A CASE STUDY OF GALADIMAWA AND KABUSA COMMUNITIES FCT- ABUJA
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Improper refuse disposal and management cause all types of pollution: air, soil, and water. Indiscriminate dumping of wastes contaminates surface and groundwater supplies. In urban areas, MSW clogs drains, creating stagnant water for insect breeding and floods during rainy seasons.
Uncontrolled burning of refuse and improper incineration contributes significantly to urban air pollution. Greenhouse gases are generated from the decomposition of organic wastes in landfills, and untreated leach ate pollutes surrounding soil and water bodies.
Health and safety issues also arise from improper refuse disposal. Insect and rodent vectors are attracted to the waste and can spread diseases such as cholera and dengue fever. Using water polluted by waste for bathing, food irrigation and drinking water can also expose individuals to disease organisms and other contaminants.
The U.S. Public Health Service identified 22 human diseases that are linked to improper MSWM. Waste worker and pickers in developing countries are seldom protected from direct contact and injury, and the co-disposal of hazardous and medical wastes with improper refuse disposal poses serious health threat.
Exhaust fumes from waste collection vehicles, dust stemming from disposal practices and the open burning of waste also contribute to overall health problems. People know that poor sanitation affects their health, especially in
developing and low-income countries, where the people are the most willing to pay for environmental improvements (Rathi, 2006; Sharholy et al, 2005; Ray et al., 2005; Jha et al., 2003; Kansal, 2002; UDSU, 1999; Kansal et al., 1998; Singh et al., 1998; Gupta et al., 1998; Tchobanoglous et al., 1993).
therefore that regardless of the social and economic status, mankind must produce wastes of various forms such as gases, liquids and solids (Adedibo, 2008). Gaseous and liquid wastes arise from industrial wastes such as polluted water and carbon (II) oxide as a by- product of diesel oil used in industries as alternative for generation of electricity.
Solid waste which is one of the sources and causes of environmental pollution has been defined under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), 2002 as any solid, semi-solid, liquid or contained gaseous materials discarded from industrial, commercial, mining, medical, agricultural and domestic activities.
Solid wastes also include garbage, construction debris, commercial refuse, sludge from water or water treatment plants or air pollution control facilities and other discarded materials (Sridhar, 2006).
Solid waste management refers to the collection, transfer, treatment, recycling, resource recovery and disposal of solid waste generated in urban areas (Holloway, 1995). The essence of waste management is to maintain acceptable environmental quality, sound public health, and creation of aesthetic value.
Health impact of solid waste in the environment includes exposure to toxic chemicals through air, water and soil media besides exposure to infection and biological contaminants stress-related odour, noise, vermin and visual amenity, risks of fire, explosion, and subsidence (Dolk, 2002).
The World Health Organization (WHO) defined health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease. Hence, a person exposed to filth may not be sick outright but his well-being may be compromised. Inadequate and improper sanitation and poor (Adelagan, 2001).
Several studies carried out in Nigeria, India and Egypt indicate the presence of health problems amongst solid waste pickers and those living in close proximity to dump sites (Ekugo, 1998; Oyemade et al., 1999; Sridhar, 2006). There is a direct link between poor urban solid waste management and public health, especially in terms of water-related diseases such as, dysentery, cholera and typhoid (Adelagan, 2001).
In most developing countries of the world like Nigeria, 80 percent of urban solid wastes are disposed of by dumping in open spaces. Research studies also suggest contamination of ground water by disease causing organisms, as water seeping through dumps is likely to include viruses of poliomyelitis, hepatitis and gastroenteritis (Lakshmikantha, 2006).
Thus, such water contamination may have a long term health implication apart from the immediate ones like diarrhoea and dysentery. Also insects, pests and rodents around dump sites act as vectors to many infectious diseases. The poor and unmaintained refuse dumps around our environments, no doubt contribute to environmental pollution and nuisance which are hazardous to human lives.
In order to protect human health and the environment from the potential hazards of inappropriate waste disposal and environmental pollution, a systematic, supervised and controlled handling of these wastes is a must. Nigerians have formed the habit of littering the streets with refuse inspite of government warning to rid the street of dirt.
The disposal of garbage in the world is a problem that grows with industrialization and population growth. Human life in various Nigerian towns, Agbor inclusive is endangered by the carefree attitude of improper dumping of refuse. Proper collection and safe disposal of the waste of a community are legally recognized as a necessity in an urbanized industrialized society (Mustafe, 1999).
The principles of personal and community hygiene are based on our knowledge of the microorganisms and vectors that cause diseases.
It is therefore in the light of the above that this paper seeks to investigate the effectiveness of waste disposal methods and attendant health issues associated with improper dumping of refuse in our environment, with particular reference to Galadimawa and Kabusa communities in FCT, Abuja.
Waste is a useless and unwanted products of human domestic and industrial activities released into the environment [1]. It can be a solid material, liquid, semi-solid or container of gaseous material.
Therefore, the unlawful manner of dumping these refuse such as garbage, sludge from water supply or manufacturing waste, air pollution control facilities and other unusable materials without considering the adverse effect on
human health is called indiscriminate Solid waste disposal. Most solid wastes are also gotten from industrial chemicals, radioactive substances and many household make use of open areas, highways, uncompleted buildings and bushes as their dumping sites.
In Nigeria today, illegal dumping of refuse mostly in industrial and municipal areas has become a major issue of concern to human and its environment.
The present environmental pollution derived from solid waste littering has create a lot of health challenge to household residents around the dumping sites. It is evident that most of the people living around the dumping location are not aware of the harmful effects of refuse dumping other than the offensive odors spreading around the untidy environment and also when the wastes becomes wet and start to decay.
Urbanization, overpopulation, industrial revolution has become major cause of waste generation and inappropriate disposal method especially in urban areas of Nigeria. Human exposure to this unlawful act has triggered more health risks to the populace which advertently affects the entire livelihood and their major landscape.
Lack of appropriate storage facilities, inadequate waste management and planning, wrong perceptions by residents and non-challant attitudes towards environmental cleaning and sanitation might be a cause of this problem.
When an environment is not hygienic and clean it poses a lot of harms and negative impacts on human especially outdoor workers, workers producing infectious materials while young children get easily contacted and are most vulnerable to this act of ignorance and dirtiness.
The outcome of indiscriminate disposal of solid wastes expose human to environmental degradation such as in flooding, drainage obstruction, widespread of infectious diseases, cholera, diarrhea [3], typhoid fever, waterway blockage which leads to infestation of flies, ticks and breeding of mosquitoes that cause malaria and other plagues.
In most remote parts of Nigeria like Lagos, Delta State, Oyo State and Abuja, it has been noticed that heaps of littering wastes dumps are in virtually all market areas, outskirts of the cities and even on roadsides for weeks without devising any adequate means of wastes collection either by private sector or government.
Policy makers in the country have neglected some areas and fail to carry out a thorough inspection during environmental sanitation.
I think such attitude an act of indulgence and negligence on the part of waste workers. It would be of great benefit if solid waste can be organized, collected and channeled through modern landfill for recycling while such areas must be far from human residents to avoid environmental disorder, all kinds of pollution and health hazards.
Refuses are rubbish or materials that are not needed and are economically unusable without further processing (Waste Management Information Link 2006). Olanipekun, Oyeniyi and Konwea asserted that refuse are unwanted, discarded, non-liquid materials emanating from various human activities at home, workshop, in the community and farms.
Refuse and solid wastes include materials from house (paper, wood, dust, garbage) the street (paper, animal droppings, carcass, cellophane bags and leaves), market (empty sachets, bottles cartons etc) abandoned automobiles from industries, toxic industrial wastes, agricultural wastes and so on.
Indiscriminate disposal of refuse is a situation where refuse are dumped in any convenient place whether at home, school, street or market place not minding the environmental risk-factors that are likely to follow. Olokor (2001) discovered that the problem of indiscriminate disposal of refuse and unsanitary environment should be given urgent attention because of the risk-factors on human health.
Such risk-factors range from ill-health to severe health calamities, such as outbreak of epidemic diseases with adverse effects in some cases. Ekpu and Archibong (2007) discovered that the high rate of refuse generation by people both in rural and urban areas is a direct reflection of the inefficient ways materials and energy resources are being used.
Nearly every human activity creates refuse, which may be difficult to get rid of, especially with the careless attitude of many people to refuse disposal.
Lucas and Gilles (2006) asserted that indiscriminate habit of refuse disposal has significantly affected environmental cleanliness and in turn bred environmental risk-factors affecting the health and well-being of people.
Achalu and Achalu (2004) stated that refuse refers to all the component parts of solid wastes found in the human environment; while Moronkola and Okanlawon (2003) stressed that solid wastes are unwanted, discarded, non-liquid materials emanating from various activities of man at home, school and workplace which may be combustible.
Similarly Alakija (2002) regards refuse as discarded materials from houses, streets markets and industries. Refuse disposal is a process of
collecting and discarding garbage and other waste materials while indiscriminate refuse disposal is a process of unhygienic practice of dumping waste in any convenient place whether at home, street, school or market place thereby producing devastating risk-factors to man and its environment.
The environment comprises the land on which we cultivate and build, the water that we drink and use for irrigation, fishing, farming and navigation, the air that we breathe, and other living and non-living resources. The quality of the environment has been declining rapidly over the years as a result of environmental pollution.
The cost/effect of environmental damage to man, which may be borne immediately or at some point in the future are principally losses in health, productivity and amenities, all which can affect human well-being. The well-being of a man depends on an environmental balance in land use between the
urban areas and the agricultural and forest zones (Gleen2003).Anderson (2003) asserted that environmental risk-factors are not only a national concern, but are also a worldwide problem with grave implications for human survival. It was discovered that it has also constituted serious health threat in the past to man and its environment.
Despite this, few of the populace is still served; where served, not all the refuse is collected in most cases. Due to the overwhelming volume of solid waste, the FCT City Council cannot single-handedly collect and dispose them.
Consequently, the government has allowed private collection and disposal of these solid wastes on a commercial basis. It is alarming that problem of inefficient solid waste management still linger on after the incorporation of the private business men tagged ‘waste contractors’.
This leaves refuse containers filled to the brim and sill over and more importantly allowing the refuse enough time to decompose.
These constitute health risk to the household. Improper collection and disposal leads to spread of communicable diseases, obnoxious conditions and spoils biosphere as a whole; for instance, respiratory infections and diarrhea
diseases have been identified as the two major causes of death among the poorest 20% of the world countries ranked by national GDP per capital (Gwatkin and Guillot, 1999). The outbreak of these diseases has been attributed to area where solid waste is improperly collected and disposed.
The poorest populations mostly resort to sporadic and indiscriminate dumping of their waste into available plots of land, sidewalks, roadways, streams, channels and drainage areas. More than 70 percent of the refuse generated in the city is disposed of in this way.
These refuse are good contaminants of streams, ground water especially shallow wells and the entire environment. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing the effect of indiscriminate solid waste disposal and the environmental issues in Galadimawa and
Kabusa communities and make necessary recommendations on waste disposal and management practices to prevent further deterioration of the environment and the negative effects on the human population in Galadimawa and Kabusa communities FCT, Abuja.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The Problem of Indiscriminate refuse disposal in the world at large has become extremely large and a dangerous issues in the society. Indiscriminate dumping of refuse can be found in all environments, both in urban and rural areas. Its consequences cannot be over emphasized.
Open space, Major Street, Land, abandoned buildings and waterways have been converted into refuse dumps sites by dwellers. These activities have lead to environmental degradation, air pollution, land pollution and harmful environment.
Those who live close to area where dump sites are located suffer as a result of these problems. From the aforementioned above, this study aimed at investigating on the effect of refuse disposal on human health in Galadimawa and Kabusa communities FCT, Abuja.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
1. to determine the relationship between refuse disposal and human health.
2. to identify the method of refuse disposal within Galadimawa and Kabusa communities in FCT, Abuja.
3. to examine the environmental issues associated with the management of refuse disposal.
4. to examine the effect of refuse disposal on human health in Galadimawa and Kabusa communities in FCT, Abuja.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What is the relationship between refuse disposal and human health?
2. What is the method of refuse disposal within Galadimawa and Kabusa communities in FCT, Abuja?
3. What environmental issues are associated with the management of refuse disposal?
4. What are the effects of refuse disposal on human health in Galadimawa and Kabusa communities in FCT, Abuja?
STATEMENT OF RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
H0: refuse disposal has no significant effect on human health in Galadimawa and Kabusa in FCT, Abuja.
H1: refuse disposal has significant effect on human health in Galadimawa and Kabusa in FCT, Abuja.
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
In Nigeria today, illegal dumping of refuse mostly in industrial and municipal areas has become a major issue of concern to human and its environment. The present environmental pollution derived from solid waste littering has create a lot of health challenge to household residents around the dumping sites.
Therefore, the study will help the residents of Galadimawa and Kabusa communities to come to the full knowledge of the effect of refuse disposal on their health and as such they will take adequate precaution on waste management and environmental cleanliness.
Also, it will help the government to identify those areas that need immediate refuse bins and send refuse packers to those areas for proper refuse disposal.
Furthermore, the study will serve as a research tool to the effect of refuse disposal on human health using Galadimawa and Kabusa communities as a case study.
Lastly, it will be in the archive of research as to how improper refuse disposal can have a negative effect on the human health in Galadimawa and Kabusa communities.
SCOPE OF STUDY
The study covers the effect of refuse disposal on human health in Galadimawa and Kabusa communities in FCT, Abuja.
LIMITATIONS OF STUDY
Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
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DEFINITION OF TERMS
Effect: a change which is a result or consequence of an action or other cause.
Refuse disposal: The discarding or destroying of garbage, sewage, or other waste matter or its transformation into something useful or innocuous.
Health: Health is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease.
A CASE STUDY OF GALADIMAWA AND KABUSA COMMUNITIES FCT- ABUJA
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