Health impact of oil production on farming communities in niger-delta. A case study of delta state.
Aims of the research work
Research questions
Introduction
Nigeria is famous for its oil industries all over the world. The economy of Nigeria has grown mainly because of the revenues that have been gained due to the oil production in the country. As a result, a huge population is depended on the oil industries for work and a livelihood. In addition the people who work in the industries, there are farmers in Delta State of Niger delta who earn a living through agriculture. However, the bi-products of the oil production and accident like the oil spillage have hugely affected the farming communities and then health of the famer. The research found that the oil companies are located close to the residential area and the smoke damages the natural vegetation and affects the health of the farmers living in that area. In addition to this, the oil spillages contaminate the water and soil that further affects the health of the people living in that area. Finally, it is recommended that there is a need of external supervision that will look after the welfare of the employees as well as the need of the employers who are living in that region.
Oil is one of the major sources of income for Nigeria and a huge range of population is depended on the oil industries (Sesan et al. 2013). When one hand, the oil industry has been fruitful for the people of Nigeria, on the other hand, it can cause other health hazards for the people in Nigeria, especially the farming communities (Aghedo 2013). Oil spill is one of the major problems in Nigeria (Akani et al. 2013). Other problems that have encountered in Niger Delta are related to the bi-products of the oil production (Ajayi 2014).
The Niger Delta is the home for huge population and is famous for the rich mangroves in the region (Ugor 2013). On the other hand, Niger Delta is famous for its oil reserves (Akpan, Essien and Isihak 2013). The oil reserves are responsible for the immense growth of the GDP of the country (Kuenzer et al. 2014). However, Nigeria ranks 13th among all the oil-producing nations, yet the oil industries have bought serious issues in the environment (Amadi 2013). Due to the degradation of the environment, Niger Delta has been able to get a nomination among the top temn list in the World’s Worst Polluted Places Report (Ohimain, Izah and Abah 2013).
The harmful gas that is released during the processing of the oil can act as major air contaminants for Nigeria (Ite and Ibok 2013). Oil industry suffers from lack of efficiency in the flare system, which makes does not let the combustion to be complete (OS and GE 2012). Due to the incomplete combustion, varieties of harmful gases are produced like the Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (Anifowose et al. 2014).
Due to the poor flaring system and the venting system of the factories, it results in poor health of the people living in that area and other problems in the natural environment (Bawole 2013). The most negative part of the venting system is that they are located near to the residential areas and hence, results in problems in health of the people who are living in the area (Umejesi and Akpan 2013). In addition to this, the poor venting system results in different negative environmental impacts (Andrews 2013). There is a need to manage the risks emerging from the poor venting and flaring systems (Adusah-Karikari 2015). In addition to that, there is need of sustainable development to combat the problems of the venting and flaring systems (Gatrell and Elliott 2014).
The main topic of the research is the effects of the oil production in Niger Delta on the lives of the farming communities in the region (Schoneveld 2014). The statements of problems that will be mainly being studied in the research work are the level of oil production in Nigeria and the dependency of the people of Nigeria on the oil production. The ill effect of the oil spills will be studied. The oil spill on the farm and the farming communities has a negative impact (Nwaichi, Wegwu and Nwosu 2014). The government needs to take important steps to make the delta state a better place to live in (Ingelson and Nwapi 2014). The research will be helpful in understanding the exact problems of the Niger Delta and will indentify the areas that needed to be change to make Nigeria a better place to live for the farming communities.
The objective of the research is to evaluate the influence of the oil production on the health of the farming communities in Niger Delta.
The main aims of the research work are:
The research paper could be used as secondary data for the future researchers to understand the health of the farmers who are working in the Niger Delta. The paper will be helpful in identifying the problems of oil spill in Niger Delta and how the dependency on the oil industry will has created problems for the people who are living in Nigeria. The oil spill not only damages the crops but also affect the health of the people living in the Niger Delta.
The research is based on the health of the farmers who are working in Nigeria. The study of for the research will be based in the United Kingdom and hence it would be difficult to carry out the primary research and take the feedback of the farmers. Hence, the secondary research will be best possible way to carry out the research work. The work of the previous authors will be helpful for the present research to complete the work. In addition to this, the reports that have been published regarding the heath of the farmers will be taken into account. The secondary data will be analysed in a descriptive manner and the data will be studied to get an idea about the health of the farmers in the Niger Delta.
The hypothesis for the present research work is:
H0: the oil production affects the heath of the farming communities in Niger Delta
H1: the oil production does not affect the health of the farming communities in Niger Delta
The dissertation will first have the introduction chapters. The readers will be introduced with the background of topic in which the dissertation will be based ion. The introduction chapter includes the objectives of the research, the aims of the research, the hypothesis and the overview of the main idea of the research. The literature review section will have the works of the previous researchers who have dealt with the oil production and their effect on the health of the farming communities in the Niger Delta. The methodology and the result chapter will explain the process of the research and the methods that will be applied to carry out the research work. As the research is taking into account the secondary research, hence, the results will have the findings of the research that have been done to evaluate the effects on the health of the farming communities in Niger Delta. The discussion chapter will be descriptive and will talk about the findings that have been found in the result chapter. The final chapter will have the conclusion of the research regarding the findings of the research. The recommendations will be helpful for the readers to understand the areas that would be improved to make the Niger Delta a better place to live in for the farming communities.
Figure 1: Structure of the Dissertation
(Source: Created by author)
2.1 The Niger Delta
The delta of the Niger River, which is the source of all Nigeria’s oil, is the home for ten of Nigeria’s thirty-six states. These oil-producing states combine more than twelve percent of Nigeria’s total land area, and are the home for twenty three percent of the Nigerian population (Babtunde et al. 2015). The Niger delta’s oil industry amounts for thirty percent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product. These oil-producing areas of Nigeria are heavily subjected to extreme degradation of the environment, which includes air pollution, water pollution, industrial waste disposal and land clearing. The Delta region states have the highest population density (Tersoo 2014). Hence, the environmental degradation in such areas is extremely harmful for the communities living in the areas.
Geologic activities that took place millions of years ago are responsible for the excessive oil found in the Nigerian delta. The delta is the result of a tectonic rift, which created a depression on the earth’s surface (Ebegbulem et al. 2013). This rift or depression used to be filled with ocean water. Marine life settled itself at this bottom area of the sea for many years until it was subjected to high amount of pressure and heat, which resulted in the formation of oil and gas. More than ten kilometers of sediment has been accumulated in this delta and has completely buried the organic material of the sea.
It is important to note that the oil and gas are produced only by the presence of a particular set of environmental conditions (Audu et al. 2016). Oil fields are found only where the oil has been produced and raised towards the earth’s surface, ill the time it is interfered by an oil trap. This trap is a form of a hard and dense rock, which prevents the oil from rising. Geologic activities in the past have become an inseparable element of Nigeria today.
The British colonizers deliberately implicated the policy of divide and rule to capitalize on their differences. This made it difficult for the Nigerians to identify themselves as united nation post independence. One of the founding fathers of Nigeria, Obfemi Awolowo commented that Nigeria is not a nation (D’Andrea et al. 2014). It is just an expression of geography. The word Nigerian is nothing but a distinctive factor to separate those who live along the borders of Nigeria from those people who do not.
Although this lack of unification among the masses is prevalent in all the countries post independence, Nigerians are still close to their ethnic groups rather than to the nation as a whole. Regional groupings dominate over the national interests and it becomes a source of problem because it impedes with the Nigerian Government’s efforts to distribute the national revenue equally to all its citizens (Anifowose et al. 2014). There are around four hundred ethnic groups coexisting in Nigeria today. Even after this level of diversity, four groups amount for 75 percent of the total Nigerian population.
Nigeria is the home for magnanimous oil reserves. Going by the estimates, it has 38.2 billion barrels of oil at the end of the year 2015. The oil found in Nigerian reserves is typically high in quality and is always very much in demand. This is because it is light. Oil, which is light weighted, contains high amount of minute hydrocarbons (Akpan and Solomon 2014). These hydrocarbons are useful in producing fuels like diesel and gasoline with lesser amount of processing than the other heavier weighted oils. The sulfur quantity in the Nigerian oil is also low which makes it sweeter. A large quantity of Nigerian oil is located closely to the United States and Europe. The location is also very close to the Middle East. This makes Nigeria very attractive politically as well as geographically.
Oil extraction is dominant over the economy of Nigeria. It is responsible for the production of three percent of the World’s oil, which makes it the eleventh largest oil producing country in the world. According to the statistics, Nigeria was producing 2.6 billion of oil barrels every day, which is easily equivalent to 170 Olympic swimming pools full of oil. The total value estimated for the export of Nigerian oil was approximately $100 billion in the year 2015 (Ajugwo 2013). However, a very little amount of this income is spent in the social development of the natives of Nigeria. For instance, in the year 2014, only forty three percent of the rural Nigerian population had access to clean water and the life expectancy of the Nigerians was only 52 years.
An ironic example of the contrast between the social development and the economic growth of the country can be Port Harcourt, the capital city of Rivers State. It is considered to be the economic hub of Nigeria’s entire oil industry, but all the income passes via Port Harcourt, without enriching the Nigerian city, which is immensely polluted and extremely poor slum (Adesina and Adelasoye 2014). The environmental situation is ruined with black smoke evacuating from slaughterhouses hovering all over the surroundings. There are potholes and ruts making craters on the streets with the beggars rushing up to the vehicles driving around the streets.
Although oil extraction calls for a major portion of Nigeria’s economy, the majority of oil exported from Nigeria is unrefined. A t present, Nigeria is exporting eighty-nine percent of the crude oil that it produces indigenously and imports more than fifty percent of the refined oil, which it consumes more than what it exports. Nigeria’s state owned oil company, the NNPC manages four of the country’s oil refineries (Fatoba et al. 2013). These refineries do not prosper much due to the poor maintenance and management. These refineries refine the highly intensified sulfur crude oil from Kuwait, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia to make gasoline, kerosene and asphalt.
It would not be a correct thing to say that Nigeria’s natural resources makes it inherently prone to all the corrupt practices and lack of social and political development in the country. There are four conditions imperative for rapid and equitable distribution of resources among the natives of Nigeria: open policy of trade, easy access to land and education of children, economic diversification and public accountability.
Presently Nigeria fails to live up to any of these conditions. The Nigerian government does not give much priority to the diversification, because the oil is highly profitable. The communities, which are rich in resources, have the tendency to depend upon the income from their exports for a long span of time rather than the countries, which are poor in their resources. If a country relies too much on the exports, it slows down the process of urbanization and industrialization hence leading to an increase in the population of rural labor. This further leads to inequality and social tensions (Ite et al. 2013).
It is exceptionally difficult to gain an overall view of the impacts of the oil industry on the environment. The data is seldom objective and is highly diffused. Many oil companies’ under-report the harm that they do to the environment in order to escape from the fines and punishments of the environmental laws (Ivshina et al. 2015). In countries where the government is hugely dependent on the oil companies usually do not report the harmful emissions that these companies produce. This is because they are afraid to jeopardize their relation with the owners of these oil companies.
The community groups in Nigeria have started taking legal actions against such oil companies and have begun to take this issue apparent on an international basis. Satellite data has helped the people accurately determine the range and extent of this environmental degradation to which, Nigeria is being subjected. It is true that the extensive damage is not clearly visible o the human eyes, but it certainly does not mean that it is not happening at all (Kadafa 2012). Oil extraction causes environmental degradation beyond imagination.
One of the consequences can be stated as the damage caused to the sensitive eco systems, which get polluted because of the extensive extraction processes. However, the government does not pay much heed to the implementation of environmental regulations. Shell does not give in to the idea of international environmental standards, stating that these standards prevent the growth of the economy (Frynas 2012). The logic that they provide for such a statement is that the countries must first look after the basic needs of the people by providing them with food and jobs rather than worrying about the environment.
It should be noted that this economic growth is not actually synonymous with the development of the country. This is apparent from the fact that the natives of Oobiri, where the oil had been discovered, and fifty years ago are still deprived of the wealth that Shell had promised them (Kadafa 2012).
There had been very little study and research about the impact of the Oil Spills in Nigeria until very recently when people started paying attention to this crucial matter. The United Nations Environment Program produced an extensive study in the year 2011. In this study, they discussed the impact of oil extraction on the environment Ogoniland region of Nigeria (Kostianoy and Solovyov 2015). This area had been specifically the central site for intensified oil extraction. This has lead to a massive environmental degradation in the region.
The Ogoni people have taken actions against the economic and environmental injustices, for which companies like Shell and the federal government of Nigeria are responsible. The UNEP discovered that the consequence of the oil spills in Nigeria is devastative. Any delay in clearing up the spills leads the oil to be washed entirely because Nigeria is prone to heavy rainfall (Linden and Palssov 2013).
The environment has also been severely damaged. Unhealthy vegetation is a common site in the oil-contaminated regions. Mangroves, which are the most significant fish nurseries, and the shellfish habitats, have become leafless with roots all covered with oil, not able to support marine life (Maren et al. 2013). Areas, which were dominated by mangroves, have been invaded by species who do not serve the same environmental purpose.
The surface is covered with oil, which ranges from a thin to thick layer that has driven away all the fish which was the source of livelihood for thousands of fishermen. Crops have been damaged, decreasing the yields of numerous farmers in the area. Since most of the population is either involved in fishing or farming, the consequences of the oil spills in Nigeria is economically ruining as well (Nkpaa et al. 2016).
The impact of the oil spills in Nigeria on human health is far beyond one’s imagination. Gas flaring and pollution are harmful for the local communities. People in the oil producing areas are subjected to extreme levels of toxic from the water air and soil (O’Callaghan-Gordo et al. 2015). Life expectancy in the Nigerian area has also reduced to forty-nine years, which is a dreadful sign. The average life span in Nigeria is only fifty-two.
Hydrocarbons like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benzopryene, and benzene found in the oil are carcinogenic, which means it these hydrocarbons can cause cancer (Olawoyin et al. 2012). Since oil is ubiquitous in nature, there is nothing much understood and known about the toxic levels of many of its components. Some of the recognized hazards constitute n-hexanes, which can cause paralysis and peripheral neuropathy in humans. Toluene, xylene and benzene affect the nervous system and can even cause death.
According to a study carried out in the United States found that benzene is responsible for the low weight in infants at the time of birth, which also leads to developmental disabilities and childhood sickness (Ordinioha et al. 2013). These findings clearly show the destructive effects of oil contamination on human health. Not only is this contamination is responsible for causing sickness in individuals, but also effects the development of the future generations.
Some wells in the Nigerian delta have 900 levels of benzene, accepted by the World Health Organization. Even though the Nigerian communities are aware of the health hazards these contaminants are causing, there are hardly any alternatives available for them. For thousands of Nigerians water collected from the streams is the only source of water for their survival.
Studies carried out in Canada have discovered high amounts of organic compounds, which are a result of flaring. The gas flares in Nigeria are not regulated and are very close to the ground. The United Nations had conducted a study in Ogoniland and found high levels of benzene in the atmosphere. Studies carried out in the regions of the Niger delta have demonstrated high levels of carcinogenic polycyclic industrial elements, which are related to petroleum (Linden and Palssov 2013).
Studies carried out in the industrial areas of the Nigerian Delta found high levels carcinogenic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are highest in the world. All these industrial activities in the area are related to petroleum, which means that the hydrocarbons released are a consequence of the oil activities.
Environmental degradation is not always visible to the eyes, but its impact on humans is acute. People who live in and around the contaminated regions seem to know little about the dangers of living in such an area like that of an oil field (O’Callaghan-Gordo et al. 2015). In one Nigerian state, the natives were using an oil waste pit as a swimming pool. Since the natives do not know much about the consequences of the contamination of the oil spills, there is severe lack of education among the Nigerian communities.
It is crucial that long-term studies being carried out in Nigeria, on the harmful impacts of consuming contaminated water. Moreover, the quality of the air also needs to be measure and the information should be available for the natives so that they can prevent themselves from being victimized. The natives of the Nigerian delta often use gas flares to dry their food. As a result the food becomes exposed to high levels of toxicity (Maren et al. 2013). This practice needs to be stopped and cleaner agricultural facilities need to be provided to the farmers and other locals of the area. The federal government of Nigeria must devise programs to put an end to the practice or ask the oil companies to do so.
According to the doctors and health specialists in Nigeria, gas flaring is responsible for causing health problems. However, oil companies like Shell make no comments about the impacts on health caused by the oil spills. This is because if they took responsibility for their activities, that has caused deaths, they will lose massive amount of money to the families of the affected communities.
According to a study, more than 2.6 billion cubic foot of gas flare is emitted on a daily basis. Harmful chemicals like soot, seeps deep into the ground and deeply affects the soil fertility. Acid rain decreases the durance of the iron sheets that are employed for roofing for more than twenty-five years (Kostianoy and Solovyov 2015). Gas flares from the oil plants have resulted in an epidemic of bronchitis in the adults as well as children. Many chemicals found in the fumes and soot of gas flares can cause cancer and respiratory diseases.
The doctors in Nigeria report that they treat many patients suffering from ailments that they believe have emanated from the products of gas flares. Gas flares also cause blurred vision and asthma in children.
The farming community in Nigeria has lost faith in the federal government of Nigeria. As a result, they are turning towards the private pharmacists, traditional healers and charlatans to help them treat their illnesses caused by the oil extraction activities in the area. They have grown aware of the present and the future consequences of the oil spilling activities and have started taking steps in the right direction. The steps may be small, but are strong for them to achieve their objectives. The objective is to prevent their community from further damages. Although corruption is prevalent in the country, the people are desperate to combat against it and clear the country’s name from such a bad reputation (Ajugwo 2013). The natives of Nigeria greatly supported the efforts taken by the international community to scrutinize the activities of the TNOC, which facilitates corruption. The money, which is spent on ineffective developmental programs, might as well be spent on enhancing the potential of the civic societies to monitor the cleaning up of the Nigerian oil industries.
In the year 2003, the United Nations norms for business came into effect in order to make the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights stronger. This calls for transnational corporations to respect the norms and responsibilities contained in the treaties of United Nations.
Various NGOs in Nigeria are helping the farmers with educating them about the devastative consequences of the oil spills on their health. As a result, more and more people among the Nigerian community is becoming aware and are taking voluntary steps towards minimizing the damage. They are avoiding drinking and bathing in the contaminated water. They usually avoid consuming animals that live in water such as crab and shrimps (Akpan and Solomon 2014).
When the natives of Nigeria take the responsibility of clearing up a nearby stream, they take proper precautions while doing it. The Nigerian farmers are learning to devise adequate emergency plans in case of gas flares or oil spills (D’Andrea et al. 2014). The Nigerian farmers are getting together to fight against the health hazards that emanate from the oil extraction practices.
The Nigerian farmers are also trying their best to restore the damage caused to the land caused by the oil extraction processes. By doing this, they will also be able to minimize the health risks that is caused by consuming the crops contaminated by the oils (Audu et al. 2016). Clearing the land from all the contaminants is a difficult job and takes a long time. However, keeping in mind the rampant destruction caused by the Nigerian oil spills to the farmers and other natives, something needs to be done about it and immediately.
Education and awareness is only going to help the farmers to combat the hazards of the oil extraction practices in their area. They have to invoke the Government to pay attention to this pressing issue (Ebegbulem et al. 2013). Their efforts to get rid of the corruption country is commendable and will help the country in minimizing the health as well as environmental hazards of the oil spilling practices in the Nigerian delta.
3.1 Introduction
In order to develop this research work in appropriate manner, it is required to develop an appropriate research methodology. It includes selection of proper research philosophy, research approach and research strategy. Justification for the specific selection has been given as well. It has been found that there are two types of data sources are available for dissertations. Depending on the research topic appropriate data collection technique has been selected in this chapter.
It has been found that, there are mainly two types of research philosophies are used in research works. They are such as positivism philosophy and interpretivism philosophy (Alvesson and Sandberg 2013). Positivism philosophy emphasizes on examining the problems of a research work depending on real facts. As Brown and Stowers (2013) mentioned that positivism philosophy is an effective technique for making logical analysis of the available data. It helps to deal with research problems in the light of real facts and evidences. On the contrary, interpretivism philosophy helps to deal with research problems depending on perceptions that an individual has on a specific situation.
After analyzing both types of research philosophies, positivism has been selected for this dissertation. In order to analyze the health impact of oil production on the farming communities in Niger-Delta, it is required assess the research problems depending on the real facts and evidences not on perceptions. For this reason, positivism philosophy is most suitable for this research work.
As Bryman and Bell (2015) mentioned that, there are mainly two types of research approaches have been used in dissertations. They are such as inductive research approach and deductive research approach. According to Chandra and Sharma (2013), deductive research is beneficial in most of the cases, as it emphasizes on gathering knowledge and hence using top-bottom research approach. This approach is used to develop research hypothesis depending on the existing literatures. On the other hand, inductive approach can help to develop new theories depending on the research problem (Creswell 2013). This research approach has contribution for the exploration at the primary stage so that appropriate information can be received for the development of right hypothesis so that a new theory can be developed.
After studying both the research approaches, deductive research approach has been selected for this research topic. Justification behind selecting this research approach is its efficiency to deduce knowledge form existing theories, concepts and models. There is very limited scope to develop new theory in relation to the research topic; hence inductive approach is not suitable for this research work.
As Creswell(2013) stated that, proper identification of the research problem can be done by studying the research topic using systematic plan. Explanatory research purpose helps to develop appropriate relationship between the variable used in the research work. On the contrary, exploratory research purpose put emphasis on getting the background knowledge on the research topic since the research objectives are not yet designed (Eaton 2013). On the other hand analytical research purpose provides importance on testing the association between independent, dependent and uncontrolled variables of the topic. It also helps to explore through the problem from different angles.
This dissertation is carried out by using analytical research purpose. It helped to deal with the research problem from different paradigms. It also helped to take care of different variables of a research work. The exploratory research approach proved to be inappropriate as it develops questions with the progress of the study.
Depending on theresearch purpose suitable research strategy has to be selected. As Flick (2015) mentioned that there are various research strategies are used in dissertation such as surveys, case studies, interviews and experiments. Survey helps to gather a large amount of data from a huge population. It is both time efficient and cost efficient. According to Gamezet al.(2014) survey analysis can be done both online and offline. With the help of personal interviews, in-depth information about a research topic can be gathered.On the contraryGast and Ledford (2014) stated that case studies provides secondary knowledge about the research topic on a particular situation. Experiments are conducted to gather new knowledge in accordance to the research problem. It proves that whether the earlier tasks are reliable and valid or not (Mackey and Gass2015).
After analyzing all the research strategies thematic analysis has been selected to conduct the research work. With the help of thematic analysis huge amount of data can be collected related with the impact of oil production on the farming communities in the Niger-Delta region. Various statistical data can be collected from the research works done previously. It would help to analyze the actual health condition of the farming communities in the Delta state.
There are mainly two types of data sources are available. They are such as primary sources and secondary sources. As Mitchell and Jolley (2013) stated that, primary sources of data can be collected with help of survey, action research, ethnographic research, longitudinal study and interview. Secondary source of data can be collected with the help of previous research works, mass media products, web information, historical data and information and Government reports. As Clavreulet al. (2012) mentioned that primary data sources can be gathered from those people who have appropriate knowledge about the research topic. Secondary sources of data can be collected with reference to relevant theories. It helps to review the existing literature. In this research work, secondary sources are used in order to analyze the health impact of oil production on farming communities.
As Popping (2012) stated that, there are two types data collection sources available for research works. They are such as quantitative data collection method and qualitative data collection method. With the help of quantitative data collection method, numerical data can be gathered. According to Salaberry and Comajoan (2013), quantitative data can help research to collect large amount of data in cost effective manner. On the other hand, qualitative data can be conducted with the help of face-to-face and telephonic interviews. In order to get appropriate and more relevant information, it is required to study the reaction, body language and behavior of the interviewee.
While conducting a research work, it has become highly significant to take care of some ethical considerations. As Mackey and Gass (2015) stated that, according to the Data Protection Act 1998, no participant should be forced to take part in a research work. Every respondent has the authority to withdraw his or her participation at any stage of survey. In addition, the collected data cannot be used any other work apart from academic works. In addition, none of the survey questions or interview questions should be influential. However, as there is only secondary source of data used in this research work, there is no chance of violation of research ethics.
In this part of the chapter, outline of the research methodology has been provided. It helped to address the research problem carefully. In this section of the chapter, it has been discussed secondary data would be gathered. It would help to gather extensive and augmented information about the research topic. The result of the secondary research work is discussed in the forthcoming section.
Environmental pollution created due to oil production in Delta State
Nigeria has a coastline of appropriately 85 km towards the Atlantic Ocean. The land mass is about 28000 sq/km area within the coastal region (White et al. 2012). It has been found that 15,000 to 60,000 barrels of light crude oil is produced everyday in this region. According to NNPC there are more than 10 international companies working containing working on more than 120 fields. They contain over 970 oil wells (Laneret al. 2012). The country has four oil refineries. They have total refining capacity of approximately 445, 000 barrels per day.
From a survey analysis, it has been found that an estimated 9 million- 12 million barrels of oil has been spilled in the Niger Delta region over past 50 years (Gavilan and Bernold2014). Form a newspaper report published on 20th February 1991, it had been found that there were more than 2750 oil spill incidences recorded during the time period of 1976-1990 (Arena 2012). Among them, 70% of the spilled oil could not be recovered. An average every year more than 240,00 barrels of crude oil are spilled in the Delta State due to unknown reason (32%), activity of third party (21%) and due to mechanical failure (17%). Oil spilling can contaminate ambient air, crops with hydrocarbons and surface water (Lu et al. 2012). In addition, the natural occurrence of radioactive material, pyrene and trance of materials that were further accumulated in some food crops.In the table given below, description about some severally oil polluted sites of Delta state have been discussed.
|
Location (Delta State) |
Environment |
Area of impact (ha) |
Nature of incidence |
|
Jones Creek |
Mangrove Forest |
35 |
Spillage and burning |
|
Ajala |
Fresh Swamp Water Forest |
Incidence of oil spillage |
|
|
Olomoro |
Fresh Swamp Water Forest |
QC |
|
|
Ajato |
Mangrove Forest |
Incidence of oil spillage |
|
|
Opuekebe |
Barrier Forest Island |
50 |
Salt water intrusion |
|
Ughelli |
Fresh Swamp Water Forest |
10 |
oil spillage_ Well head leak |
|
Ugbeji |
Mangrove Forest |
2 |
Refiner waste |
|
Macraba |
Mangrove Forest |
Incidence of oil spillage |
|
|
Jesse |
Fresh Swamp Water Forest |
8 |
Product leak/ burning |
Table 1: Some severely polluted sites in the delta state
(Source: Kadafa 2012)
The energetic solution Conference had estimated in the year of 2004 that there are more 123 gas faring sites situated in the Delta State.
The western operation of the Shell Petroleum Development Company had recorded more than 115 incidences of oil spills in the year of 2001. The largest spill occurred in 1998 (Osotimehinet al. 2012). There were more than 40,000 barrels of crude oil was spilled by Mobil. It had been found that acid rain was another problem that occurred in the Delta state that caused by gas flaring (Agwu 2012). It led to loss of diversity. The dominance of shrub and grass was the evidence of loss natural forest in this region. It had been found that the heat generated from the gas flaring killed vegetation around the faring areas. It had destroyed mangrove swamps and salt marshes. It suppressed the growth and flowering of some plants (Oyedepo2012). In addition, it caused soil degradation and demised the agricultural productivity. In the table given below, the relationship between gas flaring and declination of productivity has been discussed
|
Distance of farmland from the site of gas flare |
Percentage loss in crops yielding |
|
1 km |
10% |
|
600 meters |
45% |
|
200 meters |
100% |
Table 2: Impact of gas flaring on Agriculture
(Source: Tabasovaet al. 2012)
Condition of health care in Delta State
From a survey analysis, it has been found that there is a wide range of disparity existsin healthcare infrastructures, availability doctors and medicines in therural and urban areas of Delta state. It has been found that more than 50% of the hospitals in urban areas of Delta region have facilities like internet connections, radiographers and scanners (Consonni and Viganò2012). While only 20% of the hospitals located in rural areas of Delta state have this facilities. Apart from that, only 47% of the hospitals in rural areas have mobile network providers, access to mineral water and high roads. None of the community health officers is available in the rural hospitals (Villaret al. 2012). There is also a large scale of scarcity has been found in case of availability of drugs or medicines (69% not available). Most of pharmaceuticalstores advice their patients to purchase medicines from urban areas.
There are some other problems have also been discovered in the healthcare facilities of the Delta State. They are such as lack of funding of the government, corruption, inadequate availability of skilled resources, lack of awareness in common people due to lower education level (Di Gregorio and Zaccariello 2012).All these factors have severe impact on the farming communities of Delta state, who mainly live in the rural areas.
Impact of oil production on the health of farming communities in Niger-Delta
The impact of human health is inextricably related to the environmental degradation of the Delta State. It had been found from various survey analysis that gas flaring and oil spills were hazardous to local communities such as farming communities (NkechiEmehIkechukwu and Okechukwu2012). It had been found that the life expectancy of the farmers in the Delta state is approximately 49 years, which is lowest Nigeria. One of the known hazards of oil spillage is n-hexanes (Koroneos and Nanaki 2012). It affects the neurons of a human body. It affects the nervous system, causes paralysis and death.
The oil production in the Delta state led to a 60% reduction in the household food security. It had affected the nutrition level of the people of farming communities severely. The oil spills are capable of reducing the crude protein content of cassava by 40% and ascorbic acid content of vegetable by approximately 35% (Smith 2013).
|
Vegetables |
Unpolluted soil (mg/100 g) |
Polluted soil (mg/ 100g) |
|
Talinumtriangular (water leaf) |
540 |
350 |
|
Solanummelongena (garden egg) |
870 |
710 |
|
Spinach oleraceae (Spinach) |
1050 |
630 |
Table 3: The ascorbic acid content in some vegetables grown in crude oil polluted soil
(Source: Wang et al. 2012)
It had resulted in a 24% increase in the malnutrition level of children belong to the farming communities(Wilson et al. 2012). Oil spillages cause maternal Benzene exposure that causes low birth weight in the infants. It causes developmental disabilities and childhood sickness (Cutter, 2012).
|
Characteristics |
Framing community (%) |
Reference community (%) |
|
Prevalence of wasting |
108 (20.8) |
57 (13.43) |
|
Prevalence of stunting |
150 (19) |
112 (24.98) |
|
Prevalence of underweight |
245 (47.17) |
101 (22.12) |
Table 4: Prevalence of childhood malnutrition in farming community
(Source: Coelho and De Brito2012)
Animal studies have indicated that contact with crude oil can cause two types of damages. It can be hemotoxic and hepatotoxic. They can give rise to infertility and cancer (Clavreulet al. 2012).
This finding is an indication of the adverse impact of oil contamination on the health of farmers. A study has revealed that, it not only sickens individuals but also affect the development of subsequent generations. According to WHO, some of the wells in delta state that provide drinking water to farmer communities contain benzene 900 times than the accepted level (Di Gregorio and Zaccariello 2012). Due to lack of alternatives, these people have to drink this water. Only the presence of benzene in the air has increased the risk cancer 1 in 10,000 (Koroneos and Nanaki2012). Oil spillage has created some specific symptoms in the people of farmer communities.They are given in the table below:
|
Variable |
Exposed (%) |
Unexposed (%) |
O/R |
P value |
|
Nausea |
49 |
11 |
5.40 |
< 0.001 |
|
Cough |
56 |
16 |
4.18 |
< 0.001 |
|
headache, |
74 |
28 |
3.90 |
< 0.001 |
|
sore throat |
63 |
14 |
6.45 |
< 0.001 |
|
itchy skin |
103 |
13 |
13.56 |
< 0.001 |
|
rashes |
88 |
15 |
11.67 |
< 0.001 |
|
occupational injuries |
50 |
12 |
5.30 |
< 0.001 |
Table 5: Symptoms caused due to oil spillage
(Survey: Ludwig et al. 2012)
A survey analysis in Canada revealed that there are a large variety of organic compounds are produced by oil flaring, however, it has been found that gas flares in the Delta State are far less efficient and regulated than Canada. They are often much closer to the ground (Loehr2012). Studies done on the industrials areas Niger Delta region indicated the presence of high level of carcinogenic polycyclic hydrocarbons. As all the activities in these areas were related with oil production, it indicated that the releases of hydrocarbons are the result of oil spilling and gas flare.
Measures taken to prevent health hazards during oil production
The oil and gas company of Delta state need to initiate health and safety risk assessment system to prevent health hazards in the farming community. The major objectives the safety and risk management system is to assess the safety and health hazards in the workplace. They also need to define appropriate control and retrieval steps (Wilson et al. 2012). It has been found that business operation in oil and gas industry is a complex system. Hence, it is required to use systemized approach to manage occupational safety and health related hazards (NkechiEmehIkechukwu and Okechukwu 2012). Most oil companies in the Delta state use PDCA (Plan, Do, Check and Act) cycle to prevent health hazards in the farmer communities and inhabitants.
|
Plan |
· Roadmap for health and safety risk assessment. · Evolution of the work flow · Development of objectives and targets · Assessing the key priorities |
|
Do |
· Injury and risk management · Illness and health management · Providing technical training to reduce loss · Regulatory compliance to reduce health |
|
Check |
· Monitoring activity · Performance checking · Environmental audit |
|
Act |
· Reviewing management · Action for continuous improvement |
Figure 2: PDCA model
(Source: Al-Daihaniet al. 2015)
The general risk assessment procedure of oil and gas industry includes some key steps. They are like planning, risk identification, risk assessment, risk recording, risk control, follow on assessment and monitoring and review (Di Gregorio and Zaccariello 2012). In the planning stage, it is required to find out who are more vulnerable to the risk (farming community). Then it is required to gather health and safety information pertinent to the oil industry of delta region. In the next stage, it is required to identify the safety and health hazards within the workplace through previous ill-health records (Clavreulet al. 2012). In the stage it is required to identify what kind of health hazards can occur. All the remaining steps are discussed in the figure given below:
Figure 3: Steps related with risk assessment
(Source: Wilson et al. 2012)
The safety and health management system in oil industry includes some key features. They are mentioned below:
1) Oil companies need to ensure safety of various operational sites by correctly mapping the business process.
2) It has to enable farmers to follow continuous health and safety practices.
3) It should help to manage site inspection, monitoring the violation of rules in the oil companies.
4) It has to be well documented and should be easily understood and readily available for all the farmers (Clavreulet al. 2012).
The common benefits of using occupational safety and health management system is that it can enable oil companies in delta state to perform hazard identification, assessing risks and implementation of various methods of control (Al-Daihaniet al. 2015). It will ensure well-being of farmer communities and develop more performance driven work force. This will reduce costs related with incidents and accidents (Wilson et al. 2012).
Discussion
From that data analysis, it has been found that Nigeria has the second largest oil reserve in Africa.Delta state is a part of Nigeria that contains significant amount of oil reserve. Niger Delta produces 30% of the GDP.However, the oil wealth has not reachedmajority of the population. Nigeria is the 7th most popular nation that contains more than 170 million people. Nigeria Human Development index (that takes account of the education, gross national income per capita) is low with a value of 0.470. It has also created some environmental issues. The corruption and negligence of Nigerian government has increased the environmental degradation in the Delta state.
Environmental impact of oil industry is often considered negative as it is toxic to all forms of life. In addition extraction of oil causes climate change. There are various environmental issues can cause due to oil spillage. They are such as toxicity, exhaust, acid rain, climate change. It has been found that crude oil is a mixture of various organic compounds. Many of them are toxic and carcinogenic (cause cancer). It has been found that petroleum and crude oil are the major features of birth defects. One of the major toxic events is Benzene, which is both present in crude oil and petroleum. It increases the symptoms of leukemia in the farming community of Delta.This compound also lowers the blood cell in humans.Incomplete burning of oil creates exhausts. It contains methanol and monoxide. It causes lungs and problems among farming community and increase the number of death. It has been found that high temperature developed by the combustion of crude oil cause nitrogen gas in the surrounding air. Nitrous oxide along with sulfur dioxide combines with water and creates acid rain. It increases the toxicity level of soil of the Delta region.
In the Niger Delta region oil spills are consistent and frequent part of life. There are more than 6,800cases of oil spills had been reported by oil companies in between 1976 to 2001. For this reason the environment of Deltaregion has visibly ravaged. It caused dead and unhealthy vegetation in the oil-contaminated areas of Delta region. From the data analysis section, It has been found that gas flaring and oil spills have severely affected the farming communities. The life expectancy of the farmers in the Delta state is lowest Nigeria. One of the known hazards of oil spillage is n-hexanes. It affects the nervous system, causes paralysis and death. The oil production in the Delta has decreased the food security level of farmer community.
The oil spills are capable of reducing the crude protein content of cassava by 40% and ascorbic acid content of vegetable by approximately 35%. It has given rise to the malnutritionlevel in the children of farmer communities. Oil spillages cause maternal Benzene exposure that causes low birth weight in the infants. It causes developmental disabilities and childhood sickness. It has been found from the data analysis that contact with crude oil can cause two types of damages. It can be hemotoxic and hepatotoxic that can cause infertility and cancer.
This finding is an indication of the adverse impact of oil contamination on the health of farmers. A study has revealed that, it not only sickens individuals but also affect the development of subsequent generations. According to WHO, some of the wells in delta state that provide drinking water to farmer communities contain benzene 900 times than the accepted level. Due to lack of alternatives, these people have to drink this water. Only the presence of benzene in the air has increased the risk cancer 1 in 10,000. In addition, it has been found that gas flares in the Delta State are far less efficient and regulated than Canada. They are often much closer to the ground. Studies done on the industrials areas Niger Delta region indicated the presence of high level of carcinogenic polycyclic hydrocarbons. Oil spillage has created some specific symptoms in the people of farmer communities. They are such as Nausea, Cough, headache, sore throat, itchy skin, rashes, occupational and injuries.
In order control the impact of environmental hazards on the people of farming community of Delta state, there some measures need to be taken.Oil companies of Delta region should take some necessary steps to reduce environmental impact on the oil farmers. They are like planning, risk identification, risk assessment, risk recording, risk control, follow on assessment and monitoring and review. Depending on the location of the site, companies need to provide farmers different types of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Framer need to use Level D modified clothing. It includes life jackets, boots, disposable gloves, protective pants and duct tapes. Protective pants have to be tied at the waist. Boots have to duct taped with the pants in order to create a seal. After a certain period of time disposable gloves have to be replaced, as they are filled with sweat and water.
Other protective measures may include development of a health and safety risk assessment plan. Oil companies have to ensure safety of various operational sites by correctly mapping the business process. They need to make sure that farmers follow continuous health and safety practices. Appropriate health and safety risk assessment can help to manage site inspection, monitoring the violation of rules in the oil companies. However, it needs to be well documented and should be easily understood and readily available for all the farmers. In addition, oil companies and Nigerian government should take some initiatives to increase awareness about health hazards among farmer communities. Government should develop water alternatives so that they do not have drink benzene contaminated water from the nearby wells.
Conclusion and Recommendations
5.1 Conclusion
The conclusion and recommendation chapter is the most important of the dissertations as it sums up the findings and data that have been evaluated in other chapters of the dissertation. The conclusion links the aims and the objectives that have been with the findings of the research work. The conclusion part evaluates that whether the objectives that have been set in the beginning of the research has been properly fulfilled. The recommendations of the research will be helpful for the readers to get an idea of the ways that will help the farmers of the delta state to lead a better life.
Oil production needs a lot of processing in the factories. Due to the processing of the oil, huge amount of gas is released in the air. The studies have found that the factories is delta state do not have a proper venting system and flare system. Due to incomplete combustion at the factories, it results in a number of health hazards for the farmers and other people living in the area. The venting system is located near to the houses of the farmer and their families. The polluted air not only affects the health of then farmers living in the area but also affects the natural vegetations of the place. The health of the farmer and the families of the farmers is also affected because they have to eat the vegetables that are growing in the polluted air. The gas flares are close to ground and hence, not only the air but also the soil are contaminated in the similar manner. It has been seen that the presence of benzene in the air results in causing cancer in one in 10,000 people.
The oil spillage in the delta state has caused environmental issues like the climate change and acid rain. The changes in the environment have caused cancer along the people living in that area. The oil spillage has contaminated the solid, which has further damaged the vegetables that have grown in that region. The incomplete combustion resulted in the production of Benzene, which is the major of cause of cancer among the people living in the area. There has been an unavailability of medicine for the rural population if they fall ill due to the problems in the environment. All the hospitals that are located in the urban areas of the Niger delta have facilities like, internet, radiographer, x-pray machines, scanner and other equipments. On the contrary, the only twenty percent of the hospitals in the rural region have those facilities. Out of those twenty percent of the hospitals, only 47 percent of the hospitals have access to the main road and mineral waters. No health officers are available in the hospitals and hence and hence, the farmers who fall ill in the delta state get proper heath care. In addition to this, there is a huge scarcity of drugs and medicines. The farmers of the delta state are not able to avail more than sixty-nine percent of the medicines are prescribed to them.
As oil spill and the problems of the gas flare is growing at a steep rate in Nigeria and hence it is important that the farmers should be given protective measures so that they suffer less while carrying out the farming activities. The people who are working for the companies and help in the processing of the oil are being given Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The farmers should sue level D modified clothing. The clothing includes the boots, duct tapes, life jackets, protective pants, disposable gloves. The disposable gloves should be changed at regular basis to avoid any kind of infection. The gloves are always are always sweat and eater and hence, chances of infection will be more. The organizations are also being asked to take proper safety measures within the organization. The employer should carry out a regular health and safety check up within the organization and check that they are not using any kind of non-permissible products to carry out the oil processing activities within the organization. The regular check up will help in maintaining a healthy environment for the farmers. Regular health check up for the farmers working for the oil production and the mines should be dome to see that their health is not being affected in the process of oil production. Once the organizations will look after the health of the farmers, chances of health issues will also reduce accordingly.
After going through the problems faced by the farmers in delta state, it is recommended that there is need of external sources to look after the health of the farmers who are working in the region. The external organizations that look after the health of the employees all over the world will help the farmers of delta state to lead a healthy life in that region. International Organization for Employers is one such international organization who looks after the employer employee relation all over the world. The organization looks after the welfare and benefits of the employees on an international level. The rights of the employees should be taken care of by the International Organization for Employers and take necessary steps so that their health is taken care properly even if they are working in hazardous conditions. The International Organization for Employers should keep a check on the organization who are employing the farmers and supervise that they are taking care of the employees. The International Organization for Employers is able to identify any kind of unethical activities that might take place from the part of the employer.
When on one hand, the International Organization for Employers looks after the right of the employees they will also look after the needs of the employers of various oil based organizations. The International Organization for Employers will look after the needs of the organization to evaluate the requirements so that the employees of the oil based companies in a healthy manner. If the employers need any kind of help from the International Organization for Employers, they will help the employer with proper equipments so that they are able to carry out the production in an ethical manner.
The most important limitation of the study is that it is depended on the secondary data to complete the work. Due to the inconvenience, it was not possible to get the primary research done for the study and hence, only the previous data about the place is the sole data available to the researcher. If a primary research could have been carried out in the similar region, then some more data and detailed view of the place might be available for the research, the farmers might have been able to give the exact feedback regarding the problems they are facing in the area. The dissertations would have been more helpful for the future researchers who would be interested to carry out the research work in the similar topic. Thus, it is recommended to the future researchers to carry out primary research along with the secondary research to get a proper idea about the delta state and the problems faced by the farmers of that place.
The research look into the perspective of the farmers and the problems faces by them due to the problems with the gas flare and the oil spills. The research does not look into the perspective of the organizations that are coming to Nigeria to build their business in the region. The research does not look into the fact that there can be problem in the infrastructure where the oil is being processed. It might happen that due to lack of infrastructure, the organizations are not being able to take necessary steps to help prevent the oil spillage or construct proper ventilation system to save the environment and eventually the farmers working in that region. Thus, the idea of primary research can be applied here as well. The primary research would have the feedback o the managers who are building in the organizations. The feedback of the managers would have thrown light on the problems faced by the managers in delta state.
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