Lagos State government through its Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), yesterday, decried improper treatment of effluents by manufacturing companies in the state.
General Manager of LASEPA, Dr. Tunde Ajayi, who spoke at a one -day workshop on effective operation of Effluent Treatment Plants (ETP) in Lagos, lamented poor effluents treatment amounting to 17 per cent compliance from facilities visited.
He stressed that the workshop, themed: “Effective Operation of Effluent Treatment Plants was apt and instructive, as it further demonstrates the agency’s commitment to the implementation of the government’s policies and programmes on clean and sustainable environment that is safe, secured and pollution free for a healthy citizenry and protection of the ecosystem.
He said: “On my assumption of office, I took an inspection tour of the state’s industrial areas, especially manufacturing organisations to inspect the way their effluents are being treated as part of the agency’s proactive measures to combat the menace of environmental pollution.
“I realised that most of the effluent plants in those manufacturing organisations visited were either not working for mechanical faults or completely abandoned for lack of technical know- how and training on their effective operations.
“The implication of this is that most manufacturing companies that have issues with their effluent treatment plants either as a result of lack of technical know-how or as a result of faulty plants obviously discharge their raw effluents either directly into the drains, environment or the water bodies.
“This has continued to be a major threat to public health and the environment as such activities have negative impacts on human health and the ecosystem.”
“If we therefore continue to enforce the laws on violation of the State Environmental Laws, especially on the management and treatment of effluents from manufacturing industries without organising a technical training like this to help ETP operators and other related officers gain the required knowledge and basic operational skills needed for effective and efficient ETP operations, not only that we will be far away from solving the problem, we will continue to endanger the health of citizens, while we put the safety and protection of the aquatic animals at risk as well.
“It is therefore in recognition of the need to safeguard the well-being of the citizenry, protect the environment against further degradation and the safety of the ecosystem that this training is put together by LASEPA in conjunction with a reputable organisation like Fumman to train ETP operators, maintenance officers, supervisors, Quality Assurance Officers, Engineers, Environmental Consultants, HSE Officers, Facility Managers and other officers in that value chain to update their knowledge and build their capacity to enhance their professional competency in their field of operations.”
Also, Special Adviser to the Governor on the Environment, Mr Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu, said a lot of discoveries have been made in terms of the health quality of the industrial waste discharged by companies.
According to him, a lot still needs to be done to sanitise the sector and ensure that the environment is safe.
He noted the need to monitor and ensure that every discharge is treated because of its impact on the mental health of Lagosians.
The special adviser also disclosed the government’s willingness to collaborate with industries to ensure that they install the rightful treatment plant in their facilities and treat their waste carefully.
“In terms of the plants, we have enough in Lagos to ensure that some of these effluents are well treated.
“As many that are willing to comply, there is always a place for them in Lagos. We have the capacity to handle it. All that we need is sincerity and genuineness from the generators of this waste. Once they are sincere, I am sure we can have what it takes to handle all the issues,” he added.
The Guardian learnt that the workshop, which was attended by over 100 companies is aimed at providing ETP operators with requisite knowledge that would help them to run their facilities safely and efficiently in the best global standard practice, helping industries to design and implement a post-production effluent treatment system that would be environmentally friendly and conform with the best practices in other civilised climes as well as guiding manufacturing organisations to design an industrial effluent management system that will prevent environmental pollution and toxicity in their community of operations, among other objectives.
