Akum Zacharias Enow, MSc.. Environmental Consultant
In the mid-sixties, hardly was there a month that passed without news about the construction of a deep seaport in Victoria. This was often highlighted in keynote addresses 'to the nation by either the Head of State or the Minister of Transport, particularly, during official visits to this part of the country.
While there are criteria for installing projects on given sites, the delay remains the prerogative of decision-makers. Forty years have gone, our expectation of the Limbe deep seaport has not faded.
Gradually, the nineteen-seventies witnessed the inception of a giant industry, the National Oil Refinery Company (Societe Nationale de Rafinerie) SONARA, in Victoria (Limbe). Later, news about the bitumen factory loomed in the air and disappeared. No sooner, the population of Limbe had their hopes raised when they got wind of the coming of a cement factory.
Today, we see the emergence of industrial development along the West Coast of Limbe. The thermal power station is operational. It is expected to generate 30 - 40 megawatts of electricity annually.
Construction of the shipyard for repairs of rigs is ongoing. It is the only installation of its kind on the western flank of our continent. However, news is, once more in the air on the advent of the cement factory. There is a proliferation of international hotels already to boost coastal tourism industry. We need the industries.
Industries are indicators of development and good tools to reduce unemployment and alleviate poverty, especially, if as much as possible labour is recruited or hired locally instead of being imported.
The protection of marine ecosystems and the maritime environment is important in all aspects of development within coastal communities and the surrounding settlements. Air and water pollution are obvious in Limbe in the absence of appropriate control measures. We should expect an increase in respiratory, heart, eyesight, skin and mental cases, including high death rate amongst residents of this area in future. HIV/AIDS is already grabbing a chunk of the population.
When additional industries become operational, there will be an upsurge in maritime transportation within the coastal industrial zone of Limbe and oil spills will be inevitable. Large oil spills result from shipping accidents, drilling accidents and ruptured pipelines, while large spills are spectacular and attract a lot of attention, the accumulative effects of small spills are probably worse.
Small spills are caused by routine circumstances such as leaky pipeline gaskets, discharge of water from washed ship tanks, oil escaping during coupling and uncoupling of pipelines, etc. William Ashworth "4991) estimated that 90'3v c: oil spills by volume result from routine variety.
The accidental crude oil leakage at SONARA on the night of September 7, 2004 when oil was being pumped from a tanker to storage tanks onshore, and the spill, only noticed next morning, is a warning of what should be guarded against in the days ahead. Mile Six Beach was covered with spilled oil. The black volcanic sand of the beach has been decolorised to brown.
Thick dark-brown crude oil slick was found floating on tidal water with wave action. The predominated brown appearance of oil slick at Mile Six Beach revealed that the quantity of spilled oil was 1300 gallons per square mile or 2000 litres per square kilometer approximately (US standard classification of oil film on water, 1991).
The oil spill was enormous and needed immediate and appropriate mechanisms to clean up the oil within hours before greater damage was inflicted on the environment. All rocks and logs within tidal water level were smeared with spilled oil. Visitors were deprived the chances of swimming.
White and red plastic bands were installed throughout the beach by SONARA, and armed guards placed to prohibit visitors from entering the area. This was to avoid an outbreak of accidental fire, as crude oil is volatile. Efforts were being made at sea, using a launch and a speedboat to clean up the crude oil. A close follow-up on September 20 showed marked changes.
The blanket of oil floating on water was absent. Coagulated oil lumps littered the beach at tidal water level, while some were seen floating. Workers were collecting the littered oil lumps on the beach in drums and carting them away. At this point, there are indications of the absence of appropriate mechanisms put in place to clear oil spills at the shortest possible time.
Further monitoring of the beach on December 28 revealed that the beach sand has remained brown. It was well soaked with crude oil. The beach is fouled. Harmful effects may last for months. Crude oil contains hydrocarbons. The latter has carcinogen.
This substance causes an increase in cancer rate, particularly skin cancer when human beings are exposed to it. The contaminated sand has long-term adverse effect to beach users. Oil film on water prevents oxygen in the air from dissolving in water. The absence of oxygen would cause the death of marine organisms.
Restoration of micro-habitat and their organisms in inter-tidal area (rocks and logs) at Mile Six Beach will be difficult. Emulsified oil in seawater kills fish, other animals and destabilises breeding grounds. Continued oil spills without adequate means to clean up immediately will deprive our coastal population sea foods and a major livelihood on which they depend.
Mile Six Beach should be abandoned, as it is subjected to oil spill at any moment. Arrangements should be made to explore and develop a new beach further away, along the West Coast area.
Limbe is becoming an economic hotspot in the country, given the impetus. The Thermal Station is a springboard for generating other industries, in our locality but what adverse effect lies ahead on the health of the resident population and surrounding vegetation if adequate control of air pollution is not put in place?
The thermal plant alone emits 5000m3 of gas into the air daily. This combined with emissions from existing and to be industries within the vicinity will be very pronounced. These gases constitute principally sulphur and nitrogen, oxides, and volatile organic compounds (petroleum fumes, etc).
Vented into the atmosphere by smokestacks, these gases get caught up in prevailing winds and form diluted solutions of sulphuric, nitric and carbonic acids. They drop as acid rain or better known as acid precipitation.
On the environment, deposition of acid precipitation drains into water sources. Acidified water leaches plant nutrients from the soil and activates heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury, contaminating water supplies.
It damages plants foliage and inhibits growth, corrodes metals and deteriorates building stones.
In human beings, the constituted compounds reduce oxygen in blood, aggravate respiratory and heart diseases, cause headache and fatigue at moderate concentrations, cause death at prolonged high concentration, irritate the eyes and cause various cancers.
Equally important is the fact that thermal stations use large quantities of water in condensers for cooling and condensing of exhaust steam from the turbines. Water is pumped from the sea, river or lake used once and returned at once to the source. Sharp temperature changes (thermal shock) cause the death of sensitive aquatic life. The heated sea, river or lake water disrupts fish migration patterns, and reduces diversity of species by elimination of thermally sensitive organisms.
Furthermore, fish kills and other ecological damage are caused by the chlorine, copper sulphate or other chemicals used in keeping bacteria and other microbes from fouling the water cooling pipes of the thermal plant.
The above effects have been experienced elsewhere and the only solution remains, providing standardised pollution control gadgets and effecting regular monitoring.
We are all, without exception, responsible in guaranteeing a healthy, friendly and sustainable environment for today and tomorrow.
Air pollution kills us slowly but silently, noise makes each day a torment - Robert Alex Baron
I worked at small beach for many years as plating and welding supervisor for the then Cameroons Development Corporations marine department. I lost contact with many good friends I made there and would dearly love to make contact again, any E Mail address which i could contact would be much appreciated. My E Mail address is [email protected]
Posted by: Brian Mc Laughlin | Sunday, 14 May 2006 at 06:40 PM
I feel good to read your blog on the Industrial suppliments
The Beaver Tracks Pvt LTd is one of the huge suppliers of Drilling Rig
Posted by: Dinesh Reddy | Monday, 20 December 2010 at 03:10 AM