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Environmental Pollution And It's Associated Health Risk Among Residents Of Nkpor, Idemili North, Local Government Area Of Anambra State
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
It has been
observed in recent times that the role the environment play to a
nation‟s development process can not be relegated to the background.
Apart from being the physical surrounding for natural habitats, the
environment provide the basis for human exploits for agricultural,
industrial, commercial, technological and tourism development of a
society (Gbehe, 2004). For this and several other reasons, environmental
issues now occupy a centre stage in academic discourse and other public
fora both at the national and international levels. Recorded evidence
has also shown that the environment represents a wide range of the
external circumstances, conditions and the things that affect the
existence and development of an individual, organism, group (Isaichei
1999) and/or society. In Nigeria for instance, environmental issues did
not gain official prominence until the 1988 Koko toxic waste dumping
saga which also brought to the fore the exigent need to establish the
Nigeria Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA), Federal Ministry
of Environment and other relevant agencies, ostensibly to tackle
environmentally related issues, in the country. These include issues
such as environmental pollution, sanitation, depletion of ozone layer,
desertification, flooding, erosion, poverty, bush burning,
deforestation, soil conservation etc. All these mentioned above are a
pointer to the fact that issues of environment and infact environmental
pollution which forms the basis of this paper has taken a centre stage
in the nation‟s (Nigeria‟s) development process (Gbehe, 2004).
Environmentally minded scholars: Ocheri (2003:174), Gbehe (2004), and Aja (2005:114)
have
associated environmental pollution with human activities and albeit
persistent human interaction with the environment. Research has also
shown that as the population of a country grows/increases with attendant
pressure on the environment especially in the wake of improved
technologies, environmental abuse and pollution is nevertheless
heightened with corresponding effects on lives of people and other
living organisms, (Ocheri, 2003) and (Hauses, 1971). It has been
observed further that man through industrial, agricultural and the ever
increasing urbanization process, security and terrorist activities tend
to directly and/or indirectly pollute the environment. Jande (2005) and
Aja (2005) in their separate observations, also in tandem with the
foregoing agree that unrestricted use of pesticides, insecticides,
herbicides and indiscriminate dumping of refuse, excreta and animal dung
as well as spillages from refineries, large scale bush burning etc are
perceived as some of the leading factors of environmental pollution in
Nigeria.
Environmental pollution takes place when the environment
cannot process and neutralize harmful by-products of human activities in
due course without any structural or functional damage to its system.
Pollution occurs when the natural environment is unable to decompose the
generated elements and on the other hand, when man fail to decompose
these pollutants artificially. This has negative impacts on crucial
environmental services such as provision of clean water, air and arable
land without which life on earth as we know it would be difficult
(Gbehe, 2004).
Environmental pollution is a problem both in developed
and developing countries. Factors such as population growth and
urbanization invariably place greater demands on the environment and
stretch the use of natural resources to the maximum. Such overuse of
natural resources often results in nature‟s degradation.
Human
environment is made up of the following aspects: The physical, social,
economic, political and technological. The physical environment consists
of air, land and water; the social environment consists of the
relationships existing among them; the technological environment
consists of experiences and practices required for constant adaptation
and survival; while the political environment is defined by the degree
of authority exercised by some over others. Despite the major efforts
that have been made over recent years to clean up the environment,
pollution remains a major problem and poses continuing risks to health.
According to Hagget, (1975), the problems are undoubtedly greatest in
the developing world, where traditional sources of pollution such as
industrial emissions, poor sanitation, inadequate waste management,
contaminated water supplies and exposures to indoor air pollution from
biomass fuels affect large numbers of people. Even in developed
countries, however, environmental pollution persists, most especially
amongst poorer sectors of society. In recent decades, too, a wide range
of modern pollutants have emerged—not least, those associated with road
traffic and the use of modern chemicals in the home, in food, for water
treatment and for pest control. Most of these pollutants are rarely
present in excessively large concentrations, so effects on health are
usually far from immediate or obvious. The interactions between humans
and their physical surroundings have been extensively studied, as
multiple human activities influence the environment. The environment is a
coupling of the biotic (living organisms and microorganisms) and the
abiotic (hydrosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere) (Hagget, 1975).
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]This study was carried out to environmental pollution and it's associated health risk among residents of Nkpor, Idemili North, Local Government Area of Anambra State. Specifically, the study examined the knowledge of environmental Pollution among residents of Nkpor, Idemili North, Local Government Area of Anambra State, assessed the perception of environmental Pollution among residents of Nkpor, Idemili North, Local Government Area of Anambra State and, determined the associated health risks of ... Continue reading---
