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Appraisal of Social and Health Impact of a Cement Plant at Host Communities in Yandev, Nigeria

Received: 28 May 2014     Accepted: 20 June 2014     Published: 30 June 2014
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Abstract

Nigeria has extensive mineral and natural resources hence, developmental projects are being proposed and executed on a daily basis, many of which involve large-scale alteration of human, animal and plant ecosystems. Limestone mining and cement production commenced in 1980 at the study area, Yandev, without an environmental impact assessment to ascertain the extent of impact these activities could bring to bear on the physical and living conditions of the host environment. This study was carried out to appraise the social and health impact that mining of limestone and production of cement has inflicted on the host communities. Descriptive statistics and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test were used to analyse the primary data obtained. A total of 218 responses from 3 sampled (2 host and 1 control) communities, in addition to hospital records from 3 primary health centres, confirm severe health-related impacts of limestone mining and cement production on human populations at the host communities. The study concludes that the environmental compliance status of Dangote Cement Plc, Yandev towards attaining sustainability for the host communities as spelt by the Agenda 21 (Chapter 10, Objectives a & c) is far from meeting the target requirement. The study recommends ameliorative measures including constant fumigation to control the proliferation of vector-based and zoonosis diseases; adoption of improved and cleaner production technologies, and relocation of communities away from the immediate vicinity of the factory.

Published in Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 2, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.15
Page(s) 275-283
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Social and Health Impact, Limestone Mining and Cement Production, Rapid Social Appraisals, Sustainability

References
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[7] M.D. Adak, S. Adak and K.M. Purohit. "Ambient air quality and health hazards near mini cement plants." Pollution Research, Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 361-364, 2007.
[8] B.A. Ikyo, A.A. Akombor and T. Igbawua, “Determination of Ground Level Concentration of Pollutants from the Benue Ce-ment Company (BCC) Plc, Gboko, Nigeria: A Mathemat-ical Approach”. Journal of Research in Physical Sciences, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 35-42, 2007.
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[17] A.O. Akeem, “Impact of Ewekoro Cement Factory on the Surrounding Water Resources”. Bachelor of Water Resources and Hydrology Management Research Project, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria, 2008.
[18] H. Ahiamadjie, O.K. Adukpo, J.B. Tandoh, O. Gyampo, M. Nyarku, I.I. Mumuni, O. Agyemang, M. Ackah, F. Otoo, and S.B. Dampare, “Determination of the Elemental Contents in Soils Around Diamond Cement Factory, Aflao:. Research Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences 3(1): 46-50, 2011.
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  • APA Style

    Fanan Ujoh, Frederick Terkuma Ujoh. (2014). Appraisal of Social and Health Impact of a Cement Plant at Host Communities in Yandev, Nigeria. Science Journal of Public Health, 2(4), 275-283. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.15

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    ACS Style

    Fanan Ujoh; Frederick Terkuma Ujoh. Appraisal of Social and Health Impact of a Cement Plant at Host Communities in Yandev, Nigeria. Sci. J. Public Health 2014, 2(4), 275-283. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.15

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    AMA Style

    Fanan Ujoh, Frederick Terkuma Ujoh. Appraisal of Social and Health Impact of a Cement Plant at Host Communities in Yandev, Nigeria. Sci J Public Health. 2014;2(4):275-283. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.15,
      author = {Fanan Ujoh and Frederick Terkuma Ujoh},
      title = {Appraisal of Social and Health Impact of a Cement Plant at Host Communities in Yandev, Nigeria},
      journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {2},
      number = {4},
      pages = {275-283},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20140204.15},
      abstract = {Nigeria has extensive mineral and natural resources hence, developmental projects are being proposed and executed on a daily basis, many of which involve large-scale alteration of human, animal and plant ecosystems. Limestone mining and cement production commenced in 1980 at the study area, Yandev, without an environmental impact assessment to ascertain the extent of impact these activities could bring to bear on the physical and living conditions of the host environment. This study was carried out to appraise the social and health impact that mining of limestone and production of cement has inflicted on the host communities. Descriptive statistics and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test were used to analyse the primary data obtained. A total of 218 responses from 3 sampled (2 host and 1 control) communities, in addition to hospital records from 3 primary health centres, confirm severe health-related impacts of limestone mining and cement production on human populations at the host communities. The study concludes that the environmental compliance status of Dangote Cement Plc, Yandev towards attaining sustainability for the host communities as spelt by the Agenda 21 (Chapter 10, Objectives a & c) is far from meeting the target requirement. The study recommends ameliorative measures including constant fumigation to control the proliferation of vector-based and zoonosis diseases; adoption of improved and cleaner production technologies, and relocation of communities away from the immediate vicinity of the factory.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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    AU  - Fanan Ujoh
    AU  - Frederick Terkuma Ujoh
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.sjph.20140204.15
    T2  - Science Journal of Public Health
    JF  - Science Journal of Public Health
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    AB  - Nigeria has extensive mineral and natural resources hence, developmental projects are being proposed and executed on a daily basis, many of which involve large-scale alteration of human, animal and plant ecosystems. Limestone mining and cement production commenced in 1980 at the study area, Yandev, without an environmental impact assessment to ascertain the extent of impact these activities could bring to bear on the physical and living conditions of the host environment. This study was carried out to appraise the social and health impact that mining of limestone and production of cement has inflicted on the host communities. Descriptive statistics and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test were used to analyse the primary data obtained. A total of 218 responses from 3 sampled (2 host and 1 control) communities, in addition to hospital records from 3 primary health centres, confirm severe health-related impacts of limestone mining and cement production on human populations at the host communities. The study concludes that the environmental compliance status of Dangote Cement Plc, Yandev towards attaining sustainability for the host communities as spelt by the Agenda 21 (Chapter 10, Objectives a & c) is far from meeting the target requirement. The study recommends ameliorative measures including constant fumigation to control the proliferation of vector-based and zoonosis diseases; adoption of improved and cleaner production technologies, and relocation of communities away from the immediate vicinity of the factory.
    VL  - 2
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Author Information
  • Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria

  • Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port-Harcourt, Choba, Nigeria

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