THE RICH ALSO CRY "When investment becomes a curse"

After medical tests showed that residents of Adekunle Fajuyi Estate, off Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja, Lagos, had unusually high metal toxicity in their blood, urine and water, TOYOSI OGUNSEYE reports that they are now afraid for their lives

Last week, Mr. Adebayo Balomo retired the only coconut tree in his compound for good. It was a tough decision for the septuagenarian. For 15 years, the tree had served him, his family and friends well, providing sweet coconuts.

“That coconut tree has been there for about 15 years and I eat the fruit all the time. I entertain my visitors with it,” he said.

But Balomo said he had to take the decision after seeing the results of the medical tests carried out on the residents and flora of Adekunle Fajuyi Estate.

Residents of the estate, an upscale community in the heart of Lagos, had accused a nearby steel factory, Universal Steels Limited, of polluting their bodies, air and water with dangerous metal gases.

SUNDAY PUNCH had paid for the medical tests carried out at the Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, University of Lagos.

The tests showed that the residents and the flora, including Balomo’s coconut tree, had killer concentrations of gaseous metals in them.

Balomo, the estate’s oldest resident, is yet to recover from the shock.

He said, “For the test to show that the coconut I have been eating for years is contaminated is depressing. That means that I have been feeding my family and my visitors with poisonous fruit.

“I am an old man now, but what about the young ones whose bloodstreams are now contaminated? I am worried.”

The worries expressed by Balomo were also shared by all the residents. It was learnt that some residents who did not partake in the tests later went to private medical laboratories to ascertain the concentration of metals in their bodies.

They did this after seeing the results of the SUNDAY PUNCH-sponsored tests.

The medical assay had shown that all the tested 16 residents had very high concentrations of chromium, cadmium, zinc and iron in their bloodstreams. In some of these residents, the concentrations of metals were 10,000 per cent higher than the levels that the World Health Organisation considers safe.

The heavy metal contamination was also extremely high in borehole water, well water and coconut water samples found in the estate.

The head of the team that conducted the tests, Prof. Albert Ebuehi, described the results as “alarming” and urged the residents to relocate to save their lives.

Ebuehi stated that apart from the residents getting medical treatment, a permanent solution must be found to the pollution in the environment.

“They need to see a toxicologist that will treat them for the metal toxicity. But even if they are receiving treatment and they are still exposed to the gases from the company, it defeats the purpose of the medication,” he said.

‘What do we do now?’

When our correspondent visited the estate last Tuesday, the air was thick with despair.

At the Ademolas’, the worry was palpable. And it was for a good reason: the house where the Ademolas have lived for 16 years lies directly in front of the discharge roof of Universal Steels Limited. The fumes from the company’s huge machines are discharged through this roof.

Not surprisingly, all the blood and urine samples of the four members of the Ademola family tested positive to metal toxicity. A visibly worried Mrs. Ademola said the test results had dampened the joy of her family.

She said, “Since we got the result of the test, we have been very sad. It was a huge shock to us. My two sons got asthma when we got to this estate. I wrote letters to the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency, the Lagos State Ministries of Health and Environment, reporting the activities of Universal Steels. But I did not know how bad the situation was until we saw the results of the tests.

“We have gone to see our family doctor who is a general practitioner. He was dazed when we showed him the results. He said the matter was beyond him and he referred us to a toxicologist who gave us several medical procedures to adopt.”

For Mr. Mohammed Yusuf, moving out of the estate is the only alternative.

He said, “I planned to relocate from this estate, but the tests have made up my mind for me. Even my water treatment plant has large deposits of iron. I am going. I have increased the tempo of construction work in my new home and I just have a few weeks to spend in this estate.

“This is my house and I know that no one may be willing to buy it from me because everyone now knows we inhale poisonous gases, but I don’t care.”

Class action

Shortly after SUNDAY PUNCH published the test results last week, some residents of the estate got together and mulled the idea of a future class suit against Universal Steels. Others are not willing to wait.

Mrs. Ademola fumed, “I will treat myself and my family, but we will meet in court. The estate association is talking about a class action suit, but I will not wait for that. I will take them to court independently and still partake in whatever the estate decides.

“I have spoken to my lawyer and Universal Steels will be hearing from me soon. They are the only steel factory in this place and my home faces them directly. The medical investigation showed that members of my family had excess iron, cadmium, zinc and chromium in our blood and they expect me to keep quiet? I won’t!”

Another family that has plans to sue Universal Steels is the Okon family. Its patriarch, Mr. Michael Okon, said the result of the medical test was enough proof that the residents had been right all along.

He said, “We are going to court. What other evidence do we need apart from the medical tests? We have lived here for 12 years and where we were living before, there was no factory. So, the company cannot tell us that our systems got contaminated from somewhere else. I am ready to show the court where I was living before. Moreover, 16 people in the estate were randomly selected for the test and we all had metal toxicity in our systems. It shows that there is something wrong with where we live.

“Every day for 12 years, I was exposed to the gases from Universal Steels. I will wake up in the morning and blow out soot that settled in my nose overnight. My throat would be filled with dark substances. My daughter and granddaughter have breathing problems. My daughter even had to relocate from here when it got really bad. The gases killed all my plants. I have pictures as evidence.

“The estate is talking about a class action suit, but I am not going to wait for that. I have spoken to my lawyers. We are going to court after the New Year holiday.”

Poisonous gases everywhere

Across Nigeria, the problem of poisonous gaseous pollution is widespread. Shortly after SUNDAY PUNCHpublished the story of the state, the newspaper’s email was inundated with mails from readers who lamented that affected communities were often abandoned by government agencies.

One of the readers, James Nduka, wrote: “I live within the Adeniji-Abisogun Leigh Estate, off Wempco Road, Ogba, Lagos. There are two metal manufacturing companies there. We moved there in 1984 and residents in my estate have had several battles with these Chinese companies. We have written several petitions to the state government and appropriate ministries, but we got very little result. There was a time one of the companies was sealed off, but that action was short-lived, as they re-opened a few months later.

“The fumes they emit are toxic and poisonous. Most of our plants and guava trees ended up with black spots before dying. When these companies emit their gases in the evenings, residents have to hurriedly shut their windows, blocking proper ventilation. Only God knows what damage it has caused the residents there. Our sky in this area is normally dark grey because of the pollution.”

Mr. Lanre Ibitoye, a resident of a heavily industrialised part of Ikorodu, also wrote to SUNDAY PUNCH. He said, “If the blood, urine and water of residents in Adekunle Fajuyi Estate are contaminated because of one steel company, you can only imagine our fate. There are so many metal-manufacturing companies in our area. We have written several letters to government that the emissions are killing us, but no one cares about our petitions. If the media are not involved, government will not do anything.”

In other parts of Nigeria, the story isn’t different. In Zamfara State, lead poisoning from the operations of mining companies led to the death of 150 children last year. Residents of some Plateau and Nasarawa communities have long complained of their exposure to the radioactive emission of mining companies. In Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State, communities close to huge quarrying companies complain that the lives of residents are made miserable by the vibrations and flying stone pellets from quarrying activities. In the Niger Delta, oil producing communities are always battling with oil companies over oil spills.

Figures from the United Nations Environment Programme also show that pollution and the inevitable conflict between communities and businesses happen all over the world. UNEP estimates that more than one billion people are exposed to outdoor air pollution annually, with the majority being in Africa. Studies have also linked urban air pollution to one million premature deaths and one million pre-native deaths each year.

UNEP also says that rapid urbanisation has resulted in increasing urban air pollution in major cities, especially in developing countries. It is estimated that air pollution costs approximately two per cent of Gross Domestic Product in developed countries and five per cent in developing countries.

Investment or curse?

A few days after the first part of the story was published, the Lagos State Public Advice Centre, an agency under the Ministry of Justice, called our correspondent and said it wanted to find a lasting solution to the pollution in the estate.

The agency met the residents of the estate last week and asked them to submit their complaints against Universal Steels. The residents confirmed that they were at the agency where they were asked to sign some documents.

However, residents and communities affected by industrial pollution often accuse government of being reluctant to implement environment laws in order not to scare away investors.

As a developing country, Nigeria’s economy relies heavily on Foreign Direct Investment. Some of these investments come in the form of manufacturing businesses promoted by companies like Universal Steels.

According to the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, Nigeria has been rated as the 11th emerging economy of the world and, as a result of this growth, it has attracted huge foreign direct investments. In 2011, the total FDI value was $8.9bn.

For the Chief Executive Officer, Occupational Health and Safety Managers, Mr. Ehi Iden, the huge inflow of capital into the economy is sometimes detrimental to the health of citizens.

Iden said, “It is not enough for the Federal Government to keep asking for foreign investment without caring about Nigerians. If we make so much money from these manufacturing companies and Nigerians are dying because of the pollution that emanates from these companies, what is the benefit of investments then?

“Most of these companies come here, treat Nigerians the way they like, pollute the environment and nothing happens. They hardly care about the welfare of their employees and they pay peanuts. I have handled so many cases where casual workers in manufacturing companies were maimed for life and nothing happened.

“Government should be very strict with companies like Universal Steels, but that is not the case, unfortunately. It is either government relocates the company or relocates residents of Adekunle Fajuyi Estate. And if they must live in the same environment, the company must be made to build a big chimney that will direct its gases directly into the air.

“Then we have to talk about compensation too. Who will bear the cost of the remediation in the estate? Who will pay the bills of the residents that need the metals flushed out of their systems, water and soil? These are the things a responsive government should be looking at. If the people in the estate have metal toxicity in their bodies, then the employees in these factories must be worse off.”

Already, a Non-Governmental Organisation, Environmental Rights Action, has announced plans to organise a protest rally against Universal Steels.

The Head of Media, ERA, Philip Jakpor, said the protest would further sensitise government to the plight of the residents and possibly bring about a lasting solution to the pollution in the estate.

He said, “We are going to protest in front of the steel company after the New Year break. This cannot go on. We will involve other NGOs and the media.”

Beyond protests and agitation, stakeholders have said only the overhauling and the effective implementation of existing environmental laws will save the situation.

Jakpor said, “We have so many environmental laws, but they are not all-encompassing. Some of them are as old as when Nigeria got its independence. We have some recent ones, but they are restricted to different industries like environmental laws that deal with gas flaring, oil and gas, tobacco, etc. And these laws are abstracts from international treaties. The laws should be domiciled in the ministry of environment.

“We don’t have one comprehensive document we can call Nigeria’s environmental law. And that is where the problem is.”

At long last…

On Friday, some respite finally came the way of the residents of Adekunle Fajuyi Estate. The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency said it had sealed off Universal Steels because of the harm it had caused the residents.

The General Manager, LASEPA, Mr. Adebola Shabi, in an electronic mail, said the closure followed the reports by SUNDAY PUNCH and complaints of the residents.

According to him, the agency had investigated similar complaints against the company in 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2012, while it had sanctioned the company twice.

He said, “The attention of LASEPA has been drawn to the contents of SUNDAY PUNCH’s publications of December 16 and 23, 2012 respectively on the issue of emission of fumes from Universal Steels Limited, an iron and steel manufacturing company.

“In the publication, various grave allegations were made against the company by the residents on the effects of the emission on their health and wellbeing.

“The agency is aware that there are health impacts of the emissions from such facilities on human health. Apart from the climate change impact, the emission of sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide, methane hydrocarbons and particulate matter into the environment results in various respiratory problems, including asthma.

“Earlier, the company submitted environmental impact assessment reports in 2006, 2008 and 2011. It has also installed some abatement plants.”

Shabi said the company would not be reopened until it had fulfilled all the promises it made in the recent Memorandum of Understanding it signed with the residents and LASEPA.

He added, “We will ensure that the company subsequently develops a comprehensive environmental management plan, which will be vigorously monitored and implemented. A post-impact assessment of the effects of the emission on the environment will be undertaken and the appropriate remedial strategies recommended will be implemented.

“We will conduct a comprehensive review of existing reports on the blood and urine tests of the residents, while Universal Steels will be encouraged to carry out remedial works within the estate, including the planting of new species of trees aimed at improving the quality of air within the estate.”

The residents said even though they were happy about the sealing off of Universal Steels, the company had been sealed off previously, without the company taking steps to stop the pollution.

The Chairman of the residents’ association, Chief Taiwo Ojora, who was the only resident that allowed his real name to be used, said, “We are glad the company has been sealed off, but that is not the permanent solution, because they are going to reopen. They promised to take measures against releasing their poisonous gases into the atmosphere in the MoU we signed with them, but those are temporary measures. We need government to find a permanent solution to the pollution of our bodies, water and soil.”

Editor’s note: The names of all residents who spoke to Sunday PUNCH are withheld to protect their privacy.

Punch Nigeria

THE RICH ALSO CRY "Killer Metal in the Blood"

We had pubblished the first part of this story on the antecedents of Universal Steel in Lagos and we promised to publish the follow-up edition and this promise we fulfill by this publication. Please read and leave a comment. Kindly note, every work published here is the intellectual property of Punch Newspaper Nigeria Limited.

 

December 23, 2012 by TOYOSI OGUNSEYE

Universal Steels Limited

In this second part of a three-part series, TOYOSI OGUNSEYE reports that medical tests conducted on 16 residents of Adekunle Fajuyi Estate, off Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja, Lagos, who are exposed to fumes from Universal Steels Limited, revealed heavy metals in their blood, urine and water that could lead to death

On any weekday, the air over Universal Steels is certain to be thick with sooty fumes. These fumes are at the centre of a dispute that has pitted the company against the residents of an upscale estate in the heart of Lagos.

Residents of Adekunle Fajuyi Estate accuse the company of polluting their homes and environment with the heavy gases emanating from its huge machines. These gases, they add, are also responsible for the high incidence of cancer and respiratory ailments in the estate.

When our correspondent visited the company to get its side of the story, a company representative, Mr. David Igwe, was quick to dismiss the allegations.

Igwe said, “There is nothing like that. It is not true. We have an abatement plant that takes care of the gases we emit. We bought the 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. We don’t pollute the environment and there is no estate that is affected by our operations.”

The test

In late November, 16 of the residents agreed to SUNDAY PUNCH’s request for a series of blood and urine tests that would either validate their allegations or confirm the company’s innocence.

The tests were to determine the heavy metal concentrations in the residents’ blood systems and ascertain if they were within safe thresholds.

For the tests, researchers from the Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, randomly selected16 residents who had lived in the estate for a minimum of seven years.

The team got 15 blood samples and 14 urine samples — one of the 16 residents did not give blood, while two declined to submit urine samples. Samples were also taken from borehole water, well water and a coconut from a 15-year-old coconut tree. SUNDAY PUNCH paid for the tests.

Killer metals in their blood

At the end of three weeks, the results were ready. The researchers published their findings in a 10-page report. The report showed that the concentrations of chromium, cadmium, zinc and iron in the blood of the residents of Adekunle Fajuyi Estate were much higher than the levels permitted by the World Health Organisation.

The head of the team that conducted the tests, Prof Albert Ebuehi, described the results as “alarming.”

He warned that the residents’ blood had “heavy metal toxicity” which posed serious health risks.

According to him, the test showed that the urine and blood of the residents were contaminated with chromium, cadmium, zinc and iron.

Ebuehi stated that the highest and lowest values of iron in the plasma of the tested residents were 8,067 per cent and 565 per cent respectively and were higher than the WHO permissible levels.

The cadmium level in the most contaminated resident among those tested was 130,000 per cent greater than the WHO acceptable level. The least contaminated individual had cadmium concentration that was 327 per cent, higher than the normal value of 0.0011mg/L.

According to professor, the levels of chromium in the tested residents were also ‘alarming.’

The 16 residents also had high zinc toxicity in their plasma. The highest value of zinc was 146 per cent, greater than the permissible level of 1.1mg/L, while the lowest was 7.3 per cent greater.

The trend was the same with the urine tests. The highest value of iron in urine was 4,963 per cent, greater than the WHO acceptable level while the lowest was 205 per cent.

For cadmium in urine, the highest value was 130,000 per cent, greater than the permissible level of 0.0011mg/L, with the lowest being 46,363 per cent.

The highest value of zinc was 143.6 per cent, higher than the WHO permissible level, while the lowest was 5.5 per cent.

The heavy gas contamination was also extremely high in borehole water, well water and coconut water samples found in Adekunle Fajuyi Estate.

The report stated that, “A final revelation became more glaring when these heavy metals were identified and determined in the coconut grown and harvested within the same vicinity. The metals in the coconut water were abnormally high and unsafe for human consumption.

“Heavy metals could enter coconut water through soil or water contamination. The metals have also affected the quality of the water in the environment. They were detected in heavy quantities.”

Killing them softly

Ebuehi, an ordinarily unflappable academic, was so alarmed by the results that he advised residents to “leave the estate as soon as possible.”

He said, “They must not eat any fruit grown in the area; all their plants are contaminated because of the pollution of underground water. Already, the offspring of the 16 residents sampled are likely to have the heavy metals too. That may lead to generations of families with toxic metals in their systems. They have to leave that place for their own good.”

Speaking on the likely effects of the metals that the residents have inhaled, Ebuehi said, “Inhalation of cadmium-containing fumes can result in metal fume fever, but may progress to chemical pneumonitis, pulmonary oedema and death.

“Also, high levels of free ferrous iron react with peroxides to produce free radicals, which are highly reactive and can damage DNA, proteins, lipids and other cellular components. Excess iron damages the heart, liver and elsewhere and this can lead to coma, metabolic acidosis, shock, liver failure, coagulopathy, respiratory distress syndrome, long-term organ damage and even death.

“Chronic toxicity of zinc may produce gastric ulcer, pancreatitis, anaemia, nausea, vomiting and pulmonary fibrosis. Acute toxicity is manifested as fever and anaemia. Lead was not detected in the test.”

‘Fatal without treatment’

In 1996, a team of medical scientists in India released the result of a study on the link between metal gases and gall bladder disease and cancer. The study was done over a year on 96 patients with gall bladder diseases at the University Hospital, Varanasi, India.

The study concluded that the metal toxicity in the patients was caused by the dangerously high concentrations of heavy metals in drinking water in the regions where the patients lived.

The team leader, Professor V.K. Shukla, wrote that, “The two regions lie down stream of the river Ganges, which is the main source of drinking, bathing, and irrigation water in this part of India and receives untreated domestic sewage and industrial and agricultural effluent.

“High concentrations of cadmium have been reported in sewage, irrigation water and vegetables grown in the area; and higher concentrations of heavy metals than recommended by the World Health Organisation have been reported in water from this region. Heavy metals as environmental pollutants have been implicated in human carcinogenesis.

“These metals, especially cadmium, are excreted and concentrated in the hepatobiliary system. These metals are known as chemical carcinogens, so the high biliary concentrations of these metals in carcinoma of the gall bladder may be a factor in this cancer.”

A consultant surgeon based in Lagos, Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie, agreed with this research. According to him, excess cadmium has been linked to both cancer of the urinary bladder and stomach.

He said, “A man who inhales a large dose of cadmium is not in much risk as one who does so in small amounts steadily over many years.

“Because cadmium is so toxic, even minimal exposure to dust can be extremely damaging to the body — the kidneys can shrink up to 30 per cent of their mass. Accumulation of cadmium in the lungs can cause pulmonary oedema. It is fatal without treatment. In its milder form, cadmium toxicity can cause flu-like symptoms of cough, catarrh conjunctivitis, bronchitis and lung fibrosis. Chronically, excess cadmium causes bone softening (osteomalacia) and bone brittleness (osteoporosis), leading to deep-seated pain and easy fractures.”

Ikhisemojie added that high concentrations of zinc can cause muscle cramps, headaches, blurring of vision, severe weakness and convulsions, while chromium causes “different types of bronchitis (severe respiratory disease), asthma, conjunctivitis, passage of blood in stools and lung cancer.”

As for iron, he said, “In excess amounts, it 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 chirosis. This will ultimately poison the organ leading to liver failure, as the majority of its cells have been made abnormal by the presence of excessive iron.”

A climatologist, Professor Temiloluwa Ologunorisa, of the Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research, Osun State University, Osogbo, reiterated the opinions of the medical doctors.

According to Ologunorisa, apart from the gases which the residents inhale in dry form, rainfall converts the gases to wet form, which are washed to the ground surface including roof surface.

He said, “The gases undergo some chemical reactions after combining with rain water to form more dangerous substances. Ultimately, some of the gases or substances formed are carcinogenic, and others can cause respiratory ailments.”

Another professor of climatology, Olukayode Oladipo, said apart from the heavy metals detected during the research, emissions from the steel company include iron oxides, sulphur oxides, calcium oxides, hydrocarbons, carbonaceous compounds and chlorides.

He said, “It is therefore not surprising that high levels of chromium, cadmium, zinc and iron are found in the people living in the area. It is also not surprising that the water, air and soil around the industrial site have been contaminated with the series of emissions mentioned above.

“Operations of the industry must have some local effects on the thermal conditions (temperature) of the local environment. It will be interesting to find out if the temperature conditions around the steel company is higher than the surrounding environment to generate what we call urban heat island.”

Living in denial

When our correspondent told Igwe that there was evidence of the pollution from the company, he sidestepped the question and retorted, “We know how we settle journalists.”

He then left in a hurry, after promising to give the reporter another appointment. A subsequent text message to Igwe for the promised appointment was not replied. Our correspondent called him again; a man that sounded like Igwe picked the call but claimed it was a wrong number.

“Please, check the number you are calling. You must have a wrong number,” he said.

Residents said representatives of the company once told them that the area was mapped as an industrial estate, hence they had no reason to complain.

A resident, Mohammed Yusuf said, “That argument cannot stand. Even if they got here before us, does that mean that they should not be socially responsible? The government gave us approvals to live here as a residential estate. So, they cannot claim that because they were told that it was an industrial estate, they should be killing us gradually with poisonous gases.

“Even in developed counties like America and Britain, people live very close to so many manufacturing industries and these companies are very responsible. You don’t see the companies directing poisonous gases at the residents. They build high chimneys and direct their gases very far into the air. That is possible because they have a responsible government. But it is not the same here.”

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Lagos State, Mr. Toyin Ayinde, said Universal Steels could not excuse polluting the environment on the grounds of physical planning.

He said, “The Ogba area estate has both industrial and residential components and it is not unusual that they are so located. We have to return to the industrial safety laws. Does a man have a right to operate an industry at the expense of the people who are almost certainly his own clientele? I think not.

“This is where the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and its agencies have a role to play, for they are the regulatory bodies to ensure that industrial effluent is controlled and environment-friendly.”

Drama at LASEPA

The government agency responsible for environmental matters in Lagos is the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency. LASEPA, by law, is expected to monitor, manage and protect the Lagos State environment from all forms of degradation arising from solid, liquid and gaseous waste.

The agency is also empowered by law to arrest persons, seal premises and seize items being used in the perpetuation of any offence.

When our correspondent met the General Manager of LASEPA, Mr. Adebola Shabi, the agency said it was not aware that Universal Steels was polluting the environment.

He said, “We were there two years ago to commission the abatement plant. I always use the company as an example for other manufacturing companies. We shut them down some years ago but after that, they bought the plant to take care of the greenhouse gases they emit. Apart from the harm they cause to humans, these gases deplete the ozone layer and cause climate change. The company takes care of the gases they emit. I am not aware that any person is suffering poor health due to gases from the company.”

When SUNDAY PUNCH insisted that there was evidence that the company emits gases with high metal concentrations every day apart from Sundays, Shabi raised a four-man team to investigate the allegation.

The following day, our correspondent led the LASEPA team to Adekunle Fajuyi Estate where they took pictures of thick emissions from the company that was settling in peoples’ homes. They also spoke to the residents.

After spending some hours in the estate, the team decided to go to Universal Steels to confront its officials with the evidence.

On getting to the company, Igwe was not pleased to see our correspondent with the team.

He said, “Government should not be conniving with the press. LASEPA is a regulatory agency that monitors the environment and I see nothing wrong with the agency paying a visit to the company. But you should not be partnering press while conducting your duties.”

At this point, the team asked our correspondent and the photojournalist to excuse the two parties.

Thirty minutes later, Igwe and the LASEPA officials came out and said they were going on a tour of the company’s facilities. Igwe said our correspondent and a female member of the team could not go on the tour because they had a pair of sandals on. SUNDAY PUNCH’s photojournalist was also not allowed on the tour, even though he wore a pair of covered shoes.

When the LASEPA officials and Igwe returned from the tour, the company representative crowed to our reporter, “I have shown LASEPA round, you can ask the agency all you want to know. They will tell you.”

On leaving the premises, the team told SUNDAY PUNCH that the company said it had only been emitting the gases for about two weeks and that it had bought some equipment to fix its leaking roofs and pipes.

Memorandum without understanding

Three days after the SUNDAY PUNCH’s visit, residents got an invitation from LASEPA for a meeting with the company on December 3.

At the end of the meeting, both parties signed a memorandum of understanding. A copy of the MoU, which was obtained by our correspondent, stated that Universal Steels agreed to “fix its faulty furnaces, repair its dilapidated roofs, and start a remedial measure.”

It also promised to replace the filtration bags of the abatement plant in two weeks and install a hood and blower to filter the emission. It agreed to alert LASEPA within 24 hours of breakdown and be financially responsible for the cost of any remediation work that may need to be done to abate the nuisance and restore the damaged environment.

The steel company promised in the MoU to complete its factory maintenance before the second week of January.

However, a few days after the MoU was signed, the residents told SUNDAY PUNCH that Universal Steels was still polluting the air with the poisonous emissions in the middle of the night

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