By Awyetu Asabe Hope
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project has announced the closure of 30 contaminated sites in Ogoniland, Rivers State, while investigations continue at 18 high-risk polluted locations in residential communities.
HYPREP Project Coordinator, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja ahead of the agency’s donor facilitation and diplomatic support conference scheduled for May 26.
According to Zabbey, 17 simple polluted sites have been fully remediated and certified closed, while 13 others recovered through natural attenuation after independent verification by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency confirmed they no longer required remediation.
He added that remediation was ongoing at 17 medium-risk sites, including four affected by groundwater contamination, with pollution levels already reduced below the World Health Organisation benchmark.
Zabbey also said HYPREP had begun investigations into 18 additional high-risk polluted sites not captured in the 2011 UNEP report on Ogoniland.
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ogoni Trust Fund for HYPREP, Emmanuel Deeyah, said the forthcoming conference would strengthen partnerships with donor agencies, diplomats, development organisations and private sector stakeholders to support environmental restoration and sustainable development in the Niger Delta.
