A TECHNICAL PAPER BY PROF. SAMSON OJOAWO DELIVERED AT NIGERIAN INSTITUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER (NIEE)S' NATIONAL AGM 2022 .pdf

1. NIGERIAN ENVIRONMENTAL AND
HEALTH CHALLENGES: ROLE OF
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERS
A TECHNICAL PAPER
DELIVERED BY
Samson Olakunle OJOAWO,MNSE, MNICE, MNIEE, COREN Regd., Ph.D
Professor of Civil Engineering, Ladoke Akintola University
of Technology Ogbomoso
@
THE NIGERIAN INSTITUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERS
(NIEE) OYO STATE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING/CONFERENCE
Fri 2nd DECEMBER, 2022

2. 2

3. • Abstract
• Background Information
• Environmental Health Concept
• Nigeria’s Environmental Health Status
• Main aspects of Environmental
Engineering
• The Key roles of Environmental
Engineers 3
Presentation Outline

4. 1. ABSTRACT
• Environmental and health challenges are on the increase in developing countries in
this 21st century. The menace is pronounced in Nigeria due to myriads of factors,
majorly the economy and social reasons.
• This paper focuses on the status of the Nigerian environmental and health issues
having to do with air, water and soil pollution, deforestation, desertification,
erosion, flooding, and climate change.
• It was observed that environmental and health issues contribute largely to the
mortality rate in Nigeria. The environmental challenges vary in magnitude from
one geopolitical zone of the country to another. The Southwestern zone is
characterized with flooding, solid wastes, and lead poisoning; South Southern with
flooding, oil spillage, water pollution; South Eastern with oil spillage, erosion,
water pollution, lead poisoning; North Central region with erosion, flooding, water
pollution; North Eastern with desertification, erosion, lead poisoning, and solid
waste; and the North Western region is replete with desertification, lead poisoning,
and solid wastes.
• The paper therefore looks into the critical roles of Environmental Engineers in
stemming these issues by providing technical solutions of water supply, wastewater
management, air pollution control, recycling, waste disposal, radiation protection,
industrial hygiene, animal agriculture, environmental sustainability, public health
and environmental engineering laws, all at affordable costs. The Environmental
Engineers have pivotal roles to play in extending the life span of Nigerians, it is
recommended that all hands must be on deck to ensure this. 4

5. 2. BACKROUND INFORMATION ON
NIGERIAN ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS
• Environmental issues in Nigeria are closely
connected with the population growth.
• It uses resources to provide residents with
good living conditions.
• Regular consumption tends leads to pollution
and destruction of the environment.
5

6. 6

7. Environmental health-related risks are
becoming a primary concern in Nigeria, with
diverse environmental problems such as:
• air pollution,
• water pollution,
• oil spillage,
• deforestation,
• desertification,
• erosion, and
• flooding
7

8. • Pollution:
This is one of the primary causes for environmental
concerns related to climatic change and biodiversity.
All types of water, air, soil, radioactive, noise, light
and thermal pollution affect the environment.
Polluting and degrading air, soil and water
quality along with global warming and climatic
change has detrimental effects on public health.
Water and air pollution is a huge concern causing
financial strain and danger to human and marine life.
Implementation of laws and strict regulation along
with educating people on the causes and effects of
pollution can avoid damage to valuable resources.
8

9. (a) Air pollution:
Daily, millions of vehicles run throughout the
country, they consume plenty of fuel and
produce exhaust fumes. Old equipment and a
lack of modernization contribute to the air
pollution.
(b) Water pollution:
It is not a secret that Nigeria has a deficit of
drinking water. If you take a laboratory
‘glance’ into the state of currently available
water, you will be shocked by the number of
bacteria and industrial chemicals.
9

10. 10

11. • Desertification:
This problem is caused by massive irrigation.
The country loses kilometres of lands to
desertification.
• Industrial waste:
Social changes are the result of human
migration within the country. The problem is
that searching for a better life, people create
difficulties with accommodation. Due to this,
many residents have to settle close to the
industrial areas. As a result, they have to
consume water, which contains chemicals,
breathe polluted air and eat food with increased
nitrates.
11

12. • Solid waste:
Nigeria is one of those countries with poor
management of sanitary infrastructure. It one
of the main reasons, why people live rather
close to areas where wastes are dumped.
• Oil spills:
People, who inhabit the area in the delta of
Niger, suffer from oil spills every year. This
place is so much polluted that the oil is found
in the soil, even within five meters from the
surface thereby hampering agricultural
activities and water supply 12

13. Hazardous wastes:
• Hazardous material management, waste disposal
systems, contaminated site remediation,
prevention of leakage of underground storage
tanks, emergency responses and prevention of
release of hazardous materials into the
environment has become essential.
• Improving waste management systems can prevent
the possibility of polluting natural resources or
triggering the spread of illnesses.
• Global industrialization is revolutionizing public
living standards that require proper hygiene and
handling of waste items. The techniques and
materials related to industrial progress are often
linked to infectious diseases.
13

14. Deforestation:
• The high rate of urbanization, the industrial development, and
agricultural processes led to deforestation and extinction of animals
living in the woods.
• involves destroying plants and trees which provide oxygen, food,
water and medicine to the public.
• Natural wildfires, illegal logging, agricultural practices and harvesting
of mass amount of timber for commercial use are decreasing forests,
reducing oxygen supply and increasing greenhouse gas emissions at
an alarming rate.
• Biodiversity includes essentially most complex and vital feature of
ecosystem that makes up the environment which is in danger with
the increase in global warming, pollution and deforestation.
14

15. • Climate change:
is caused by greenhouse gases that trap heat
from the sun and warms the surface of the
earth; increase in oceanic temperatures that
affects marine habitat and ecosystems; rise in
global sea levels that accounts for shrinking
land, mass floods and freak weather incidents
across the world.
• Soil degradation:
Pesticides and chemicals often used by people
for different purposes. However, they often
forget about soil renovation and drawing a
balance of minerals back to its original state.
15

16. • Diseases:
mitigation and control is one main
aspect affecting environmental
health making radio-
logical, occupational and industrial
hygiene; safe drinking water; control
of vector-borne, communicable and
non-communicable diseases
necessary.
16

17. • Floods and erosion: These are rampant in
the southern part of Nigeria and have
devastating effects on human, flora and
fauna to the extent of becoming fatal
• Wind erosion:
The lands which are situated in the
northern part of Nigeria are
constantly being “blown away”.
• Some of these problems have seemingly minor
risks at an individual level, while in synergy, they
contribute significantly to more deaths and
DALYs combined. 17

18. 18
3. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ISSUES

19. What is health?
• The WHO constitution states: "Health is a
state of complete physical, mental and social
well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity."
• An important implication of this definition is
that mental health is more than just the
absence of mental disorders or disabilities.
19

20. 20

21. Environmental Health Concept
• Environmental health involves evaluating and
examining the effects of man-made chemicals on
human health or wildlife, impacts on ecological
systems and spread of illnesses or diseases.
• Insulation of environmental and human health
systems entails grasping the effects of human-made
and environmental vulnerabilities or hazards.
• Increasing attention targeted on the impact of
environmental health extends to public healthcare
and the health of the global economy.
21

22. Global environmental health initiative
spearheaded under World Health
Organization (WHO) is focused on:
• improving environmental health of the
community;
• prevention of disease epidemics,
• infant and child mortality and morbidity rates
in developing countries.
22

23. • Addressing and encompassing assessment
and control of all external agents of chemical,
biological or physical origin and other related
factors with behavioral impact that
potentially affect health is essential.
• The target remains on creating health-
supportive environment and disease
prevention programs which excludes genetic
behaviour, social and cultural environment.
23

24. 24

25. Key issues that environmental engineers are
concerned about:
• study the effect of technological advances on
the environment
• addressing local and worldwide environmental
issues such as acid rain, global warming,
ozone depletion, water pollution and air
pollution from automobile exhausts and
industrial sources.
25

26. The essence of environmental health:
• It is a key part of any comprehensive public
health system.
• Its field work is to advance policies and
programs to reduce chemical and other
environmental exposures in air, water, soil
and food to protect people
• To provide communities with healthier
environments.
26

27. • According to the world health data report,
most of the highest-ranked causes of Death
and Disability-adjusted Life Years (DALYs) in
Nigeria are related to environmental risk
factors (WHO, 2017)
• The lower respiratory infection associated
with air pollution has advanced from the
4th in 2007 to the highest ranked cause of
death in 2017 (Pona, et al., 2021)
27
4. NIGERIA’S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH STATUS

28. Other predominant causes of death associated
with environmental risk factors include:
• chronic respiratory diseases
• cardiovascular diseases
• enteric infections
• diarrheal diseases
• communicable
• maternal
• Neonatal and
• nutritional disease (which has resulted in
approximately 800 thousand deaths and 26
million people living with DALYs per annum in
Nigeria) 28

29. Major environmental risk factors
in Nigeria include:
• household air pollution,
• ambient air pollution,
• water, sanitation, and hygiene
(WaSH), which shows a
prolonged but progressive
decline. 29

30. • In contrast,ambient particulate
matter pollution, ambient ozone pollution,
and lead exposure show a steady rise
associated with death and DALYs in Nigeria,
indicating a significant concern in an
environmental health-related risk situation.
• People with low incomes are more likely to
live in polluted areas and have unsafe drinking
water.
Children and pregnant women are at higher
risk of health problems related to pollution.
30

31. Source: Pona, et al., 2021
Figure :Map of Nigeria showing different locations and
environmental problems
31

32. Figure : Top 10 risk factors contributing to most death and
disability combined in Nigeria 2007–2017(IHME, 2020)
32

33. 33
Source: Pona, et al., 2021

34. 34
Source: Institute for Health Metrics and
Evaluation, 2020

35. 35
Source: Institute for Health Metrics and
Evaluation, 2020

36. 36
Source: Institute for Health Metrics and
Evaluation, 2020

37. 37
Source: Institute for Health Metrics and
Evaluation, 2020

38. 38

39. The main aspects of Environmental
Engineering
• air pollution control
• industrial hygiene
• radiation protection
• solid waste management
• hazardous and toxic materials control
• water treatment and supply
• wastewater management
• flood and storm water control
• public health, vector control
• land and soil management,
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and
mitigation, among others 39

40. KEY ROLES OF ENVIRONMENTAL
ENGINEERS IN ATTENUATING THE
CHALLENGES
• waste management,
• recycling,
• improving public health,
• minimizing air and water pollution
• designs of municipal water supply,
• conduct research on waste water treatment
mechanism,
• advice government and other organizations
regarding a proposed construction projects
relating public health and environment. 40

41. 41

42. • The job of an environmental engineer is to build
things for human development without causing
damage to environment. They work in close
association with other scientists, engineers and policy
makers.
• According to Olorunfemi (2021) Environmental
engineering aids the development of processes and
infrastructure for the supply of water, the disposal of
waste, and the control of pollution of all kinds. These
endeavors protect public health by preventing disease
transmission, and they preserve the quality of the
environment by averting the contamination and
degradation of air, water, and land resources
• environmental engineer builds a bridge between the
environment and technology by applying techniques
of engineering technology to clean up wastes
generated from indiscriminate and unsustainable use
of that technology (Olorunfemi, 2021) 42

43. Otti, et al., (2018) posited that an Environmental
Engineer is obliged as follows:
• Environmental engineer is concerned with the
protection and prevention of the environment
and develops the solution to environmental
problem.
• Ensures work place hazards and environmental
health and safety related policies and procedure
are communicated to employer and employees.
• Ensures the availability of medical surveillance
programme in assisting employer and
employees in the course of potentially hazards,
that can pose immediate danger to health and
safety.
43

44. • Davis and Cornwell (1998), in ‘Introduction to
Environmental Engineering’ gave importance of
an environmental engineer being concerned with
the application of scientific and engineering
principles for protecting of human population
from the effects of adverse environmental
factors, protection of environments from
potentially deleterious effects of natural and
human activities, and improvement of
environmental quality.
• An environmental engineer also applies science
and technology that addresses the issues of
energy-preservation, production, asset and
control of waste from human and animal
activities, (Tchobanoglous et al., 1993)
44

45. • Furthermore an Environmental Engineer is
concerned with finding plausible solution in
the field of Public Health, such as water
borne diseases, implementation of law which
promotes adequate sanitation in urban, rural
and recreational areas.
• Environmental engineer also involves in
wastewater management, air pollution
control, recycling, waste disposal, radiation
protection, industrial hygiene, animal
agriculture, environmental sustainability,
public health and environmental engineering
laws (Peavy et al., 1985). 45

46. • WHO (1999) was of the view that environmental engineer
provides advice to the public on the adverse impacts of
environmental stress on human and ecological health,
which are evident from declining quality of air, water and
land at locations in the different countries of the world.
• Environmental engineer equally advises people on the
environmental challenges and promoting a healthy
economy, as he predicts earth’s climate and ecosystem to
environmental stress and prevention in human and
ecosystem
• Several Nigerian Environmental Engineering Researchers
have made inputs on the solid waste management, water
purification, wastewater remediation, pollution control,
and related aspects. (Ojoawo, et al., 2011; Ojoawo and
Adegbola, A.A (2012); Adetoro and Ojoawo, 2020;
Ojoawo, et al., 2022)
46

47. 47

48. Figure :General view of Environmental Engineering roles
48

49. 49

50. Personal Skills expected of an
environmental engineer
• Analytical skill requirements- Environmental Engineer must
possess sound analytical skills to understand the working
circumstances of the Environmental systems. Related to this is
Information Technology (IT) skill.
• Business Skills Requirements- Environmental Engineer must be
good in numbers to predetermine what a project will cost and
how a company or government will benefit from it.
• Critical Thinking Abilities- Environmental Engineer must be able
to think under what circumstances designs, materials and end
product or project may fail and what should be alternative
options in case of a failure so as to minimize losses.
50

51. • Versatility- Environmental Engineers work in highly
sensitive environments where a small glitch may cost
you a fortune within no time.
• Team Worker- Environmental Engineer works in team,
he / she must need to be a good team worker, able to
learn and make others learn in work environment.
• Writing and Communication Skills- Environmental
Engineer works in a team with fellow engineers and
other coworkers. They should have good writing ,
designing and communication skills to present clear
papers which other team workers could fully
understand.
51

52. Figure :Thinking on how to bridge SWM gaps
52

53. 53

54. Figure :The basics of SWM
54

55. Figure :SWM Management System in brief
55

56. 56

57. 57

58. 58

59. 4. Conclusion
• Summarily, in order to fulfill the expected role in attenuating
the environmental and health challenges, the Nigerian
Environmental Engineer should cooperate with other
stakeholders, colleagues, government and citizens in
enforcing all the rules and regulations of keeping the country
safe in health.
• He should always remember that "Health is a state of
complete physical, mental and social well-being and not
merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO)".
5. Recommendation
• The Environmental Engineers have pivotal roles to
play in extending the life span of Nigerians, it is
recommended that all hands must be on deck to
ensure this. 59

60. Figure :Main Duty of the Society as a whole
60

61. References
• Adetoro, A.E and Ojoawo, S.O (2020) Optimization Study of Biosorption of Heavy
Metals from Mining Wastewater using Azadirachta Indica Bark Adsorbents.
Water Science and Technology, 82 (5): 887 - 904. DOI: 10.2166/wst.2020.394.
• Davis M.L, Cornwell D.C (1998) Introduction to Environmental Engineering 3rd
Edition, WCB/McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-115234-2.
• Golub, K. (2018) ‘Current environmental issues in Nigeria and possible solutions’
Tuesday, December 04, 2018 at 11:49 am
• IHME, Nigeria, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (2020) http:// www.
healthdata.org/nigeria. accessed November 28, 2022.
• Otti V. I., Nwafor A. U. and Dan N. K. (2018) ‘The role of an environmental
engineer in preventing and reducing environmental stress ‘African Journal of
Environmental Science and Technology, 12(11):417-420.
• Pathak, N. (2019) ‘5 major environmental health problems’, James Lind Institute
Publication accessed on November 29, 2022 @ jliedu.com/blog/5-
environmental-health-problems/ 61

62. • Peavy H.S, Rowe D.R, Tchobanoglous G. (1985).
Environmental Engineering – International Edition,
McGraw-Hill Book Company.
• Pona, H.T, Xiaoli, D., Ayantobo, O.O, and Tetteh,N.D
(2021) ‘Environmental health situation in Nigeria:
current status and future needs’. Heliyon, 7(3):1-12
• Ojoawo, S.O, Agbede, O.A. and Sangodoyin, A.Y
(2011) On the physical composition of solid wastes in
selected dumpsites of Ogbomosoland, South-Western
Nigeria. Journal of Water Resource and Protection,
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• Ojoawo, S.O and Adegbola, A.A (2012) The system
dynamics modeling Method in application of Geo-
membranes as landfill liners. American International
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63. • Ojoawo, S.O., Lateef, A., Adelakun, W.M., Osho, O.O. and Adetoro A.E.
(2022). Biosorption of heavy metals in automobile panel workshop
effluent using Bacillus safensis LAU 13. Nano Plus: Sci. Tech. Nanomat
Journal, 4(1): 27-34.
• Olorunfemi, A. (2021) “MA Akinsanya: The Environmental Engineer, The
Bridge Builder.”, Virtual Public Lecture presented in honour of Engr.
Muyideen Abayomi Akinsanya, FNSE, Organised by the Nigerian Society
of Engineers and the Nigerian Society for Environmental Engineers.
• Tchobanoglous G, Theisen H, Vigil S (1993). Integrated Solid Waste
Management: Engineering Principles and Management Issues. McGraw-
Hill New York.
• World Health Organization (WHO) (1999). Health Impact Assessment
Main Concepts and Suggested Approach. Brussels: European Centre for
Health Policy.
• World Health Organization (2017) ‘10 Facts on the State of Global Health’
https://www.who.int/features/factfiles /global_burden/en/, Accessed
November 29, 2022
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64. THE END