By Nneka Nwogwugwu
The presence of soot in the city of Port Harcourt is no longer news to the residents as its presence has caused serious environmental and health problems on the city as well as the residents.
In November 2016, residents woke up to black soot covering cars, clothes, houses, plants, etc. Soot concentrations continued to increase until the first quarter of 2017.
Soot is described by Sciencedirect as a randomly formed particulate carbon material and may be coarse, fine, and/or colloidal in proportions.
According to a research tilted ‘’Exposure to Heavy Metals in Soot Samples and Cancer Risk Assessment in Port Harcourt, Nigeria’’ published in the Journal of Health and Pollution in 2019 by Ihesinachi A. Kalagbor, Amalo N. Dibofori-Orji and Ozioma A. Ekpete, three residential locations were sampled: Aba road, Woji and Iwofe.
Sampling was performed from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm, to simulate the estimated duration that most residents who do not work in offices are exposed to soot in places such as the open market and business areas.
Five heavy metals (iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb)) were investigated.
After the research, they found out that Lead was found to have a significant correlation with cadmium (0.808), indicating that both metals originated from the same source. Concentrations of heavy metals were higher than control values and the World Health Organization’s specifications for ambient air.
The researchers concluded that the soot is a source of concern as their prevalence in ambient air puts children and residents in Port Harcourt metropolis at risk of various types of cancers.
When the soot was discovered in 2016, residents mobilised themselves, staged peaceful protests to draw the attention of relevant authorities to the menace.
Social media platforms, radio stations were also used to inspire action by government and sundry relevant stakeholders.
Residents in 2018, used twitter to express their anger under the banner of #StopTheSoot. Sandra Ezekwesili, a radio host at Nigerian station Cool FM, started the social media campaign.
Ezekwesili started the hashtag after a friend with asthma visited her and started to choke on the air. “On the Monday morning (after) I decided to tweet about it,” said Ezekwesili.
According to a report by the Guardian last year, the State Ministry of Environment at that time also set up an expert committee to investigate the composition of the soot and its sources. As preliminary investigations were ongoing, some companies were shut down, including a Chinese firm which operations were said to be one of the major sources of the black substance.
The state government also commenced the seizure and collection of used tyres, as well as closed some power plants in Ikwerre and Obio/Akpor local councils of the state for causing air pollution and breaching environmental laws. To date, the seized tyres are still heaped at the railway section of Isaac Boro Park.
Expectedly, residents and health experts had waited for the report of the committee to be made public and as well followed by profound actions but sadly, there has been no publicly available report from the committee on the soot that is destroying lives and the environment.
A decline in its presence in Port Harcourt since 2016 has not witnessed any significant change. In 2021, residents still complain of its massive presence.
One of the residents who spoke to NatureNews on Saturday, Eric Alozie-Onumadu affirmed that the soot is still very much present, appearing on some surfaces most especially in the morning and evening, affecting inhalation of clean air.
A medical doctor in Rivers state, Dr Signor Onukwugha said that very few cases of respiratory illness caused by the inhalation of soot have been reported in the hospital where he works.
Dr onukwugha noted that most respiratory diseases can be caused by accumulated risk factors.
He said, “Some communities outside Port Harcourt may be at risk of having health issues triggered by soot inhalation but its potential to cause risk is usually as a result of something that happens overtime.”
Confirming the conclusion of the researchers above, he affirmed that soot puts people at risk of cancer.
He added that it could cause cancer but not like “lung cancer that is majorly caused by tobacco.”
Soot has ravaged a city that was once known as the “Garden City” because of its parks and greenery.
It has taken away the convenience of breathing clean air, wearing spotless white dresses and driving through the city without fear of coming back with black stains that may sometimes prove difficult to wash.
It has affected ventilation in homes, offices and schools as some may quickly close their windows and doors especially when its concentration appears like the rains.
It has also reduced the soothe Port Harcourt residents enjoy during moments of relaxation.
The federal, state governments and concerned authorities are called upon to reinstate Port Harcourt Garden City by making interventions to fight soot and restore clean air in Port Harcourt.