the residents who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH are withheld on request to protect their privacy.

CABINET APPROVES OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT FOR SRI LANKANS

The Occupational Health Safety Act has finally been approved by Cabinet. It is now pending presentation to Parliament. The Act, although drafted in 2007, by the Labour Department in consultation with experts from a number of fields is yet to see the light of day”, Dr Mahendra Arnold, Community Physician, Sri Lanka Medical Association told The Nation expressing hope it would be implemented early. He charged that the 5 year delay in implementing the Act was probably due to pressure from industrialists.

“They are probably against some of the new stringent clauses incorporated in it. These include: prior approval by the Department of Labour when setting up a factory. To obtain approval, they have to ensure the equipment used by workers is safe, rooms in which they perform duties are safe, there is access to fire extinguishers in an emergency, there is proper lighting and ventilation and the provision of protective clothing etc to workers. The Act also provides for Safety Officers to be present at the premises,” he said. Dr Arnold charged that loopholes in the existing Factories Ordinance of 1945, accounted for the sharp spike in occupational accidents and deaths in the country. “The number of accidents at workplaces is said to be between 3000 and 4000 per year and deaths at workplaces is reported to be between 30- 40 and is grossly under-reported. Most employers don’t report these accidents/deaths for fear they would have to pay compensation to the victims. Workers don’t report injuries for fear of losing their jobs,” he noted adding the fines for industrial accidents were as low as Rs 1500 to 3000. We also don’t have a Policy on Occupational Health. We are now developing a Policy with the Labour Department, Health and Educational Ministries and other allied ministries. It should come be completed by next year”, he said. (CA)

Culled from: International Association of Safety Professionals Facebook page.

A COPY OF MY INTERVIEW WITH HSE EXECUTIVE AN ONLINE HSE MONTHLY MAGAZINE

Can we meet you?

 

My name is Ehi Iden and i am the initiator and Chief Executive Officer of Occupational Health and Safety Managers. A most complete Nigerian Occupational Health and Safety Company.

 

What is your is your background and how did you find yourself in HSE?

 

I am a man of very vast interest and coming from a multi dimensional background. I am a graduate of Mass Communication with Professional Diploma in Public Relations who strayed in to the healthcare sector by the will of Almighty God in Port Harcourt June 1997 where i started work as a hospital Supervisor which i did for a few months before i became an Admin/Marketing Manager in the same hospital. By virtue of the third party contract agreement my hospital had with Shell Petroleum Development Company in Port Harcourt, there was this clear requirement that we must work jointly with SPDC Medical Scheme according to the HSE standards in line with the SPDC’s overall corporate HSE policy. If you have had course to work with SPDC you will understand how seriously they take issues that have to do with Health, Safety and Environment and contravening these policies and guiding standards could lead to termination of your contract. There was therefore the need to have a HSE custodian in my hospital that will interface closely with SPDC under the contract terms. This responsibility was offered to couple of Doctors and they turned it down because they just could not stand the heat from SPDC in ensuring HSE standards are met. I made myself available for this responsibility and i had the opportunity to be trained by SPDC in different capacities in HSE issues and a at some point i realised this profession was still new in Nigeria and it could put food on my table some day if i take it up and give it the best of shot. That was how i started further researches based on the foundation i have been given by SPDC i went for further courses and trainings that prepared me for what i am doing today.

 

Below are the courses i have done and areas i have been trained:

 
• Occupational Health and Safety Professional Program for Managers, USA
• Managing Safety and Health in Schools International, UK
• Understanding Health Policy in America, UK
• International Association of Safety Professionals, USA

 

Below is a list of some of the professional bodies i identify with;

 

• Member, Society for Occupational Health Psychologist, USA
• Member, Governing Council of Emergency Crisis and Risk Management Institute, NGR
• Member, British Project Professional Society, UK
• Member, Framework Convention Alliance, Africa
• Member, Academy for Chief Executives, NGR

 

How has been the journey so far?

 

The journey does far has not been rosy all through but i am grateful to God for the change we have been able to effect in some organisations and personal lives we have had course to touch directly or indirectly. The challenges are always there most especially when you are charting a relatively new course, i started private practice by consulting for just healthcare companies such as Hospitals and Pharmaceutical companies on strictly Medical Safety and a few other companies i had course to consult for was also to manage their health programs. Most employers saw it then as a waste of resources, why spend money to tell people about health and safety when we could keep that money for some most important issues? This was the thinking. Most organisations that gave us listening ears and subscribed to what we were doing were only doing that out of compulsion and not because they saw it as necessary. If you must work for the major multinational oil and gas companies then in Port Harcourt and environs you must have a robust HSE content of your operation processes which you must comply with and reviewed timely. We had such organisations listening to us and paying us for HSE trainings, health and safety installations, safety audit, process reviews and also assisting them in putting up their safety documentations. We should not also forget that most of us initially saw HSE as policies of the nationality of those oil and gas companies which were being introduced into the Nigerian workplaces, little did we know that safety and health in the workplace is an international issue of a very high interest and concern but the challenge we had was the lack of willingness on the part of the government to making legislation in the Nigerian constitution to cater for the safety and health of any individual working in Nigerian workplace as well as securing the host environment. Nigerian signed off at the international conventions so many years back but yet to domesticate the content of that treaty into the Nigerian local laws and this watered down enforcements and did not make HSE practice look like what was the right thing to do. Everyone did what he felt was right and that made our practice a frustrating one. But thank God for the passage of the Nigerian Health and Safety bill on 27th September, 2012 by the Nigerian Senate. A hope for the future.

 

Can you tell us few of the companies you worked in and is there any one of those jobs that was particularly challenging?

 

I have worked for quite a number of companies within the years under review. Very prominent amongst all is St Patrick’s Hospital Ltd Port Harcourt where i got the platform to leap into what i currently do, my success story in Occupational Health and Safety would not be complete without referring to that hospital. I was also a Managing Consultant in-charge of Medical Safety in Identitti Concept Port Harcourt where i had a network of 12 hospitals and 2 Pharmaceuticals companies i had to constantly supervise on HSE in a highly clinical environment. Along the line, i have also done Health Insurance and i have worked as a General Manager/COO at Super Active Healthcare Systems in Lagos which has a twist of both Occupational and Preventive Health running alongside Health Insurance which formed about 20% of our business operations. I have also worked at Critical Rescue International as a Head, Business Development and at some point, Head, Clinical Services which was the last place i worked as an employee before setting up Occupational Health and Safety Managers which i currently oversee. While working across these companies i have also initiated and directed several Occupational Health and Safety projects. Most fascinating amongst all was the “Perceived Stress and Health Assessment Survey” we designed and carried out for a foremost Nigerian Bank with 220 branches and 4,400 employees across the country. We visited all the branches, assessed all employees within a period of 90 days which was the project timeline. The project was my initiative and i was the Project Director, i saw myself flying from one city to another supervising the 12 medical teams we have constituted to run simultaneously across different regions in Nigeria to meet our project timeline while the project was also tied to a performance bond. This has been the most challenging project i have handled and it is still very fresh in my memory. Though there are other such projects but this is one experience that i hold so dearly.

 

What led you into starting your own HSE Company?

 

What drives or leads a man resides solely in the inside. I got really worried over how the Nigerian workplace looks like and the series of accident that happen on a daily basis coupled with the very little access these same people have to available information, i felt the need to inform people correctly and create behavioural change which is the only way forward. Also the fact that most Nigerian business men are crowded in where they feel the money is today but no one is ready to take a leap into where the future monies are domiciled because it might not give them immediate reward, it was on this premise and realization that i took the chance to set up an Occupational Health and Safety company. One of the first concerns we had was to build and develop local capacity in Occupational Health and Safety which we began by offering Nigerians from different fields of endeavour basic training in Occupational Health and Safety using a two-course model per day approach. I was really marvelled and saw people yearning to learn, coming into Lagos from as far as Abuja, Bauchi and Kaduna States just to attend this training program. We saw concern and the emotions that were displayed when you make the trainees understand the Nigerian position and how they could make a difference, commitment was high and most of them went back to their workplaces to initiate most of the things we had thought them. We also saw the needs from some organisations looking for a complete Occupational Health and Safety company to help them structure their health and safety systems yet they could not find such companies and there was nothing we could have done than to make ourselves available to fill the vacuum. We calculated the timing, weighed the risk and we found it worth taking, here we are today.

 

What are the challenges of running an HSE company in Nigeria?

 

Well, they are almost same challenges which every business manager experiences in the day to day management of his business. Before i took the decision so set up Occupational Health and Safety Managers, i also saw the need to develop myself to drive my business into success not relying solely on my work experience and other professional Occupational Health and Safety trainings. Business management and entrepreneurship are not child’s play, i had to register for an Entrepreneurship and Business Development certification from University of Westminster because i realised outside my Occupational Health and Safety skills, i also needed to know how to be an entrepreneur to run a successful business. Other challenges include continuously developing systems, modules and models because every system has different peculiarities that must be handled as it affects different operations. So we most times mean different things to different people, it is never a “one-style-fits-all” approach. We wear coveralls to some field work and wear ward coats in other places, this is the dynamism that characterise our profession.

 

What are the areas of specialty your company is focused on?

 

Though we do complete Occupational Health and Safety, there are areas you will surely have a level of bias which your practice will always tilt towards. We are more into Occupational Health and Safety which we have the competencies and capacity to handle though we have some clients asking for content in Environment which is not our mainstay, we either refer or outsource that part to a professional colleague we can verge for his competencies. We are more concerned about fitness-to-work and fitness-at-work which most often involves pre-employment health assessment, intra-health assessment, general annual health assessment, drivers annual health assessment, food handlers health assessment, drug and alcohol screening, audiometric assessment, chemical handlers screening, spirometry health assessment, audiometric assessment for call centre employees and people who work in high noise environment, annual comprehensive health assessment and others. We also do risk assessment, safety audits and inspections, Occupational Hygiene, Health Impact Assessment, fire safety engineering, accident investigation, Basic Life Support and other First Aid programs certified by American Heart Association and other Occupational Health and Safety trainings.

 

Can you share a few of your clients with us and generally the impact your company has made?

 

We have worked for a number of organisations cutting across so many sectors. Some of such clients are: Vita Foam, Airtel, Century Energy Group, West African Seasoning Company (makers of Ajunomoto), West African Oil and Gas Pipeline Company (WAGPCO), OANDO Plc, International Energy Services Ltd, Global Rescue, Waste Management Society of Nigeria, CWC Group, Federal Road Safety Corps, Berger Paint and of late, Mouka Foam, MTN, UNICEM, Afric Assistance Et Services, Senegal and a number of other companies we have impacted in different ways at different times.

 

What are the dreams and aspirations of your company in taking her to the next level?

 

We have so much aspirations and solutions we want to bring into the Nigerian economy for the overall interests of Nigerians. We at OHSM believe in the power of synergy and collaborations mostly in the areas where we have least comparative advantage when compared with other practitioners, what we are doing in this regard is to team up in such areas and offer solutions. We have identified and partnered with some organisations as: International HSE Council Dubai: Through this partnership, we offer NEBOSH, IOSH, IEMA and Medic First Aid certified courses in Nigeria to Nigerians. ER 24, South Africa: We have also signed up a collaboration agreement with ER 24 which is one of the largest Emergency Response Companies in South Africa where we have access to 6 air ambulances for Medical evacuation to any part of the world in time of severe workplace accident or ailment of critical concern. Confirm Biosciences USA: We realised the need to have drug and alcohol test kits with very reliable outcomes in Nigeria and the only company we could partner with based on efficiency and reliability of kits was Confirm Biosciences whose products we use for conducting drug and alcohol testing in Nigerian workplaces. These and many more are the innovations we have put in place. We are also creating the “Nigerian OHSE People Network” which will be a network of all OHSE practitioners in Nigeria having a portal to discuss highly professional issues and also network amongst colleagues. This gives room for us all to know ourselves better and our specific areas of strength. We hope to flag this off very soon. We have also created “The Council of Work Accident Claim Lawyers” which is a collection of Lawyers whose interest is in the legal prosecution of those violators of health and safety laws when it is finally made provision for in the Nigerian constitution. You will agree with me we need people who can give free legal services to a man who has been rendered incapacitated, maimed or mutilated by workplace accident in his company because of absence of requisite health and safety policies, processes and procedures. These are some of the ideas we are processing and implementing in our dear country Nigeria.

 

Has your company been engaging any government parastatal with regards to policy development or regulation enforcement?

 

Before now there has not really been strong basis and framework to work with in engaging these relevant government agencies largely because of the absence of enabling OHS laws which is gradually coming in now. The only agency we have had course to relate with is the Lagos State Safety Commission saddled with the responsibility to regulate workplace health and safety practices in the State. We strongly hope as the Nigerian Health and Safety bill is fully assented to by the President, we would have the basis of enforcement and implementation. This is the reason most of us are very happy for such a brilliant initiative of Senator Chris Anyanwu who initiated such a people oriented bill and we honestly believe it is one of the best bills that has ever come out of Nigerian Senate to touch both the high and the low. The process may seem slow but we have a new Nigeria of our dream, we would not relent, we will keep making our contributions at different capacity until we achieve a Nigeria we will be proud to handover to our children.

 

As we round off on this interview session i quickly want to say the Nigeria we have today is not the type we will be proud to hand over to our children and want them to be happy with us, let every man make his honest contribution and write it down, we may not have been bold enough to ask our fathers what went wrong but i am not sure the children we have now will have that kind of fear or courtesy, they will ask us what were the contributions we made. So let’s work now while we still have the opportunity, for the time cometh when we would be held accountable by our children. The new Nigeria nation is the responsibility of all Nigerians, it is not what you only get that matters let’s think of what we can also give back to our motherland.

 

Culled from: HSE Executive Online Magazine October, 2012

THE NIGERIAN SENATE PASSES OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY BILL

The Nigerian Senate on Thursday, 27th September 2012 passed the Labour Safety, Health Welfare Bill aimed at protecting Nigerian workers. The bill, which was sponsored by Senator Chris Anyanwu, was read for the third time and passed at the Senate on Thursday.

 

The bill seeks imprisonment for any employer who breaches labour laws. It seeks to repeal and re-enact the Factory Act 2004 to make comprehensive provisions for securing the safety, health and welfare of persons at work. It is to promote safe and healthy work environment for employees and protect them from injuries and illnesses at their workplaces.

 

It also seeks to protect others against risks to safety and health with regard to activities of persons at work in addition to establishing the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health. The amended bill contains 111 clauses and clause 83 deals with offences and penalties. It reads in part; “Any employer who fails to comply with any of the provisions of clauses 29, 30,31,32,33,34,35,36 and 37 of this bill relating to the duty of the employer commits an offence. “The person shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not less than one year or to a fine of not less than N500, 000. “Both fine and imprisonment in case of an individual and a fine of not less than N2m for a corporate body and in addition each director or manager of the body shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not less than one year. “Clause 31 (1) of the bill also states that an employer shall after being notified by a female employee that she is pregnant, adapt the working conditions of the female employee in such manner as to prevent occupational exposure. “This is to ensure that the embryo is afforded the same level of protection as required for members of the public and the employer shall not consider the notification of pregnancy as a reason to exclude the employee from work. “The employer is also required by this law to ensure that any female employee that is pregnant or nursing a baby is not exposed to ionizing radiation at the work place. On the construction and disposal of machinery, the bill in clause 52 stipulates that any person who manufactures, assemblies, sells or lets on hire any machine that does not comply with the requirement of this clause commits an offence. The person shall be liable to a penalty of N50, 000.00 for the first case of non compliance and N100,000.00 for every subsequent case of non compliance or N50 million for the first case of non compliance and N500m for every subsequent case.

 

Culled from Punch Newpapers. Ehi Iden

DANA AIR ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION PROCESS WAS A RIGHT LADDER LEANING ON A WRONG WALL

I was once again brought to a total amusement when i read from the pages of Nigeria newspapers the proposed accident investigation on the ill fated Dana Aircraft. Just like it has become an integral part of the very weak processes we have in Nigeria, i immediately told my colleagues that the proposed accident investigation would end up like the once we have had in the past. It was started with the wrong questions. In Occupational Health and Safety, it is a common saying that “when you lean a right ladder on a wrong wall, it will take you to a wrong place”. Accident investigation focuses on the root cause of an incident instead of the surface cause, it is very fundamental that the root cause be unveiled to enable us put into control whatever surface causes we may have available. So many noise and publications were made which centred mainly on the aircraft history of having being put on sale by the former owners because it was faulty and not fit for operations within their fleet. When you take that statement for a careful analysis, what it invariably translate into tells us that Alaska Airline who were the former owners of the ill fated aircraft has policies and processes on safety that govern their overall operations in sustaining public trust and corporate reputation. This again brings to my mind the absence of Occupational Health and Safety legislation in Nigeria and the very bogus benefits Nigerians would benefit from it if well structured and implemented for the good of all. Occupational Health and Safety principles supported by functional legislation, you dare not have an incidence or even a near miss without documenting and reporting it. In the city of Alabama, a pilot successful flew an aircraft which landed safely without any form of threat or exposure, through the flight log book Occupational Safety and Health Administrators (OSHA) upon routine inspection and checks discovered that the pilot did not undergo a conversion course necessary to acquaint him with the operating processes of that aircraft specification, the company was penalised heavily and a huge fine was slammed on them as a correction means. Things we must note here are as follow: • The aircraft was flown and landed successfully without any hitch • The irregularity was discovered by OSHA 9 years after it took place • Yet, it was treated with utmost severity in sanctions • The big question is who plays the role of OSHA in the Nigerian context? • What are the functions of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)? • Where do these functions begin and end? Taking our mind back to surface and root cause of the accident, the said MC Donnel Douglas MD 83 aircraft that was sold to Dana Air by Alaska Airline was reported to have had a history of worrying defaults. Between 2002 and 2006, it had an emergency diversion and in another instance it was evacuated after landing at the Long Beach, CA due to a chaffed wire bundle that discharged and produced smoke in the cabin area again. It was parked after this incidence in 2006 and again brought out for maintenance in 2008 before it was eventually sold to Dana Air in 2009. Root cause investigation of the accident I would have thought should ask the following questions: • Was the aircraft duly inspected at the point of sales before it was paid for and brought in to fly in Nigerian airspace? • If yes, where is the document that was signed off by the NCAA official who was assigned to inspect the state of this aircraft before purchase? Where are his notes? • Was this aircraft certified worthy to fly within the Nigerian Airspace? • If yes, where is the document that has the names and signature of such NCAA official who did certify the aircraft fit? • Who paid for the cost of the trip of the NCAA official who went to verify the air worthiness of the aircraft at the country of purchase? • Was it NCAA or Dana Air? The proof of payments for that trip should be made available by NCAA (Hotel accommodation, flight ticket and other travelling allowances). This is the foundation of a root cause in accident investigation, if the right thing has been altered from the onset there is no way we would record such a fatality as was recorded in June 3, 2012 in Nigeria. The surface cause accident investigation only bothers on other stories that were been parade in the piazza of Nigerian newspapers. Whether this particular aircraft started malfunctioning afterwards and other associated issues, they are all offshoot of the root cause. In a normal society, the leadership of NCAA should have been changed by now as a matter of fact, it is long overdue. You cannot have aircrafts dropping from the sky every other time, killing Nigerians carelessly and it is seen as one of such things? The trustee (the regulators) that Government has assigned responsibilities and roles in this direction should be liable and prosecuted if need be. Every time such fatality happens in Nigeria we almost guess right what their statements and actions would sound or look like, we need a change that will change the direction we are currently heading. We are a blessed and gifted nation, why do we have a vast population that lives on almost less than a Dollar per day? Today, we have again seen how the investigation and the expected report is being trivialized yet people lost their loved ones, Nigeria as a country lost human resources which is very fundamental in the growth and development of any Nation. For how long are we going to live like this? When would we have answers to all the troubling questions? Is it too difficult to take a leap from what is positively tenable in other countries of the world? How did we get here? Where did we go wrong? Only hope remains the answer. These are my personal thoughts: Ehi Iden

EFFECTIVE LEGISLATION ON ALCOHOL IN AFRICA WILL SAVE AFRICANS

I ran into the article below out of curiosity and my continuous demand for enabling public health policies and laws which are duly enforced in the interest of public health and safety. In one of our publications we advocated the need for robust health, safety and environment policies in Nigeria and Africa in general because of the global investment traffic that has been directed towards Africa of late which is almost making Africa a pivot which the future global economy will revolve. If this being true, there is therefore the urgent need for the legislative arm of Government across African continent to rise up in the interest of the African people to embark on informed legislations that will protect the people and sustain the future (environment). It is not enough to make laws but most importantly is enforcement. Where are the regulators of products that are inimical to the safety and security of African people? Why has Africa become a choice place of such trade? Is this traceable to dysfunctional legislative and enforcement malfunction? What really has gone wrong? Should we keep quiet? But if we do, what happens to the future that our children yearn to see? When they see the system we finally hand over to them, will they be proud of us? Let us start for the basic; i get really worried when i see alcohol advertisements all over the streets of Lagos, Nigeria and even in both the electronic and the print media. In the just concluded ISO 26000 (NAP) technical session in Abuja, we were asked if it is proper for a tobacco company to be allowed to involve in Social Responsibility owing to the fact that what they produce causes the highest number of deaths in the world that are traceable to cancer. Most of us felt it will be wrong to allow tobacco company use proceeds from such harmful trade to perform SR. What about alcohol brewers? What about arms and ammunitions manufacturers? These were the contrasting points raised while the debate lasted. My questions are: •Is it not possible to make legislation that will control the consumption of alcohol across Africa? •What alcohol brewers pay as taxes, is it enough to sacrifice the safety and security of Africans for? •What is obtainable in terms of control and regulations in other continents of the world? •In whose interest does an African legislator initiates legislative process? •Are the regulators of this market adequately supported by law? •Can other African countries take a leap from the South Africa, Kenya and Zambia initiatives? •What is responsible for the rather very loose regulation and control of alcohol market in Nigeria? Please read the article below as culled from Channels Television posting and leave your comment when you are done.

Africa leads the world in binge drinking despite widespread religious restriction, Africa is now believed to be leading the world in binge drinking and lawmakers across the continent are targeting alcohol as a public health problem with tougher regulations which could curb growth for brewers. Yet the companies see more growth expansion in the continent. On a bitterly cold Saturday afternoon in Worcester, a forlorn rural community near South Africa’s southern tip, the queue at the liquor store is the longest in town. It’s a scene constantly repeated across South Africa and a number of other nations on the continent: the prelude to a weekend of binge drinking. After years of turning a blind eye to alcohol abuse, politicians from South Africa to Kenya and Zambia are under pressure to tackle a problem that is adding to Africa’s burden of HIV, birth defects, road accidents and violent crime. Africa has the world’s highest proportion of binge drinkers, even though its large populations of Muslims and evangelical Christians generally abstain from alcohol. As incomes rise, it has become a boom market for international brewers and distillers whose sales are often flagging in the wealthy world. “It’s true that most people in Africa don’t drink for cultural, religious and economic reasons but those who drink, drink a lot,” said Dr Vladimir Poznyak of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva. If governments finally crack down effectively, companies such as SABMiller, Diageo Plc and Heineken NV may find Africa no longer allows the spectacular sales growth they have achieved there in recent years. The drinks firms say Africans are better off consuming their products than popular but sometimes lethal home concoctions. However, the effects in Worcester of drinkers rapidly consuming dangerous – sometimes even fatal – quantities of alcohol are obvious. The liquor store queue snakes past a drunken man crumpled on the ground in a pool of vomit and in the evening drinkers cram into Worcester’s numerous run-down bars. “They drink and drink and drink. They don’t stop when it is necessary to stop drinking liquor,” said Berita Jones, a police captain in the town of about 130,000. “Worcester’s crime is almost entirely alcohol-related,” said Jones, whose time is spent checking that its 166 licensed bars outlets comply with the law, and making regular raids of its more than 300 shebeens, or informal taverns. UNQUENCHABLE THIRST Home to some of the world’s fastest growing economies, Africa’s thirst for beer and spirits is almost unquenchable: analysts estimate beer volumes rose around 7 percent last year. Excluding the mature South African market, growth reached more than 10 percent. Drinks companies want to keep up the momentum. SABMiller is investing up to $2.5 billion over the next five years to build and renovate breweries on the continent. Rival Diageo’s African sales have risen by an average 15 percent in each of the last five years, and now account for 14 percent of the group’s total. But some public health officials say regulation of alcohol consumption and education about its abuse have failed to keep pace. “In parallel to this increase in commercial alcohol availability, the infrastructure and regulation for effective alcohol control have no strong tradition in many African countries,” said Poznyak. NEW LAWS On average an African drinks about 6.15 litres of pure alcohol each year, about half of what a European consumes. However, more than 25 percent of Africans are binge drinkers, the highest proportion in the world, according to a WHO report. Most African countries already have laws that prohibit underage drinking and drink driving, but critics say these are poorly enforced and often completely ignored. South Africa is crafting a new law to restrict alcohol advertising, raise the minimum drinking age to 21 from 18 and get tougher on drink driving, Minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini has said. The bill would also propose warning labels on alcohol containers, raising taxes and stricter licensing laws for alcohol outlets, said a government official who declined to be identified because the bill has not yet been made public. The bill will be discussed in South Africa’s cabinet in the next few weeks before its release for public comment, the official said. In Kenya authorities are also looking to raise the legal drinking age to 21 from 18, following on from a 2010 law that banned alcohol sales in grocery stores and in bars before 5 p.m. The Mututho law, named after the legislator who crafted it, John Mututho, is credited for a 90 percent drop in alcohol-related deaths in Kenya. “Even when we say we have succeeded up to that level, we are also saying we have failed 10 percent, so the age of drinking will be 21. We are amending the law,” Mututho said. Earlier this year, Zambia banned the manufacture and sale of spirits in relatively cheap small plastic sachets, which it blamed for increasing alcohol abuse by young people. Zambia’s health department secretary told Reuters that alcohol-related road accidents and health problems are increasingly a concern. In Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and a huge beer market, alcohol regulation does exist but critics say it is loosely enforced. Adeline Osakwe, deputy director at the Nigeria Food and Drug Administration, said the country ensures consumers are aware of alcohol content through product labelling. It also regulates alcohol advertising. “For TV commercials, as long as it will not lead people to abuse alcohol, we give approvals,” Osakwe said. HOME-BREW TO HEINEKEN For years poor Africans were limited to home-brew sorghum or maize beer, sometimes made with dangerous ingredients such as battery acid to increase the potency. Commercial alcohol is now widely available in most African states and premium brands such as Johnny Walker whisky or Heineken beer are increasingly in reach of the average drinker. Rising incomes have also encouraged conspicuous consumption of premium brands. Even in Worcester’s gritty nightclubs, some tables are weighed down by bottles of pricey spirits such Scotch whiskies Chivas Regal and Glenfiddich. Drinks companies say commercially produced alcohol is safer than home-brews. “The alternative is that lower income people who wish to consume liquor will buy illicit and potentially dangerous alcohol,” said Vincent Maphai, executive director of Corporate Affairs at SABMiller’s South African unit. SABMiller is already offering lower priced beer in order to win over drinkers from the home-brew market, which it says is about four times the $11 billion commercial market. Higher alcohol taxes, which the South African bill is likely to impose, risk of pushing the poor back to potentially lethal home-brews. Nevertheless, public health officials say governments need to do more to warn about the dangers of alcohol abuse. BIRTH DEFECTS Even several months into pregnancy, Johannesburg resident Martha regularly drank until she passed out. She never worried about the effect until her son was born with a hole in his heart. “I would have stopped if I knew that it would harm my baby like this,” said Martha, who declined to give her family name. Her son, now 12 years old, was diagnosed with foetal alcohol syndrome, an incurable birth defect that has left him with the brain and body of a four-year old. South Africa has the highest reported number of children with such birth defects: about 122 out of every 1,000 are born with the syndrome, compared with about 8 per 1,000 in the United States, according to South Africa’s Foundation for Alcohol Related Research. But experts say many Africans, like Martha, don’t get proper education about the dangers of alcohol, especially in rural areas where access to hospitals and clinics is limited. Alcohol also heightens the danger on a continent where driving is already perilous. Kenya’s Kenyatta National Hospital treats up to 40 victims of road accidents, mostly caused by drunk drivers and pedestrians, on some Saturday nights. But with little to do beyond drinking for entertainment in many parts of rural Africa, health officials face a tough battle. “In spite of all economic benefits that increased investments in alcohol production and sales can bring, the health of the population should be properly protected and this should be a priority,” the WHO’s Poznyak said. “Health is the best investment, also from an economic point of view, in any society.”