konknaijagirl | On 24, Feb 2013

As Africans, we are constantly told that obesity, being overweight and eating unhealthy forms a major part of the reasons why there is an increased incidence of advanced illnesses in our adults.

Interestingly, about 70% I imagine of those reading this will at some point recall having aged grand parents and great grand parents who seemed to live quite long and never really developed what many African’s refer to as ‘Foreign Afflictions’.

Acknowledging illnesses and disorders is a key element of moving into and in line with the new age and modern world and to deny existence of diet induced disorders and illnesses would be wrong.

I recently watched a documentary where the respondent visited China and his first observation is “everything looks like its covered in smog or do I need my eyes checked”.

A few years back, I recall watching repeated newscasts about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and observing as a huge sum of money was spent cleaning up the gulf.

Back to the present and modern day Nigeria, I was aggrieved that for years to date, Gas effluents from mining and refining crude oil are still flamed in Nigeria creating huge pollutant clouds from harmful gases released into the atmosphere sometimes creating toxic gas clouds that spreads across many states.

.Crude oil is a mixture of a wide variety of constituents. It consists primarily of hydrocarbons, which are chemicals composed of hydrogen and carbon. Crude oil also contains hundreds of substances that include benzene, chromium, iron, mercury, nickel, nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur, toluene, and xylene. Total petroleum hydrocarbons is a term used to describe the several hundred chemical compounds that originally come from crude oil.

Crude oil toxins have a clear and adverse effect on human health. After exposure to these poisonous substances following an oil spill, individuals have reported such adverse health effects as:

• Headaches
• Difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Congenital Heart disease
• Irritation of the eyes, skin, and respiratory system.
• Dizziness, rapid heart rate, confusion, and anemia.
• Skin reddening, edema, and burning of the skin.
• Alergic skin reactions or rashes.

Scientists have known for years that the toxins found in petrochemicals suppress the efficiency of the human thyroid. This explains the fatigue many individuals feel following exposure to airborne crude oil. Suppressed thyroid function can also lead to weight gain.

Buring crude oil emits toxic chemicals that are harmful to humans. Harmful substances released by burning crude oil include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds.

High levels of particulate matter released by burning crude oil may cause respiratory injuries, including injury to nasal passages, airways, and lungs. Other more serious side effects may include difficulty breathing or shortness of breath.

Toxins in Crude Oil or Released from Burning Crude Oil

• Benzene - exposure causes irritation to eyes, skin, and respiratory system; dizziness; rapid heart rate; headaches; tremors; confusion; unconsciousness; anaemia; cancer
• Benzoapyrene - exposure causes irritation to eyes and skin, cancer, possible effects
• Carbon dioxide - exposure causes dizziness, headaches, elevated blood pressure, rapid heart rate, loss of consciousness asphyxiation, coma
• Carbon monoxide - exposure causes irritation to eyes, skin, and respiratory system; dizziness, confusion, headaches, nausea, weakness, loss of consciousness, asphyxiation, coma
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - exposure causes irritation to eyes and skin, cancer, possible reproductive effects, immune system effects
• Toluene - exposure causes irritation to eyes, skin, respiratory system; fatigue; confusion; dizziness; headaches; memory loss; nausea; nervous system, liver, and kidney effects
• Xylene - exposure causes irritation to eyes, skin, respiratory system; dizziness; confusion; change in sense of balance; nervous system gastrointestinal system, liver, kidney, and blood effects

With this information readily available to all, we need to implement tools for educating the public about the risk they face and also educate folk who live in these regions where the crude oil is widely refined and transported of these risks.

Additionally, it is quite clear that a lot more of the revenue from crude oil needs to be spent supporting the health and welfare of those who live next to or near it and in general helps us to part understand the reasons for increased incidences of illness which were never prevalent in Nigeria.

In addition  Crude oil damages the environment and indeed, a huge bioremediation scheme needs to be implemented and our riverine areas repopulated with species of wildlife that have been swallowed by the crude oil pipelines and refineries in Nigeria which really appear to be more like careless refiners and colander type pipelines.

Our health is important,  so is our well being and safety,we need the world who sit and watch to take actions to remedy it in places where nothing but wild animals live  to support the bioremediation of Nigeria’s rain forest and waters to prevent the tropical rain forest of West Africa from disappearing with nothing left of the mangrove swamps and the thick lush green which is synonymous to our heritage.