Energy Production and Environmental Concerns in Nigeria: The Case of Kaduna Petroleum Refinery on its Host Community

Abstract

Energy production and environmental pollution has been a topic of interest to diverse groups especially in developing nations where stringent environmental measures are not observed. This work aimed at exploring the various issues associated with a petroleum Refinery in kaduna metropolis of Nigeria. The Refinery was established last 30 years and without the mandatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This therefore generated environmental stress to the host ecosystem and is causing serious concerns to the host community. The research work has used both Questionnaire survey and laboratory analysis of some selected parameters with the view to finding the factual condition of the ecosystem, so that the opposing claims of both the host community of Rido and that of the petroleum Refinery could be verified to know which one is correct. Samples of Soil, water and air were analyzed amongst others, the results indicated high concentration of heavy metals in both water and soil samples. The air sample also revealed high concentration of both oxides of Nitrogen and Sulfur. These findings and the others were compared to the WHO standards and were found to be above the maximum allowable levels for savanna ecosystem. The result was also corroborated by the findings from the medical and ecological studies which confirmed high degree of pollution related ailments and environmental stress of the surrounding species of flora and fauna. It was therefore recommended that bio-remediation and clean-up of contamination should be implemented together with adequate compensation for the host community of the Rido region.,

Keywords: Energy, Pollution, Ecosystem, Contamination, Refinery, Petroleum