Environmental Case Study

Environmental Case Study (2,000 words): 40%
Topic: (Oil Spillage- Environmental Pollution in the Niger Delta, Nigeria)
Population Impacted: Human Impact (Adults and Children), Environmental effects (Plants and Animal life), Aquatic Impact (Fish, Snail etc.), Aerobic Impact (Birds).
Introduction: It is sad story to hear today when it is being discussed about the problems pollution in our environment has caused us in terms of degradation, 'river siltation', coastal erosion as well as extermination of wildlife which have become the misfortune of oil vested communities in the Niger-delta sub-region of the country (HNDC, 2010).
It seemed like the discovery of such a stupendous rich reserve of oil within these communities should bring smiles on the faces of the crying children who play around in the water and suck in the fresh air which before now has been the source of life to all riverine communities and the vast reserve of aquatic life which serves as food and source of income for these communities but then Oil exploration and drilling by oil companies have destroyed the dreams and shattered the hopes of these communities and most importantly created health problems for these communities.
From a legalistic standpoint, it is true that the Federal government has sought in many ways to curb this oil spillages. Such oil companies sign charters to condone their drilling activities, but it never stops the devastating health hazard left behind after they are gone (HNDC, 2010).
For years, extraction of oil in the Niger Delta has caused a major contamination and health hazard within the environment. An Oil leak is the release of a fluid fuel hydrocarbon into the environment mostly marine areas due to human activities. It could be leaked on sea or land that becomes a form of pollution in the environment (ITOPF, 2014).
Oil spills usually have a long term effect that causes serious environmental disasters even after such human activities are long completed. The environment and its organisms suffer untold hardship due to the environmental impact caused by the oil spill.
"Environmental impacts should always be measured in a scientific context and should be appraised at an ecosystem rather than an individual level" (ITOPF, 2014).
We need to ask ourselves if the ecosystem has retained its normal functions or how fast will that happen after an oil spill?
The effect of the oil spill depends on varying factors which include; how much of the oil was spilled and what type of oil, how to measure the interaction between the marine environment and prevalent weather conditions within the spill period. Even though some clean-up process might be activated, it still has some effect on the environment (ITOPF, 2014).
How it arose
According to UNEP, (2011) Report on the assessment of the Ogoni land oil spill, Oil exploration began in the 1950s and huge equipment were set up for production three decades following that period. These whole set up was done by Shell Petroleum Development Company (Nigeria) Ltd.
"Oil exploration and production projects may have impacts on the natural environment long before any oil is produced" (UNEP, 2011).
Soon enough, the social and environmental consequences came into play in Ogoni Land whereby environmental incidences began to occur, "such as spills, and uncontrolled flares and responses to such chaos were slow and inadequate" (UNEP, 2011).
Over the years, the community members arose to fight against this environmental scourge and groups were formed like MOSOP (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People) came up to fight for the course of the community. And present policies and bills that would enhance the improvement of the environment and stop oil spills in their water. Ogoni well known for its agricultural richness and fishing culture was well affected by this oil spillage.
Effects of Environmental Hazards due to Oil Spillage: It is a well-known fact that oil spillages influences fire hazards which produces air pollution that can cause 'respiratory tract distresses'. It can also pollute drinking water supplies that become a major waterborne disease outbreak within these communities. It can affect the financial impact on a vacation industry and reserve mining manufacturing organizations.
From the environment, Oil can infiltrate into the wings and feathers of birds and fur of Mammals that in turn affects motion abilities and exposes such birds and mammals to rise and fall in temperature.
Most important health hazard is the communities. In 1999, a sad event took place in the Erovie Community of Niger Delta. The community was poisoned by toxic waste from Oil companies Operations. Residents began to experience health problems after million liters of waste was dumped into an abandoned oil well in Erovie. Many people who ate plants, or drank water from the swamps in the area complained of vomiting, dizziness, stomach ache, and cough. It was recorded that within two months, 93 people had died from this 'mysterious illness'. After research had been conducted, it was discovered that the "tests confirmed poisonous concentrations of lead, zinc and mercury in the dumped substance" (HNDC, 2010).
"The presence of heavy metals at above acceptable limits and the unusually high concentration of ions make the substance toxic. Therefore, if these substances were to infiltrate the underground water or aquifer, it would have serious environmental and health implications," says one of the reports (HNDC, 2010).

Even though these Oil companies promise to perform cleanups and recovery, it is nearly impossible in so many situations because it depends on the type of oil, Temperature of water and type of Land involved. It usually takes a long time to clean up to a reasonable extent ("Lingering Lessons of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill", 2004).
Evaluation of Prevention and Control Measures against Environmental hazards which pose Risks to human health and safety
Most of the time, the Government shy away from the health risks and do not place huge embargoes on such companies because of economic gains at the expense of the community health. To be able to Identify a way forward in curbing and solving this critical problem of oil spillage, the policies and laws must be enacted in the favor of environmental preservation and health benefits of the communities when such drillings and explorations are done according to standard operating procedures and clean-up is performed by international standards to ensure the safety of the water and its environs (ITOPF, 2014).
Human Rights Activists must begin to shout at the top of their voices against these infiltrations within these communities. The Government and these companies must listen to the appeal from the communities to clean up the toxic mess. Most community residents mostly made up of the youths get burnt to death trying to dislodge such pipelines and spillages to protect their environment (HNDC, 2010).
According to (UNEP, 2011),
It is important to set up monitoring Programmes during and following clean-up operations. All monitoring activities must be communicated to the community, and all results must be made available for public consumption. Also, it is important that comprehensive air quality monitoring is also initiated to detect ongoing pollution to help set up Standards of Operating Procedures for protecting public health and track improvements at sites where cleanup activities are under way (UNEP, 2011).
It is important that communities mobilize themselves as one to speak against these kinds of pollution that create a chaotic environment hostile to both Humans, Animals and plant alike. It is difficult to prevent these organizations from drilling in these oil-rich communities but insisting on the right procedure carried out by international standards must be ensured. Clean up takes time for the effect of the oil spillage to become inactive. These organizations must understand that the communities are at risk and they must do all they can, utilize all human and financial resources to ensure that the communities are safeguarded against explosions, water pollutions, Land and air pollutions.
It is not advised to have riotous demonstrations that cause more harm than good but within the communities, people can form groups and fight with peaceful demonstrations against the violation of human rights and environmental rights.

Using the Love Bug Analysis to assess oil spillage critically within the environment according to Weiner's theory of Organizational readiness for change (Weiner, 2009).


Conclusion
It is pertinent to identify these risks associated with environmental and occupational hazards before attempting to strategize ways to mitigate such risks.
According to Stanford University, Environmental risk is an exposure to hazards, the probability or chance of suffering an adverse consequence (Stanford University, no date). These risks are transmitted through food, air, water, soil to Man. Causes and behaviors are numerous and take some major steps to mitigate such risks. Such hazards could be Chemical, Physical, Mechanical, Biological, and Psychosocial hazards. (CDC, 2012).
For years, extraction of oil in the Niger Delta has caused a major contamination and health hazard within the environment. An Oil Spill usually occurs in the environment mostly marine areas due to human activities. It could be spilled on sea or land that becomes a form of pollution in the environment.
According to ITOPF (No Date),
The effects of oil spills can have wide ranging impacts that are often portrayed by the media as long lasting environmental disasters. Such perceptions are understandable as they are often fuelled by distressing images of oiled birds and other wildlife (ITOPF, no date).


Oil spills usually have a long term effect that causes serious environmental disasters even after such human activities are long completed. The environment and its organisms suffer untold hardship due to the environmental impact caused by the oil spill.
"Environmental impacts should always be measured in a scientific context and should be appraised at an ecosystem rather than an individual level" (ITOPF, no date).
We need to ask ourselves if the ecosystem has retained its normal functions or how fast will that happen after an oil spill?
The effect of the oil spill depends on varying factors which include; how much of the oil was spilled and what type of oil, how to measure the interaction between the marine environment and prevalent weather conditions within the spill period. Even though some clean-up process might be activated, it still has some effect on the environment (ITOPF, no date).
The health of the environment within a community is very important and must be sustained so as to ensure and safeguard the lives of the population. This is the essence of public health.
REFERENCES
"Lingering Lessons of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill." Available at www.Commondreams.org. 2004-03-22. Accessed on 2012-08-27
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2012, "Workplace Safety & Health Topics: health Workers" Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/healthcare/ accessed on 28/1/2015.
Hope for Niger Delta Campaign, HNDC (2010), "Environmental Pollution in the Niger Delta- Feb 18, 2010", Available at http://www.nigerdeltacampaign.com/index.php/2010/02/environmental-pollution-in-the-niger-delta/ and accessed on 19/2/2015.
Stanford University (No date), "Environmental Risks" Available at: http://dge.stanford.edu/SCOPE/SCOPE_15/SCOPE_15_1.1_chapter1_1-14.pdf Accessed on 28/1/2015.
The International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF), "Environmental Effects of Oil Spills", Available at http://www.itopf.com/knowledge-resources/documents-guides/environmental-effects/, Accessed on 19/2/2015.
United Nations Environment Programme (2011), Available at http://postconflict.unep.ch/publications/OEA/UNEP_OEA.pdf http://www.unep.org/science/chief-scientist/Activities/DisastersandConflicts/OilPollutionintheNigerDeltaNigeria.aspx Accessed on 23/1/2015.
Weiner, B J., (2009) "A theory of organizational readiness for change". Available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2770024/. Accessed on 23/1/15
Weiner, B. J.,(2009) 'A Lovebug Diagram' Available at www.elearning.roehampton online.com/bbcswebdav/institution/UKR1/201522/MS_MMPH/MMPH_00073/attachments/UKR1_MMPH_00073_Unit04_Lovebug%20Diagram%20Exercise%20-%20Theory%20of%20Org%20Readiness%20for%20Change.pdf. Accessed on 22/1/15






TOM-ABA DANIEL, STUDENT ID: 2385499
PROGRAMME: MASTERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
SCHOOL: UNIVERSITY OF ROEHAMPTION ONLINE
MODULE 3: UKR1.0007301.201522: MMPH-0007301, Population Health Matters: Making Sense of Health Trends and Problems.201522