In the heart of Eleme Council of Rivers State, communities battle with an existential struggle. The nefarious synergy of industrial waste emanating from refineries, petrochemical and fertiliser plants, coupled with the haunting legacy of decades of oil spills, casts a shadow over Eleme’s groundwater. As climate change intensifies and international oil companies divest, a new chapter unfolds—one where regulatory weaknesses and the elusive pursuit of justice further dim the flicker of hope across these resilient communities. KINGSLEY JEREMIAH spent days in Eleme to understand the depths of the issue.
Ate (second name withheld), grappling with concerns about his health following a persistent illness, sought answers at the Premar Lab in Eleme. It was there that he received the sad news about the state of his kidneys. The initial directive from the doctors was clear: Ate must improve his water intake.
However, a cruel irony unfolded as Ate struggled to implement his doctor’s advice. The very water he was advised to consume, especially in the Alesa area of Eleme in Rivers State, is polluted.
He, unlike many residents oblivious to this environmental crisis, had been at the forefront of efforts to address the groundwater pollution. Little did he know that the imminent threat he was fighting against would soon become a personal battle, underscoring the urgent need for a sustainable solution.
Another resident, Adile’s regular visits to the Model Primary Health at Agbonchia in Eleme came as a poignant narrative of health struggles. Afflicted by Typhoid fever, he fights with the debilitating trio of severe abdominal pains, bloating, and skin rashes.
Ate, a dedicated father of two and a roadside welder, finds himself ensnared in a cycle where the doctors’ advice at the health centre clashes with the harsh economic reality his family faces.
The recurrent nature of typhoid has turned Adile into a reluctant spectator of his family’s health challenges. The doctors’ insistence on bottled water as a preventive measure becomes an unattainable luxury in the face of financial constraints.
This predicament not only encapsulates his personal struggle, but mirrors a broader crisis outlined by the US National Library of Science. Typhoid fever, intertwined with issues of water supply and sanitation, emerges as a formidable health security concern in Nigeria. This is further exacerbated by the specter of antibiotic resistance.
While global concerns persist about the accuracy of typhoid diagnosis, Adile and his family find themselves among the staggering 22 million people fighting with water-related typhoid infections. Their plight underscores the urgent need for comprehensive solutions that bridge the gap between healthcare recommendations and the socio-economic challenges faced by communities such as Adile’s.
His plight, unfortunately, echoes through the entire community, affecting even newborns. Ziga Mbanu, a seasoned medical official at the primary healthcare center overseeing maternity concerns, expressed deep worry over the prevailing disease patterns across the communities.
With 16 years of experience spanning various communities in Rivers, Mbanu acknowledges the commonality of water contamination issues in his past assignments. However, the severity of the situation takes a direct turn at the Model Primary Health at Agbonchia, where he has been stationed for almost two years.
Here, as many as six to seven of every 10 new born children routinely suffer from rashes, painting a grim picture of the health challenges faced by the community.
Mbanu advocates for a thorough investigation into the root cause of these health issues, emphasising the pressing need for intervention. Notably, he highlights the disproportionate burden on healthcare resources, with typhoid-related cases alone constituting a significant portion.
The scarcity of essential medications, particularly for typhoid and malaria, leaves the healthcare centre grappling with shortages, affecting nearly 60 per cent of the cases.
Adding to the complexity, Mbanu points to the role of soot, exacerbating the quality of rainwater collected by residents as an alternative to contaminated groundwater.
A surge in diseases
MON Brandson, a respected medical expert and scientist at Bremar Lab, situated just a few kilometers from the Eleme Council, sheds light on a disconcerting trend in the area he has served for approximately five years.
His comprehensive analysis of lab results reveals a disturbing surge in respiratory cases among the residents. Expressing deep concern, Brandson attributes this alarming trend to adverse weather conditions and the lingering impact of pollution resulting from years of environmental disasters linked to oil exploration and refining.
The repercussions extend beyond respiratory issues, as Brandson observes a significant rise in kidney problems at his lab.
Worryingly, Brandson notes a stark shift in the prevalence of kidney issues, stating, “this was not a common thing, but now almost everybody that comes here for such tests has a kidney issue.”
The gravity of the situation amplifies when considering water quality in the community. At Brandson Lab, water samples from boreholes, a primary source for many residents, consistently show signs of contamination.
In a sharp departure from conventional medical patterns, Brandson emphasises that the current landscape is alarming. Typically, a 10 per cent prevalence of a disease pattern is cause for concern, but in Eleme, the incidence of respiratory failure, kidney problems, and polluted borehole water stand at over 50 per cent. Faced with this crisis, Brandson makes a call for a state of emergency in the community.
Chuks Onubelu, a seasoned pharmacist, has been at the helm of Cadol Pharmaceutical Chemists Limited in Ogale since 1995. Reflecting on his nearly three decades of service, he expresses growing concern about the community’s declining health, attributing it to oil refining activities primarily from the Port-Harcourt Refinery complex and other petroleum-related processes, including those at Indorama Eleme Fertiliser and Petrochemicals.
The crux of Onubelu’s worry centers around the pollution of groundwater and surface water, a consequence of prolonged oil-related activities in the region. In response to his apprehensions, Onubelu and fellow pharmaceutical practitioners underwent voluntary testing for heavy metals in their blood, revealing levels surpassing recommended World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, highlighting the pervasive impact on community health.
Observing a subtle shift in drug demand at his pharmacy, Onubelu notes a transition from anti-infectious and skin infection drugs to an increasing demand for cancer treatment medications.
This transformation underscores the growing prevalence of cancer cases in the community, a trend he finds distressing.
“In the first 10 years when I came here I was not stocking any cancer drugs. But it is now a regular drug we sell here. I have just lost a friend here to cancer and it is becoming rampant,” he told this reporter.
There are limited regulations that compel periodic measurements of air pollution and water quality in the oil production region despite the fact that Nigeria is notorious for flagging environmental regulations. Even when such regulations exist, compliance remains a critical concern in a region where oil spill, gas flaring, illegal refining of crude oil as well as refinery and petrochemical plants pose a threat to human health.
Advocating for stringent regulations that compel water treatment, he stresses the need for government intervention to provide clean water and invest in water treatment facilities for the oil region. His plea stems from a belief that such measures are crucial to averting an imminent health and environmental catastrophe.
What Laboratory Experiments Are Saying
During this investigation, The Guardian collaborated with the Alliance for the Defence of Eleme to undertake a comprehensive study. The samples were taken from forests, built-up areas, soils, wetlands, rainforest vegetation, water bodies, boreholes and wells, underground water and surface waters.
The aim was to assess the concentration of heavy metals and organic elements in various water sources, including groundwater and surface water, as well as soil and plants. The focus was on determining the level of contamination and evaluating the potential human health risks associated with the pollution in Alesa and its surroundings, particularly in water, plants, and soil.
This in-depth study, executed by Tody Consults based in Port Harcourt, employed parameters such as, Hazard Quotient (HQ), Hazard Index (HI) and Health Impact to measure the extent of contamination and assess its potential impact on human health. The geographical scope covered longitude 7o5i0iiE and 7o8i0iiE and latitude 4o46i0iiN and 4o48i0iiN with a focus on various water sources, including boreholes and ponds. The study aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the pollution status in the area and its potential implications for the community’s well-being.
The test results paint a stark picture of Alesa’s environment, revealing a concerning level of contamination with heavy metals and harmful substances. This pollution is a direct consequence of increasing industrial activities in Eleme Council.
The Health Risk Assessment uncovered notably high concentrations of hazardous elements such as Benzene, Cadmium, and lead in all the water samples tested. These substances pose severe health risks, potentially leading to conditions such as cancer, weakened immune systems, respiratory problems, skin issues, ulcers, throat and eye irritation, persistent coughing, and reduced resistance to diseases like malaria and typhoid.
The analysis of the study shows that the water people rely on for daily life contains arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and zinc far above World Health Organisation (WHO) specifications. The presence of Poly Aromatic Hydrocarbons ranges between 0.37 and 0.82 milligram/cubic meter and 1.60mg/l for surface water. All poly aromatic hydrocarbon values in Alesa were higher than WHO standard set in 2011.
For BTEX, the concentration in groundwater ranged between 0.227 and 0.457mg/l, while surface water recorded 1.18mg/l. Disturbingly, four out of seven samples exceeded WHO 2011 standard.
In terms of Benzene, groundwater concentrations ranged from 0.10 to 0.33mg/l, and surface water measured 0.42mg/l. In an alarming manner, all Benzene values in Alesa surpassed WHO 2011 standard.
Similarly, Ammonium (NH4) concentrations in groundwater varied from 1.20 to 1.80mg/l, with surface water recording 1.5mg/l. Notably, all NH4 values in Alesa surpassed the WHO (2011) standard. In soil and plant, arsenic, chromium, zinc, cadmium and lead were all above the WHO standard.
The trace elements characteristics of the groundwater and surface water samples indicate notably high concentrations of certain elements, with Cadmium reaching the highest level of 0.09mg/l. Chromium and Lead also exhibit very high values, while zinc concentrations remain within the WHO 2011 standard.
Turning to organic elements, groundwater samples reveal exceptionally high levels of poly aromatic hydrocarbons and Benzene, particularly with Benzene at 0.33mg/l, exceeding the allowable limit by over 33 times. Poly aromatic hydrocarbons in surface water registered 1.60mg/l, surpassing the limit by over 1000 times. Ammonium levels stood at 1.8mg/l (about 10 times the limit), indicating heavy contamination.
Assessing the human health risk, Hazard Quotient (HQ) values from the study show elevated risks due to exposure to Benzene and poly aromatic hydrocarbons, with the highest Benzene value in one of the surface water samples standing at 5.2 and ground water at 4.1. For poly automatic hydrocarbons, the highest is at 3.9. These high HQ values suggest a considerable likelihood of carcinogenic risk.
Children Face Higher Cancer Risks
The Cancer Risk (CR) values derived from this study, reflecting exposure to lead, arsenic, chromium, cadmium, Benzene, and poly aromatic hydrocarbon, are consistently above 1×10-4, indicating a substantial risk of cancer. Notably, Pb falls within the range of 1×10-5 – 1×10-4, suggesting a lower cancer risk compared to the other elements.
Examining specific elements, the highest cancer risk for adults is associated with cadmium in groundwater sample three (0.064), arsenic in surface water sample one (0.0007), chromium in groundwater three (0.0027), Benzene in surface water sample one (0.001), and poly aromatic hydrocarbon in surface water sample one (0.005).
For children, the highest cancer risk is linked to arsenic in surface water sample one (0.001), chromium in ground water sample three (0.005), and cadmium in groundwater sample three (0.128). These values underscore a significant and concerning cancer risk, with children facing a higher level of risk compared to adults.
A significant revelation from the findings was that a twelve-year-old child who consistently consumes a liter and a half of the water from Alesa-Eleme for fifteen years has a 200 per cent possibility of falling ill with cancer.
Livelihood under threat
Eleme is predominantly made up of farmers and fishermen. In the face of climate challenges which is threatening livelihood for oil producing communities like Eleme as Nigeria’s oil revenue plummets along with benefit transfer to oil communities, pollution is creating a serious challenge for the occupation of these people.
In a series of incidents, their fishes had died and their plants weathered due to pollution. On June 24, 2021, numerous fishes were widely reported to be floating, dying, and already dead in the Obon River located in the community.
Sadly, the community went on to consume the dead fishes not knowing they were a product of pollution. The development escalated into the Okulu River, which also serves as a major source of livelihood for families.
The development had forced the Rivers State Ministry of Environment to file a lawsuit.
Decades Of Industrial Pollution And Oil Spill
The Eleme community has borne the weight of industrial operations for decades, with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, and Indorama Eleme Petrochemical as well as fertiliser company being longstanding occupants. However, the refinery has been shut down for over five years.
Going by the laboratory analysis from Tody Consults and others from Bremar, the pollution across the communities point more to industrial waste, but exacerbated by oil spill.
Tensions have risen between communities and these companies, prompting legal actions within Eleme, and even petitions presented to the United Nations to address the pressing issues.
Unlike most oil communities, where oil exploration and production is the major activity, in Eleme, residents have to cope with the impacts of petrochemical and refining activities and also deal with regular oil spills.
On June 11, this year, a catastrophe unfolded across these communities as a Shell pipeline faltered, unleashing a torrent of crude oil across the lands. The spill, originating in the Aleto community within the Eleme Council, left a trail of devastation.
The ecological nightmare left a dark narrative as the spilled oil meandered its way through Aleto’s stream, seeping into Agbonchia, Akpajo, Alesa, Alode and Onne, before weaving its way to another river in Ogu.
This heartbreaking incident vividly illustrates the profound impact and far-reaching consequences of an oil spill that knows no boundaries.
This is, however not new, this year alone, the Nigerian Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) revealed the severity of oil spillage in Rivers State, making it the worst-hit region with 2,780 barrels spilled in 67 incidents. Delta follows closely with 2,623 barrels spilled in 76 incidents. Other affected states include Edo, Imo, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom, with varying spill volumes ranging from 1.06 to 70.04 barrels. These figures highlight the extensive impact of oil-related incidents, underscoring the urgent need for concerted efforts.
Weak Regulatory Enforcement, Climate, Divestment, Endless Injustice
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), which oversees the upstream segment of the petroleum industry in Nigeria has not lived up to expectations. The poor enforcement of extant regulations was obvious in the statistics of oil spill in 2022.
Last year, there were around 623 publicly available oil spill records for the period. About 25 of these oil spill sites were not visited by a Joint Investigation team, 218 had no estimated quantity of oil spilled provided by the company. Going by NOSDRA’s report, 45,709.435 barrels of oil (7,222,090.793 litres) were spilled. That’s around 229 oil tanker trucks full.
As NUPRC dilly-dally, so is the Nigerian Midstream Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), which should oversee the operations of companies like NNPC refineries and the petrochemical plants but the operators are usually bigger than the regulators.
For communities in the oil region, their years of fruitless agitations against environmental pollution would not make them trust the regulatory system. Some of them have been approaching the court to do what the regulatory bodies could not do but the court system in Nigeria is slow with cases taken decades as the Chief Justice of Nigeria said there are over 6,884 cases in the Supreme Court alone, adding that there is a need for an amendment to the Nigerian constitution to stop most cases from getting to the Supreme Court.
Amid these regulatory weaknesses and judicial loopholes, climate change creates a serious dilemma for the oil communities. Last year, most of these riverine communities were swept by flooding.
In the region and other parts, the scale of devastation in 2022, as revealed by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), is staggering. Over 2 million individuals faced displacement, 83,000 buildings were destroyed, and an overwhelming 332,000 hectares of cultivated land lay in ruin. Tragically, 3,174 people suffered injuries, and 662 precious lives were lost in reported flooding incidents.
With the poverty rate rising steadily, the relevance of crude oil, which the region has relied on is dwindling, the revenue from oil has dropped by almost 50 per cent in Nigeria while crude oil production has dropped from 2.2 million barrels about 10 years ago to 1.250 million barrels per day as of November this year. This means limited funds for the country, especially the oil region.
Apart from these, most International Oil Companies (IOCs) are divesting as they shift their portfolio away from onshore and shallow water to the deep waters where they have less community interaction.
But abandonment and decommissioning in the areas they are moving from remain an emerging issue.
Finding Leeway, Justice For Oil Communities
The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) stands as a crucial blueprint for tackling the fallout of environmental challenges in the Niger Delta. Urgent and stringent implementation and enforcement of its provisions are paramount to effectively address the environmental hazards associated with the oil-producing industry.
Immediate action is required from the government to construct a centralized water system in these affected communities, preventing an imminent public health crisis. This measure is essential to ensure access to clean and safe water for the residents.
Furthermore, remediation and fair compensation are critical for the individuals and communities that have endured environmental degradation. Prioritising these efforts is vital to not only address past grievances but also to pave the way for sustainable and equitable development in the region.
Supporting modern agriculture would economically empower the farmers whose farm land has been polluted.
Periodically, there is a need to measure air and water quality across the community.
