In this concluding section of a two-part report, ADETOLA BADEMOSI writes on the repeated calls for the relocation of
tank farms away from residential areas due to the danger they pose to public health and properties.
IN 2020, the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, inaugurated an adhoc committee to investigate the concerns expressed by affected residents on tank farms in order to have a fair assessment of the situation.
The committee, chaired by Hon. Sergius Ogun, representing Esan North East/Esan South East constituency in the 9th National Assembly, was set up following petitions by residents of Ijegun, Kirikiri and other areas of Lagos State on the dangers posed by the operations of depots and tank farms to their respective communities which are strictly residential.
The committee chairman had, in one of the hearings, said tank farms located in residential areas were a big disaster waiting to happen, stressing that the committee would carry out the assignment in the best interest of the people and national development.
In July 2020, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) at a hearing by the House of Representatives’ Adhoc Committee on Relocation of Tank Farms in Residential Areas of Ijegun, Kirikiri advised against a swift relocation of tank farms from their current locations along Ijegun, Kirikiri areas of Lagos and other parts of the country to avoid disruption in the supply and distribution chain of petroleum products across the country.
Group Managing Director of the corporation, Mallam Mele Kyari, had at the hearing said the NNPC was not averse to relocation of the tank farms and depots sited in residential areas but would rather that some time be allowed to achieve full rehabilitation of the refineries and completion of the Dangote Refinery to enable the nation to exit fuel importation before such move.
In the heat of the various controversies surrounding the calls for relocation of the farms from residential areas, the Lagos State government, in November, 2020 unfolded plans to adopt a cohabitation policy to accommodate 68 tank farms in the state, rather than have them relocating.
However, this contradicts the global standards on safety guidelines for designing and siting of tank farms.
For instance, a look at the 2014 Safety Guidelines and Good Industry Practices for Oil Terminals developed under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention (UNECEC) on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents states that for facility siting and layout, there should be safety distances from transport routes, locations of public use, residential and other vulnerable areas.
These distances should limit the consequences of possible accidents for human health and the environment to an acceptable level. It also states that in the oil terminal design and planning stage, site-selection decisions should take into account the risk of exposing human populations and vulnerable habitats to the hazards of toxic and flammable materials.
For the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), it says the document should be a precondition for construction and operation of an oil terminal, or to major changes to the facilities at or operation of an existing oil terminal, if applicable.
The draft states that the EIA should address the potential adverse impact of the oil terminal on the physical and social environment and should be available for the general public, interested or affected persons to comment and provide input to the assessment and to comment on, or object to the construction and operation of the terminal.
When contacted, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) spokesperson, Paul Osu, neither picked nor returned repeated calls to his line. He also did not reply to message sent to his line.
The DPR is an agency of government charged with the statutory responsibility of ensuring compliance with petroleum laws, regulations and guidelines in the Oil and Gas Industry.
But Nnimmo Bassey, an environmental activist who spoke to Nigerian Tribune, maintained that tank farms should not be sited anywhere near residential but industrial areas.
“It is very wrong in terms of planning priority or regulations to locate tank farms where people live. The first concern should be human lives and safety. Everything else is secondary,” he said.
The agitation for relocation of tank farms one would say is justifiable considering the magnitude of carnage a typical petroleum induced explosion could cause. In past years, the number and aftermath of tanker explosions recorded in the country is better imagined.
For instance, in 2020 over seven case of explosions were recorded. On 14th January, a tanker carrying PMS or petrol exploded close to a welder’s shop in the Amawbia area of Awka in Anambra State. The explosion was said to have been caused by a spark from the welder’s shop while the tanker was passing.
Also, on the 15th of March same year, an explosion occurred in Abule-Ado area of Lagos State killing about 23 people, leaving many injured. The ensuing fire destroyed over 100 homes and dozens of vehicles.
On 23rd September, 2020, Wednesday, a petrol tanker lost control due to brake failure, leading to an explosion which happened at Felele area of the Lokoja-Abuja highway, Kogi State killing 25 persons and destroying properties.
This is only a few of other similar cases recorded in 2020.
Data from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on road traffic crashes between 2007 and 2017 revealed that about 3,635 tankers and over 7,000 trailers were involved in articulated vehicle crashes within the period, leaving a total of 46,690 casualties.
The corps blamed this especially on nonadherence to road traffic safety practices, inadequate provision of tanker/trailer park across the country, lack of cooperation from private tank farm owners on safe-toload programme, among others.
When this reporter visited the state’s Ministry of Environment, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, to seek clarifications on the EIA, the Director of Public Affairs, Kunle Adeshina, was not available. However, a credible source at the ministry who would not want to be mentioned said impact assessments are conducted by the Federal Ministry of Environment.
While also reacting to claims that no Environmental Impact Assessment was conducted prior to siting of tank farms within the community, a highly placed source at the Ministry of Environment, Abuja, who pleaded anonymity said only few of the facilities had no EIA.
“Every facility there has EIA and they are registered with the ministry except for very few and we have taken them to the National Assembly.
For major development projects that you start, you must start with EIA. For those few that have not been done, two things can be done. First is post-impact assessment if it has not exceeded three years but if it has exceeded, we carry out audit,” he said.
Amidst all the controversies are questions of environmental and health implications residents are forced to live with daily.
First is excessive inhalation of carbon monoxide emitted by tankers and also petroleum product fumes.
A joint report by the environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR’s) states that chronic (long-term) inhalation exposure to benzene causes various disorders in the blood, including reduced number of red blood cells.
While classifying Benzene as a known human carcinogen, the report said the increased incidence of leukaemia (cancer of the tissues that form white blood cells) have been observed in humans occupationally exposed to benzene.
Few studies have also shown that continuous exposure and inhalation of fuel, especially PMS causes haematological disorders associated with exposure to benzene in the environment.
A journal of environmental and public health showed that benzene found in PMS is acutely toxic if repeatedly inhaled causing mucous membrane irritation, neurological and other symptoms due to respiratory failure.
“Chronic exposure has been reported to result in bone marrow depression, aplasia and leukaemia, cardiac abnormalities, heart attack, and other cancers of the lung, brain and stomach. Following inhalation, benzene vapour is rapidly absorbed into the blood and distributed throughout the body,” it stated.
The result of the survey, a copy of which was made available to this reporter, states among several other findings, the prevalence of respiratory tract infections such as dry cough, bronchitis among others among residents interviewed.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Lagos Is Second Least Liveable City In The World For 2021
Lagos is the second least liveable city in the world for the year 2021. This is according to the most recent annual ranking put together by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)…
CLAIM 1: A Twitter user claims UNICEF said any efforts to block children from accessing pornography might infringe their human rights.
VERDICT: MISLEADING!
In this concluding section of a two-part report, ADETOLA BADEMOSI writes on the repeated calls for the relocation of
tank farms away from residential areas due to the danger they pose to public health and properties.
IN 2020, the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, inaugurated an adhoc committee to investigate the concerns expressed by affected residents on tank farms in order to have a fair assessment of the situation.
The committee, chaired by Hon. Sergius Ogun, representing Esan North East/Esan South East constituency in the 9th National Assembly, was set up following petitions by residents of Ijegun, Kirikiri and other areas of Lagos State on the dangers posed by the operations of depots and tank farms to their respective communities which are strictly residential.
The committee chairman had, in one of the hearings, said tank farms located in residential areas were a big disaster waiting to happen, stressing that the committee would carry out the assignment in the best interest of the people and national development.
In July 2020, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) at a hearing by the House of Representatives’ Adhoc Committee on Relocation of Tank Farms in Residential Areas of Ijegun, Kirikiri advised against a swift relocation of tank farms from their current locations along Ijegun, Kirikiri areas of Lagos and other parts of the country to avoid disruption in the supply and distribution chain of petroleum products across the country.
Group Managing Director of the corporation, Mallam Mele Kyari, had at the hearing said the NNPC was not averse to relocation of the tank farms and depots sited in residential areas but would rather that some time be allowed to achieve full rehabilitation of the refineries and completion of the Dangote Refinery to enable the nation to exit fuel importation before such move.
In the heat of the various controversies surrounding the calls for relocation of the farms from residential areas, the Lagos State government, in November, 2020 unfolded plans to adopt a cohabitation policy to accommodate 68 tank farms in the state, rather than have them relocating.
However, this contradicts the global standards on safety guidelines for designing and siting of tank farms.
For instance, a look at the 2014 Safety Guidelines and Good Industry Practices for Oil Terminals developed under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention (UNECEC) on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents states that for facility siting and layout, there should be safety distances from transport routes, locations of public use, residential and other vulnerable areas.
These distances should limit the consequences of possible accidents for human health and the environment to an acceptable level. It also states that in the oil terminal design and planning stage, site-selection decisions should take into account the risk of exposing human populations and vulnerable habitats to the hazards of toxic and flammable materials.
For the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), it says the document should be a precondition for construction and operation of an oil terminal, or to major changes to the facilities at or operation of an existing oil terminal, if applicable.
The draft states that the EIA should address the potential adverse impact of the oil terminal on the physical and social environment and should be available for the general public, interested or affected persons to comment and provide input to the assessment and to comment on, or object to the construction and operation of the terminal.
When contacted, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) spokesperson, Paul Osu, neither picked nor returned repeated calls to his line. He also did not reply to message sent to his line.
The DPR is an agency of government charged with the statutory responsibility of ensuring compliance with petroleum laws, regulations and guidelines in the Oil and Gas Industry.
But Nnimmo Bassey, an environmental activist who spoke to Nigerian Tribune, maintained that tank farms should not be sited anywhere near residential but industrial areas.
“It is very wrong in terms of planning priority or regulations to locate tank farms where people live. The first concern should be human lives and safety. Everything else is secondary,” he said.
The agitation for relocation of tank farms one would say is justifiable considering the magnitude of carnage a typical petroleum induced explosion could cause. In past years, the number and aftermath of tanker explosions recorded in the country is better imagined.
For instance, in 2020 over seven case of explosions were recorded. On 14th January, a tanker carrying PMS or petrol exploded close to a welder’s shop in the Amawbia area of Awka in Anambra State. The explosion was said to have been caused by a spark from the welder’s shop while the tanker was passing.
Also, on the 15th of March same year, an explosion occurred in Abule-Ado area of Lagos State killing about 23 people, leaving many injured. The ensuing fire destroyed over 100 homes and dozens of vehicles.
On 23rd September, 2020, Wednesday, a petrol tanker lost control due to brake failure, leading to an explosion which happened at Felele area of the Lokoja-Abuja highway, Kogi State killing 25 persons and destroying properties.
This is only a few of other similar cases recorded in 2020.
Data from the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on road traffic crashes between 2007 and 2017 revealed that about 3,635 tankers and over 7,000 trailers were involved in articulated vehicle crashes within the period, leaving a total of 46,690 casualties.
The corps blamed this especially on nonadherence to road traffic safety practices, inadequate provision of tanker/trailer park across the country, lack of cooperation from private tank farm owners on safe-toload programme, among others.
When this reporter visited the state’s Ministry of Environment, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, to seek clarifications on the EIA, the Director of Public Affairs, Kunle Adeshina, was not available. However, a credible source at the ministry who would not want to be mentioned said impact assessments are conducted by the Federal Ministry of Environment.
While also reacting to claims that no Environmental Impact Assessment was conducted prior to siting of tank farms within the community, a highly placed source at the Ministry of Environment, Abuja, who pleaded anonymity said only few of the facilities had no EIA.
“Every facility there has EIA and they are registered with the ministry except for very few and we have taken them to the National Assembly.
For major development projects that you start, you must start with EIA. For those few that have not been done, two things can be done. First is post-impact assessment if it has not exceeded three years but if it has exceeded, we carry out audit,” he said.
Amidst all the controversies are questions of environmental and health implications residents are forced to live with daily.
First is excessive inhalation of carbon monoxide emitted by tankers and also petroleum product fumes.
A joint report by the environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR’s) states that chronic (long-term) inhalation exposure to benzene causes various disorders in the blood, including reduced number of red blood cells.
While classifying Benzene as a known human carcinogen, the report said the increased incidence of leukaemia (cancer of the tissues that form white blood cells) have been observed in humans occupationally exposed to benzene.
Few studies have also shown that continuous exposure and inhalation of fuel, especially PMS causes haematological disorders associated with exposure to benzene in the environment.
A journal of environmental and public health showed that benzene found in PMS is acutely toxic if repeatedly inhaled causing mucous membrane irritation, neurological and other symptoms due to respiratory failure.
“Chronic exposure has been reported to result in bone marrow depression, aplasia and leukaemia, cardiac abnormalities, heart attack, and other cancers of the lung, brain and stomach. Following inhalation, benzene vapour is rapidly absorbed into the blood and distributed throughout the body,” it stated.
The result of the survey, a copy of which was made available to this reporter, states among several other findings, the prevalence of respiratory tract infections such as dry cough, bronchitis among others among residents interviewed.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Lagos Is Second Least Liveable City In The World For 2021
Lagos is the second least liveable city in the world for the year 2021. This is according to the most recent annual ranking put together by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)…
CLAIM 1: A Twitter user claims UNICEF said any efforts to block children from accessing pornography might infringe their human rights.
VERDICT: MISLEADING!