“The soot is killing us!” – Port Harcourt residents cry out over toxic residue in homes
Port Harcout residents have, again, started to cry out against the soot epidemic that has overtaken their households.
The residents had, only last year, called on the state and federal government to come to their rescue as black soot continued to fall from the sky due to illegal oil refineries in operation.
The government, in Feb 2017, declared the air pollution an “emergency situation” and set up a task force committee to investigate the matter.
Today, the toxic, black residue have returned to households.
A resident, Bob, who said the soot has taken over his home and has forced him to buy an air purifier, shared disturbing photos of the soot which had been absorbed by his children’s sleeping net.
“Wondering what triggered the idea of me having to go & buy an air purifier at home? Had a terrible experience last weekend. Was just gisting with my wife in the room when my son came in & was just playing with the mosquito net in the room and accidentally planted his face on the net,” he said.
“I was terrified (with what I saw). Had to tell him to go back to the net so I could be sure i wasn’t dreaming. Mind you we clean/wash the net every week. Little did we know it’s been FILTERING SOOT low-key so it wasn’t just working as a mosquito net but also as a CARBON FILTER.”
Bob expressed worry for the health implications for those living in Port Harcourt at the moment, saying he would love for some tests to be carried out “on everyone living in PH right now to see the condition of our LUNGS. I can tell you it’s already a DISASTER. We can’t afford to get used to living with this hazard. We’re playing with respiratory diseases & lung cancer now/in the future.”
Several other residents have also expressed their experiences and concerns about the pollution, but the government is yet to properly address the issue.
Theft of crude oil from pipelines — or “bunkering” as it is called locally — sees raw fuel regularly diverted to illegal refineries set up in the bush for conversion into petrol and diesel.
The soot has several health implications, such as acid rain and breathing difficulties – including asthma.
