An investigation by NAIJ.com has revealed that an abattoir in
Mararaba, Nasarawa state, is posing a significant danger to the health
of people living in the vicinity.
The health and quality of life of residents in the town is by pollutants from the abattoir located in their neighbourhood.
Like most abattoirs, Mararaba abattoir is located near a body of
water because of the high demand for water for the processing of the
slaughtered animals. However, blood from the animals and washing water
is often released into a flowing stream untreated. Consumable parts of
the slaughtered animals are washed with water drawn from the stream or
the beef is washed directly in the flowing water.
Residents of Mararaba also have to cope with the stench of decaying
animal parts emanating from the nearby abattoir. It was noted that there
were few outdoor activities in the vicinity. The stench that blights
the community, according to reports, emanates from dirty water and
animal blood that runs out of the abattoir into a large canal nearby.
Research revealed that over 200 animals are slaughtered at the
abattoir on a daily basis, and scores of meat sellers could be seen
transporting beef to various markets in the metropolis. Some butchers
were seen preparing carcasses on the wet, dirty floor outside the
abattoir and very close to a pond dug by the abattoir management.
Before this stage, and immediately after animals are slaughtered, the
fur is burnt off in the open using firewood and lorry tyres.
At least five fire points were counted daily over the period of
observation, each producing smoke continuously between 7.30am and
11:00am, which according to residents is harmful when inhaled. It was,
however, observed that firewood constituted the greater part of the
fuel.
The use of lorry tyres was relatively minimal compared to other
places in the country where they constitute the main energy base. The
practice nevertheless produces a huge amount of smoke that pollutes the
area and poses a danger to the health of residents.
The facility is also generally operating under unhygienic conditions
due to a lack of certain basic amenities. Speaking with NAIJ.com,
Anuolapo Richards, a resident of the area living close to the abattoir,
decried the current state of the community, adding that the foul smell
emanating from the abattoir had existed for years, while the government
seemed to have forgotten about it.
He revealed that residents had been finding it difficult to cope with
the stench, while efforts to make government provide a lasting solution
had been met with a brick wall.
“There is hardly any time you come here and there won’t be a foul
odor. You may have observed that many residents don’t usually open their
windows; this is because it is quite impossible to do so without
inviting the smell of decaying animal parts into our homes.
“The stench is really sickening, and it is often aggravated by the
current art of burning animal horns and hooves almost every morning and
late at night by butchers,” said Richards, who claimed to have been
living in the vicinity for over four years. Andrew James, another
resident, said that abattoirs should be prohibited from being located
within residential neighbourhoods. They should instead be treated as
industrial or agricultural land use.
“Just like high level industries, abattoir should not be found among
residential houses because right now the effect it has on all resident
of this area is bad and could lead to outbreak of sickness or
disease,” he said.
Another resident in the area, Mrs Ngozi Hubert, whose shop was also
situated close to the abattoir, agreed. She said: “Though much has been
done by residents to enforce environmental sanitation and proper waste
disposal methods, the irritating smell from the abattoir still lingers.”
She explained that due to the densely populated nature of the
community, many residents stood the risk of contracting airborne
diseases. She added that it was time for the abattoir to be relocated.
“Perhaps when the abattoir was created, there were few residential
buildings around it, but now things have changed, as thousands of people
have moved in here over the last few years.
“I am not a medical practitioner, but I don’t need to be one to know
that it is time the government moved in and find a way to save us all
from a possible outbreak of an epidemic,” she added.
Dr James Douglas, a medical specialist at the Kings Care Hospital in
Mararaba, speaking on the health implications, explained that abattoirs’
activities have direct and indirect negative effects on the local
environment and on people’s health, especially residents living close to
the abattoir.
He said the negative effects include the contamination of air and
water, the transmission of diseases and the blockages of gutters and
drains. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter An unkempt abbatoir He also
said that abattoirs’ management systems should include a waste
management plan, and that legislative measures with regard to land use,
waste disposal methods, abattoir management, odour control and provision
of assessment criteria for all abattoirs should be enforced.
He said efforts should be made by all relevant agencies when
formulating new policies to increase public awareness of the possible
impact of pollution from abattoir waste. “Further measures should be
provided for better environment secluded from residential area so the
lives of people will not be endangered,” he said.
The chairman of Mararaba Butchers’ Association, Ndala Zuzu, told
NAIJ.com that the association over the years had made several requests
to the state government to provide a secluded area for the business to
be relocated away from residents.
“We have made several efforts on our own to make sure our business
does not hurt people within the environment. We were able to build a
pond where we wash away waste products from the animals we slaughter.
“Before now, we make use the river close by, but we decided to stop
because of the effects it was having on the people who make use of the
river water for domestic use. “
We also make use of chemicals to clean up the places where these
animals are killed to eliminate the odor and other jams or bacteria,”
Zuzu added.
He called on the state government to come to their aid by providing
more boreholes and other necessary amenities to maintain the abattoir,
or by moving the abattoir away from residential areas to a more secluded
place. Speaking also, the state coordinator of the butchers’
association, Yunusa Garba, said that though the association has
constructed three boreholes, it is not enough to cater for the water
need of the butchers.
“Our association has always bought chemicals to wash and take care of
the abattoir but we are pleading with the government to come in and
assist us.
“The Karu local governments do not put our plight into consideration; we need them to look into our challenges,” he said.
At the time of filing this report, all efforts to learn the views of
the Nasarawa state government on the issue proved unsuccessful as phone
calls and text messages made to government representatives were not
answered
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