IMPACT OF RESOURCE EXPLOITATION ON LAND … · • ‘Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals...

Proceedings of the 9th National Conference of the Society for Occupational Safety and Environmental Health (SOSEH). November 6-9, 2013. University of Calabar Conference Centre Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria

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Lead Paper

IMPACT OF RESOURCE EXPLOITATION ON LAND DEGRADATION, PUBLIC

HEALTH AND LIVELIHOOD PATTERNS

Joseph Ana FRSPH, FRCS, AMRCGP-UK, DFFP-UK, DUROLOGY-UK, Cert Clin Gov UK, BM BCh-UNN

Ex-Commissioner for Health, Cross River State, Nigeria

OUTLINE

• Definition & History

• Mining / exploitation environmental laws

• The Nigerian Environmental Laws

• Specific Nigerian Challenges

• What Health & Safety Actions are necessary for Nigeria

• Conclusion

DEFINITION

• ‘Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the

earth or reef, for the economic interest to the miner’.

• Mining in a wider sense includes extraction of any non-renewable resource such as

petroleum, natural gas, or even water. WIKI

ORIGINS

• PREHISTORIC MINING : stone , ceramics and later metals for agric tools and

weapons

• The oldest known mine on archaeological record is the "Lion Cave" in Swaziland, southern Africa: about 43,000 years old. Paleolithic humans mined

hematite to make the red pigment ochre.

• Egyptians, Romans, Romans in Europe, American Indians, Canadian aborigines,

• Modern Mining Processes involve: PROSPECTING/ EXPLORATION;

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS; EXTRACTION; and finally RECLAMATION /

RESTORATION.

REGULATION OF EXPLOITATION OF ENVIRONMENT

• EXPLOITATION (mining) of environment creates a negative impact - during and for

years after the exploiters have gone.

• Developed countries have functional Regulations to counter the negative effects

• SAFETY has long been a concern, therefore modern practices have improved safety

in mines significantly.


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ALL THE WORLD, MINE AND EXPLOIT THE ENVIRONMENT: DIFFERENCE IS

IN THE MANAGEMENT OF EFFECTS

• Romans Law Rules – effect of mining on human water supply - from the Middle Ages

• “Environmental law" per se (distinct body of law) 20th Century development. e.g.

USA ( and Western Europe) passed-

• The National Environmental Policy Act(1969)

• The Clean Air Act (1970)

• The Clean Water Act (1972)

• The Endangered Species Act (1973)

All enacted with bipartisan support, signed into law by President Richard Nixon (but he

initially vetoed the Clean Water Act, citing its projected costs and ultimately overridden by

Congress).

LOOKING BACK- when it all started in Nigeria

• 1903 - Organized mining began in the Northern Protectorates was created by the

British.

• 1904- the Southern Protectorates joined

• By the 1940s, Nigeria was a major producer of tin, columbite, and coal. Iron Ore,

Bitumen, Uranium, Gold, Tantalite, Gypsum, etc

• 1956 - discovery of oil (neglect of the mineral extraction industries by both

government and industry)

Ministry of Solid Minerals Development. Retrieved 2008-04-12.wiki.

PORTFOLIO OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS IN NIGERIA

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999)

- National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency

(NESREA) Act

- Environmental Impact Assessment Act

- The Land Use Act

- Harmful Waste (Special Criminal Provisions) Act

- Hydrocarbon Oil Refineries Act

- Associated Gas re-injection Act

- The Endangered Species Act

- Sea Fisheries Act

- Exclusive Economic Zone Act

- Oil Pipelines Act

- Petroleum Act

- Petroleum Products and Distribution (Management Board) Act

Ana, J (2013). Impact of Resource Exploitation on Land Degradation, Public Health and Livelihood Patterns

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- Territorial Waters Act

- Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Act

- Nigerian Mining Corporation Act

- Quarantine Act

- River Basins Development Authority Act

- Pest Control of Production (special powers) Act

- Agricultural (Control of Importation) Act

- Animal Diseases (control) Act

- Bees (Impact Control and Management) Act

- Civil Aviation Act

- Factories Act

- Water Resources Act

- Hides and Skins Act

- Federal National Park Act

- Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Act.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS TURN SOUR FOR MILLIONS IN NIGERIA

• The world's 3RD largest wetland, the Niger Delta is diverse and rich with mangroves

and fish-rich waterways.

• But oil drilling turned it into one of the most oil-polluted places on Earth.

• Economic thieves siphoning up to $4.5billion (£2.8billion) of oil out of Shell’s

pipelines in the Niger Delta in one year (Double Whammy!)

Nigeria Niger Delta, so rich in oil, yet so poor they even don’t have water to drink and they

dry their clothes on gas pipeline that carries fuel worth billions –

The following stunning images capture raw brutality of life in Niger Delta

Leon Watson, Published: 8 February 2013.

Pipelines laid on Agricultural land used as

hangers

Aquatic life devastated, the fishermen’s

boats lie empty decaying with time

Most people live in modest iron-roofed

shacks, and rely on farming or fishing, their

only interaction with the oil industry being

when they step over pipelines in the swamps

- or when a spill blights their landscape


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Cancers of - Skin – Lungs – Stomach – Bladder by PAHs

Unregulated Water Transportation & Drowning – Law On Use of Life Jackets

Today,

They Don’t Give Up Exploiting and Mining

No Matter How Difficult To Reach – No

Matter The Environmental Effect

'Frack Check' by Oil and Gas Industry’

Sprawl of Human Habitation & Degradation

Lagos Mega City


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FLORIDA OIL SPILL LAW DOCUMENTING THE BP/DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL, GAS, & DISPERSANT DISASTER

• AP: 2 years later, fish sickness near BP disaster -- Sores, parasitic infections, gashes,

mysterious black streaks -- Fish, coral, seaweed, dolphins, mangroves, more

• Gulf Seafood Deformities Raise Questions Among Scientists -- Eyeless shrimp,

lesioned fish and other mutated and underdeveloped marine life

• AP: BP oil spill the culprit for slow death of deep-sea coral, scientists say

• NYTimes: Gulf Dolphins Exposed to Oil Are Seriously Ill, Agency Says

• Gulf Coast Children Experiencing Health Challenges

SCIENTIFIC DEBATE OF EFFECT ON HUMANS

• LSU Cancer Specialist: DNA mutations & cancer risk “become MORE of an issue”

as oil breaks down and weathers

• Toxicologist: Dispersants extract the “dangerous cancer-causing chemicals” from

crude that “bio-accumulate”; “There is a GRAVE problem”

• NOAA samples reveal polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons of “the most toxic

variety”; Appearing near shore and in beach samples

• Public health experts fear “cancer and brain damage” from oil-contaminated seafood

• U.S. Institute of Medicine experts: “Coastal residents” face “higher risk of cancer”

from crude oil; “Potential here is huge”

• EPA consultant: Public “falling ill after exposure to tiny airborne particles of crude”

YET

• The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) indicates that for crude oil,

there is inadequate evidence for the carcinogenicity in humans.

Interagency Agency for Research on Cancer, Crude Oil, IARC Summary and

Evaluation, Volume 45, 1989 http://www.inchem.org/documents/iarc/vol45/45-

02.html

• CDC website: CRUDE OIL DOESN’T INCREASE CANCER RISK — “For crude

oil, there is inadequate evidence for the carcinogenicity in humans”

August 27th, 2010 at 03:57 PM

DIFFERENT COUNTRY-RESPONSES TO THE SIMILAR ENVIRONMENTAL

CARNAGE

Ogoni Story – Ken Saro Wiwa Tragedy

• The environment effects of having more than 100 oil wells (most of which are Shell

owned) in Ogoni territory have been severe. Between 1976 and 1991, almost 3000

seperate oil spills, averaging 700 barrels each, occured in the Niger delta. Response to

oil spills is slow, and often very damaging. A major spill at Ebubu in 1970 was set

alight, causing irreperable damage to the ground it spilled on. Though the area of the

spill is unuseable, and still leaks oil into surrounding water supplies, Shell has it

recorded having been cleaned up twice. The more recent experience of Osaro Okochi,

a farmer from Eleme, who was still waiting for a pipeline to be fixed 6 weeks after it

started leaking, shows that Shell has not improved its record since.

Oil spills are not the only environmental disaster the Ogoni have to deal with. Gas flares,

burning 24 hours a day (some of them for the last 30 years), are often situated near Ogoni

villages. The villagers have to live with the constant noise of the flare, and the area is covered

in thick soot, which contaminates water supplies when it rains. Air pollution from the flares

results in acid rain and respiratory problems in the surrounding community. Shell pipelines

pass above ground through. The environmental effects of having more than 100 oil wells


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(most of which are Shell owned) in Ogoni territory have been severe. Between 1976 and

1991, almost 3000 separate oil spills, averaging 700 barrels each, occurred in the Niger delta.

Response to oil spills is slow, and often very damaging. A major spill at Ebubu in 1970 was

set alight, causing irrepairable damage to the ground it spilled on. Though the area of the spill

is unuseable and still leaks oil into surrounding water supplies, Shell has it recorded having

been cleaned up twice. The more recent experience of Osaro Okochi, a farmer from Eleme,

who was still waiting for a pipeline to be fixed 6 weeks after it started leaking, shows that

Shell has not improved its record since.

OGONI STORY – KEN SARO WIWA TRAGEDY

• Oil spills are not the only environmental disaster the Ogoni have to deal with. Gas

flares, burning 24 hours a day (some of them for the last 30 years), are often situated

near Ogoni villages. The villagers have to live with the constant noise of the flare, and

the area is covered in thick soot, which contaminates water supplies when it rains. Air

pollution from the flares results in acid rain and respiratory problems in the

surrounding community. Shell pipelines pass above ground through villages and over

what was once agricultural land. Despite Shell's claims to the contrary, no pipeline

has ever been re-routed. A case in the UK, where a pipeline required 17 different

environmental surveys before construction, highlights the extent of Shell's

environmental racism in Ogoni - the Ogoni have never seen a single environmental

impact assesment

• villages and over what was once agricultural land. Despite Shell's claims to the

contrary, no pipeline has ever been re-routed. A case in the UK, where a pipeline

required 17 different environmental surveys before construction, highlights the extent

of Shell's environmental racism in Ogoni - the Ogoni have never seen a single

environmental impact assessment

ZAMFARA , NIGERIA LEAD POISONING

In 2010 hundreds of children in this area died from severe lead poisoning associated with

gold ore processing

Limestone Mining

Waste Water Discharge; Sedimentation; Water Table Depletion; Noise and Air Pollution;

Habitat Destruction; Alkaline reactive dust SILICOSIS


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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF MINING – MORE ON CHILDREN

Lead and Mercury Emissions from Mining

• Global releases of lead from smelting and refining nonferrous metals (e.g. gold, lead,

zinc, copper) total over 28,000 metric tons/year.

• Global releases of mercury from smelting and refining nonferrous metals total 710

metric tons/year – the second largest source after power plants.

• Estimates of releases of mercury into the environment from artisanal/ small scale gold

mining range from 400 to 1,102 metric tons/year.

• Airborne emissions from metal mining and smelting in Australia, Canada, and the

U.S.

– countries with some of the world’s best environmental controls – total 980 metric

tons of lead and 9 metric tons of mercury annually (2008/2009). These lead emissions

amount to more than 80% of lead production in these countries.

(Photo courtesy of TerraGraphics Environmental Engineering.)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamfara_State_lead_poisoning_epidemic

Scenes of Abattoir, Meat & Food Transportation, and Toilet in a Students’ Hostel in Nigerian

SUSTAINABLE HEALTH & SAFETY ACTION PLAN

Effect of Bad Environmental Health in Nigeria

• The Food We Eat

• The Water We Drink & Wash With

• The Air We Breathe

• The Place We Live, Work and Relax

ACTION PLAN MENU CROSS NIGERIA


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• Create General Environmental Awareness including advantages for health & safety

• Occupational health: advocacy, awareness, etc

• Food hygiene and safety: food growing, harvesting, preparation, storage,

transportation, consumption, waste management, etc

• Clean Energy & Clean Air

• Clean Water – potable, reticulated, etc

• Waste Management

• Clean & Safe Work Environment & Laws

• Civil Society / Pressure Groups engagement

CROSS RIVER STATE MINISTRY OF HEALTH

Occupational Health & Safety Services Unit: State Health Plan 2004 -2007

No Mosquito, No Malaria

Applies at Home or

Workplace

Potable Water

Clean Public Toilet

Food Safety & Hygiene Inspection Services State Health Plan 2004 -2007

• Public Health Law CAP P.16 vol 5 Laws of Cross River State 2004

• National Policy on Food Hygiene and safety produced by Federal Ministry of Health

• National Environmental Health Practice Regulations 2007

Unpolluted River Food Platter

Balanced Food

Plate

Uncontaminated Sea

Food

APPRECIATION

Multiple Reference sources

• CRSMOH (Food Safety & Hygiene Unit, Occupational Health Unit), BMJWA

Library, wiki photo, etc

• Hartman, Howard L. SME Mining Engineering Handbook, Society for Mining,

Metallurgy, and Exploration Inc, 1992

• Swaziland Natural Trust Commission, "Cultural Resources - Malolotja Archaeology,

Lion Cavern," Retrieved August 27, 2007

• Mining in Africa - Overview . Mbendi

• Society for Occupational Safety and Environmental Health (SOSEH)

• My Wife and Children


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CONCLUSION

• Create General Environmental Awareness including advantages for health & safety

• Occupational health – advocacy, awareness, etc

• Food hygiene and safety – food growing, harvesting, preparation, storage,

transportation, consumption, waste mnx, etc

• Clean Energy

• Clean Water – potable, reticulated, etc

• Waste Management

• Clean & Safe Work Environment & Laws

• Civil Society / Pressure Groups engagement

CALABAR CLEAN & GREEN: It is all about CARE

IMPACT OF RESOURCE EXPLOITATION ON LAND … · • ‘Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals...

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