ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN ABULOMA, RIVERS STATE.

ADEJORIN MARTINS
Electrical and information Engineering Department
Landmark University, Omu aran.
adedeji.adejorin@lmu.edu.ng
ABSTRACT
One of the major challenges facing the people in Abuloma community is waste
management which has led to land and air pollution. Open dumpsite approach as solid waste
disposal method is a primitive stage of solid waste management in many parts of the world. It
is one of the most poorly rendered services by most authorities in developing countries as the
systems applied are unscientific, outdated and in- efficient. Due to overpopulation of Abuloma,
Rivers State, and poor measures taken in the disposal of solid wastes, inhabitants of the area
are found commonly to dump their solid wastes in open places close to buildings, along the
road, and also they are being burnt where they are disposed. The area is water logged, it has
many swampy area. Open dumps have environmental hazards; they can pose major public
health threats and environmental effects in urban cities. Also when the waste are being burnt,
the environment is being polluted, causing both land and air pollution. With increase in the
global population and the rising demand for food and other essentials, there has been a rise in
the amount of waste being generated daily by each house- hold. This waste is ultimately thrown
into the community disposal sites and due to poor and ineffective management, the dumpsites
turn to sources of environmental and health hazards to people living in the vicinity of such
dumps. Therefore, this paper explains what happens in the selected city, the hazards and
possible solution.

Keywords: Air Pollution, Land Pollution, Solid Waste Disposal, Dumpsite, Environment

Introduction
Pollution can be defined as an undesirable change in the physical, chemical or
biological characteristics of air, water and soil that may harmfully affect the life or create a
potential health hazard of any living organism. Pollution is therefore direct or indirect changes
in any component of the biosphere that is harmful to the living component(s), and in particular
undesirable for man, affecting adversely the industrial progress, cultural and natural assets or
general environment.
Pollutants are substances that causes pollution. A pollutant can include any chemical or
geochemical (dust, sediment, grit etc.) substance, biotic component or its product, or physical

factor that is released into the environment in such a concentration that may have adverse
harmful or unpleasant effects.
A major environmental effect of dumpsites, is not directly transferred from land to
people, except in the case of dusts and direct contact with toxic materials. Pollutants deposited
on land usually enter the human body through the medium of contaminated crops, animals,
food products, or water. Also, the dumpsite has smelly and unsightly conditions. These
conditions are worse in during the season because of extreme temperatures, when rain falls on
the dump site. It causes a stench, and when flood happens in such areas, it transports the refuse,
anywhere like the on the road, inside some people houses, nearby farmlands etc. Disposal sites
can also create health hazards for the neighbourhood. In addition, dumpsites closer to
residential areas are always feeding places for goats, birds, dogs and cats. These pets, together
with rodents, carry diseases with them to nearby houses.

Solid Waste Disposal

The disposal of solid waste is a problem and it continues to grow with the growth of
population within the community. Disposal of waste in open places, such as inside drainage,
road side, inside uncompleted building, it has become routine in this community. Semisolid or
solid matter that are created by human or animal activities, and which are disposed because
they are hazardous or useless are known as solid waste. Most of the solid wastes, like paper,
plastic containers, bottles, cans, and even used cars and electronic goods are not biodegradable,
which means they do not get broken down through inorganic or organic processes. Thus, when
they accumulate they pose a health threat to people, plus, decaying wastes also attract
household pests and result in the affected areas becoming unhealthy, dirty, and unsightly places
to reside in. Moreover, while also reducing the uses of the land for other, more useful purposes.

Air pollution
One of the causes of environmental pollution in the selected area is air pollution majorly caused
by inappropriate method of waste disposal.
Open air burning is the method deployed here, when they dispose the unwanted waste
improperly, they then go on to burn it. Open burning is the burning of unwanted materials in a
manner that causes smoke and other emissions to be released directly into the air. This includes
the burning of outdoor piles, burning in a burn barrel and the use of incinerators which have
no pollution control devices and as such release the gaseous by products directly into the
atmosphere. Garbage may be burnt because of the ease and convenience of the method or
because of the cheapness of the method. In countries where house holders are required to pay
for garbage disposal, burning of waste in the backyard allows the householder to avoid paying
the costs associated with collecting, hauling and dumping the waste. Open burning has many
negative effects on both human health and the environment. This uncontrolled burning of
garbage releases many pollutants into the atmosphere. These include dioxins, particulate
matter, polycyclic aromatic compounds, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide,

hexachlorobenzene and ash. All of these chemicals pose serious risks to human health. The
Dioxins are capable of producing a multitude of health problems; they can have adverse effects
on reproduction, development, disrupt the hormonal systems or even cause cancer. The
harmful effects of open burning are also felt by the environment. This process releases acidic
gases such as the halo-hydrides; it also may release the oxides of nitrogen and carbon. Nitrogen
oxides contribute to acid rain, ozone depletion, smog and global warming. In addition to being
a greenhouse gas carbon monoxide reacts with sunlight to produce ozone which can be harmful.
The particulate matter creates smoke and haze which contribute to air pollution.

Figure 1: Environmental pollution in Abuloma

Effects of pollution on the people in the environment

Air pollution can affect our health in many ways. Numerous scientific studies
have linked air pollution to a variety of health problems including:
1. Aggravation of respiratory and cardiovascular disease.
2. Decreased lung function.
3. Increased frequency and severity of respiratory symptoms such as difficulty
breathing and coughing.
4. Increased susceptibility to respiratory infections.
5. Effects on the nervous system, including the brain, such as IQ loss and impacts
on learning, memory and behaviour.
6. Cancer
7. Premature death. Some sensitive individuals appear to be at greater risk for air
pollution-related health effects, for example, those with pre-existing heart and
lung diseases (e.g., heart failure/ischemic heart disease, asthma which can lead
to death eventually.

Air pollution also damages our environment. Ozone can damage vegetation, adversely
impacting the growth of plants and trees. These impacts can reduce the ability of plants to
uptake CO2 from the atmosphere and indirectly affect entire ecosystems. Visibility is reduced
by particles in the air that scatter and absorb light.
Air pollution can also impact the Earths climate. Different types of pollutants affect the climate
in different ways, depending on their specific properties and the amount of time they stay in
the atmosphere. Any pollutant that affects the Earths energy balance is known as a climate
forcer. Some climate forcers absorb energy and lead to climate warming, while others reflect
the suns rays and prevent that energy from reaching the Earths surface, leading to climate
cooling.
Under normal conditions, most of the solar radiation reaching the Earths surface is
radiated back toward space. However, atmospheric greenhouse gaseslike CO2, CH4, and
ozonecan trap this energy and prevent the heat from escaping, somewhat like the glass panels
of a greenhouse. Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are necessary to life as we know it because they
keep the planets surface warmer than it would otherwise be. However, as the concentrations
of these gases continue to increase in the atmosphere, largely due to the burning of refuse in
this area.

Proposed solution to the environmental pollution

Waste management is all those activities and action required to manage waste from its
inception to its final disposal. This includes amongst other things, collection, transport,
treatment and disposal of waste together with monitoring and regulation. It also encompasses

the legal and regulatory framework that relates to waste management encompassing guidance
on recycling etc. Waste management relates to all kinds of waste, whether generated during
the extraction of raw materials, the processing of raw materials into intermediate and final
products, the consumption of final products, or other human activities, including municipal
(residential, institutional, commercial), agricultural, and special (health care, household
hazardous wastes, sewage sludge). Waste management is intended to reduce adverse effects
of waste on health and the environment.

Since the major pollutants of the environment in the selected area are air and land
pollution, solution will be proposed to tackle the effects on the environment. Since open
burning is one major way they practice in this area, thus leading to environmental pollution. I
will suggest other methods which can be used, though are used in many civilized countries of
the world, if it can be adapted here, it will be a great benefit for the environment and people at
large
They include:
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Methods of waste reduction, waste reuse and recycling are the preferred options when
managing waste. There are many environmental benefits that can be derived from the use of
these methods. They reduce or prevent greenhouse gas emissions, reduce the release of
pollutants, conserve resources, save energy and reduce the demand for waste treatment
technology and landfill space. Therefore it is advisable that these methods be adopted and
incorporated as part of the waste management plan. Though they have a body for that in the
selected city, but it is not effective, it needs effective monitoring.

Waste reduction and reuse

Waste reduction and reuse of products are both methods of waste prevention. They
eliminate the production of waste at the source of usual generation and reduce the demands
for large scale treatment and disposal facilities. Methods of waste reduction include
manufacturing products with less packaging, encouraging customers to bring their own
reusable bags for packaging, encouraging the public to choose reusable products such as cloth
napkins and reusable plastic and glass containers, backyard composting and sharing and
donating any unwanted items rather than discarding them. All of the methods of waste
prevention mentioned require public participation. In order to get the public on board,
training and educational programmes need to be undertaken to educate the public about their
role in the process. Also the government may need to regulate the types and amount of
packaging used by manufacturers and make the reuse of shopping bags mandatory.

Recycling

Recycling refers to the removal of items from the waste stream to be used as raw
materials in the manufacture of new products. Thus from this definition recycling occurs in
three phases: first the waste is sorted and recyclables collected, the recyclables are used to
create raw materials. These raw materials are then used in the production of new products.
The sorting of recyclables may be done at the source (i.e. within the household or office) for
selective collection by the municipality or to be dropped off by the waste producer at a
recycling centres. The pre-sorting at the source requires public participation which may not
be forthcoming if there are no benefits to be derived. Also a system of selective collection by
the government can be costly. It would require more frequent circulation of trucks within
neighbourhood or the importation of more vehicles to facilitate the collection.
Another option is to mix the recyclables with the general waste stream for collection
and then sorting and recovery of the recyclable materials can be performed by the
municipality at a suitable site. The sorting by the municipality has the advantage of
eliminating the dependence on the public and ensuring that the recycling does occur. The
disadvantage however, is that the value of the recyclable materials is reduced since being
mixed in and compacted with other garbage can have adverse effects on the quality of the
recyclable material.
Incineration
It is the most common thermal treatment process. This is the combustion of waste in
the presence of oxygen. After incineration, the wastes are converted to carbon dioxide, water
vapour and ash. This method may be used as a means of recovering energy to be used in
heating or the supply of electricity. In addition to supplying energy incineration technologies
have the advantage of reducing the volume of the waste, rendering it harmless, reducing
transportation costs and reducing the production of the greenhouse gas methane

CONCLUSION:
The disposal of solid waste is a challenge in this part of the country, this challenges continues
to grow with the growth of population within the community. Disposal of waste in open
places, such as inside drainage, road side, inside uncompleted building, it has become routine
in this community. Semisolid or solid matter that are created by human or animal activities,
and which are disposed because they are hazardous or useless are known as solid waste. Most
of the solid wastes, like paper, plastic containers, bottles, cans, and even used cars and
electronic goods are not biodegradable, which means they do not get broken down through
inorganic or organic processes. Thus, when they accumulate they pose a health threat to
people, plus, decaying wastes also attract household pests and result in the affected areas
becoming unhealthy, dirty, and unsightly places to reside in. Moreover, while also reducing
the uses of the land for other, more useful purposes. In the dry season, the smoke from the
dumpsite is a main source of air pollution for people living far close to the dumpsite.
Environmental monitoring in Nigeria is not effective as it has not been able to disseminate
information on the state of environment to the necessary stakeholders, the people in the
community selected. The people in this area need to be educated by health motivators about

the effects of environmental pollution on their health. Ignorance in so not an excuse. And this
article has suggested some solutions to the pollution, if adhered to, we will have a better
environment.

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