ASSESSMENT OF AMBIENT AIR WITHIN THE VICINITY OF A CHARCOAL PRODUCTION SITE IN AMUKPE SAPELE, DELTA STATE

ABSTRACT

      Air quality continues to be among the top environmental concerns in Nigeria.  In nigeria, where majority of  the rural population uses charcoal, very little is known about the impacts of the life-cycle of the fuel on the livelihoods of the producers, who endure significant health, safety, and environmental risks for marginal gain in a highly lucrative industry. Population increases and deviations from the energy ladder model suggest that charcoal demand for heating and cooking in Sub-Saharan Africa will continue to increase through the year 2030 and beyond. Charcoal production industry can use an air monitoring program to assist in addressing its environmental responsibilities, and its responsibility as a local community member. Industry performance monitoring enables industrial plant to be managed in an environmentally sustainable manner .

     A survey of air quality in a charoal production site  Amukpe sapele  and environs in the Niger delta area of Nigeria revealed that air quality in the area is affected to varying degrees by industrial activities in the production site.

     This report covers a brief background of the study, state of the problems,  aims and objectives of the work done, the scope of the research  and also the relevance of work done with regards to the analysis of emissions produced by a charcoal production facility located in amukpe sapele delta state.  An accredited environmentalist was involved as a third party. Consulting an independent third party to perform the measurements give more credible  results and provide unavailable equipment required for the analysis.

The aim and purpose of the project is the evaluate the concentration of particulate matter and gaseous pollutants present within a 2km radius of the charcoal production facility.  The significance of this experiment is to detect if  air in the surrounding environment is polluted with emitted gase from the production site,  which can be detrimental to human health.  A survey of air quality in amukpe sapele and environs in the Niger delta area of Nigeria revealed that air quality in the area is affected to varying degrees by industrial, human and natural activities.

       The discussed results indicate that a local charcoal production facility can be sustainable and without a significant environmental impact in sense of its emissions. However some deeper environmental performance evaluation could take place with the availability of measurement equipment with a wider measurement range, higher precision and more suitable for measurements in a charcoal factory. Also, the results indicates large amounts of concentration of pollutants within the immediate environment of the immediate environment. It is recommended that charcoal producers in amukpe sapele waer appropriate PPE’s and follow WHO guidelines and recommendations to control and reduce emissions.