The Ogun State Government says the lead-recycling factories in Ogijo will remain shut until a comprehensive health and environmental impact audit, launched in response to the widespread lead poisoning uncovered by a PREMIUM TIMES/The Examination investigation, is completed.
The State Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya, disclosed this during a stakeholders’ meeting that brought together government officials, environmental regulators, academics and industry representatives at the Ogun State Ministry of Environment, State Secretariat, Abeokuta, on Monday.
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The Commissioner’s statement comes days after the state government ordered the closure of seven companies involved in Used Lead-Acid Battery (ULAB) recycling within the Ogijo axis.
A two-part investigation by PREMIUM TIMES in collaboration with The Examination, had exposed widespread contamination of lead in the soil and blood of residents. The investigation revealed that the lead recycling factories in Ogijo have poisoned the air residents breathe and the soil where children play.
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The investigation also revealed hazardous working conditions that resulted in dangerously high Blood Lead Levels among workers. Every tested worker was found to be poisoned, with one recording a level as high as 38 micrograms per decilitre, a figure the World Health Organisation, WHO, considers severely elevated.
Following the publication of the reports, the Commissioner said the state government acted quickly and directed the companies to wind down their operation within 72 hours, an order he said was largely implemented before the inspection of the facilities were carried out.
Health Audit
Mr Oresanya announced plans for a broader health assessment involving 300 to 500 residents. He said the decision to expand the sample size of the blood-lead testing is to obtain a better picture of the extent of exposure in the community.
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The Examination, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates global health threats, in partnership with PREMIUM TIMES, Joy FM, Pambazuko and Truth Reporting Post, launched an investigation and commissioned an independent scientific study to measure lead levels in the soil, as well as in the blood of workers and residents living in Ogijo community.
The report, prepared by the Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADev Nigeria), a non-governmental environmental health organization, found that of the 70 people tested, 50 had Blood Lead Levels (BLLs) above 5 µg/dL, the World Health Organisation’s threshold for lead poisoning.
“We believe that is a very small number when you look at over 11,000 people that live in the community. The government is now proposing something between 300 and 500 sampling size to really reflect something closer to what it is,” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported the Ogun State government’s move to conduct “Free Lead Poisoning Test” on the residents of Ogijo town especially those living around the six recycling plants and their workers.
The state commissioner for health, Tomi Coker, also announced that the “Lead Testing Centre” with medical experts and full complement of medical equipment has already been set up at the Ogijo Primary Health Centre and it will commence operation on Monday.
Environmental Audit
Mr Oresanya announced a combined team from Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency, OGEPA, and the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) will oversee the process audit of all affected factories.
“The GM OGEPA and GM LASEPA will have joint control on those who will do the process audit… the two GMs will ensure that those who are doing the process audit are doing the right thing,” he said.
The academic team involved in the environmental audit was also urged to begin work immediately.
Experts from three tertiary institutions, Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), and the University of Lagos, (UNILAG), have volunteered to join the environmental impact audit team.
The academics said they intend to collect samples of water, air, soil and vegetation in Ogijo and surrounding communities.
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The Commissioner said he wanted the work to begin immediately at the end of the meeting, citing the urgency of the situation.
He emphasized that no facility would be allowed to reopen until all audit reports were completed, warning that until the health, process, and environmental audits were finished, no doors would be opened to any operations.
“Until we get all these three reports out, until you finish your job, this industry will remain under lock and key. We are not going to open any doors… nobody will,” he said.
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