MANAGEMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH HAZARD IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA
Oil and Gas industry in Nigeria is one of their largest revenue earners this is probably one of the largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) generator about 40% in their country. The oil and gas production in Nigeria has an export earnings accounted for 83% of federal government that also provided 95% of foreign exchange revenue and up to 98% as part of their export income, in 2001 their crude oil average 2.2 million barrels daily. Because of their rich natural resources they have allowed 159 local and foreign producers to put up small to medium oil field producers and 1481 wells to operate in their country. The amount of the production continue to expand more while foreign oil gas and mining companies contributed to most extraction production in their country.
They have also allowed offshore activities, this kind of mining activity is digging oil under water that creates too much danger and environmental threats although significantly the government has earned in tax revenue generation and job placement the government of Nigeria has a little participation even in their control to regulate such activities. Most companies give these oil and gas industry a boost in their production in Niger Delta. However their production process has also degraded the environment and their people has been neglected. The government of Nigeria has not yet implemented a concrete reform in their production that usually causes so much environmental disaster and non sustainability to most of their employees.
According to the University of Ibadan and Professor Isaac Adewole that there are many incidents of occupational hazard and lives has been lost and death continues to rise because of the oil and gas industry production process. One of the leading causes of health hazard is usually the radiation, burning, inhalation and suffocation from harmful chemicals and biological agents used in the production process. Prof. Adewole together with Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has conducted a seminar for radiation safety in oil and gas production and they have warned companies to put in occupational health hazard and safety precautionary measures in their place of work to control and eliminate the usual neglected threats and behavior coming from local and foreign oil and gas producers.
Usual cases of workers who suffer from occupational health hazards believed that their working environment does not necessarily comply with proper health facilities, lack of availability of safety tools and equipment, over exposure to chemicals and things like this cause to much pressure that leads to different diseases like hearing loss, blindness, skin disease and other disability and sometimes death. Government and non government organization including health workers like the Nigerian Association of Health Educators recommend some basic occupational health hazard in most industries that they should provide awareness to their employees about the dangers and threats of the industry so that the workers themselves has the basic safety aid to protect themselves from their work so as to eliminate or prevent occupational health hazards.
Their recommendation aims to reduce the incidence of dangers and illnesses in the industry. Their workers should be provided with headgears for production a nose masks, and goggle for eye protection, workers should also provided with proper lightings especially at night, the petrochemicals and oil company workers are usually exposed in mud and soil when they do some digging, rigging and excavation so they also need to wear boots, helmets and hand gloves so as to protect them from nuclear and chemical possibilities during their production process. They should also be given enough rest so as to re-vitalize their energy for another day of their work but if the company needs to work 24 hours a day they must provide shifting system to prepare them physically and mentally. Over fatigue leads to usual accident and miscalculation, collapse and other health related incidents.
Their machineries should be well oiled and run smoothly so as to eliminate noise if possible they must also ensure that medicines or health workers should be present in their sites so as to eliminate self medication or unsound advice leading to forcible resignation or dismissal because of lack of medical attention. The use of generators that produce chemicals including carbon monoxide must have blower or pipeline pointed towards the outside of the factory or work areas so as to eliminate inhalation of chemicals. All this should provide an improved health conditions and safety to workers, reduce the cost of labor lost and thereby productivity and most of all they will definitely gain trust to their employees and the community and raises the reputation of oil and gas companies that increases production and sustainability.
References:
http://www.ogp.org.uk/pubs/307.pdf
http://nahenig.com/1/component/content/article/6-general/5-occupational-health-hazards-in-nigerian-industries-implication-for-increased-health-education
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_industry_in_Nigeria
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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