ENVIRONMENT, HUMAN HEALTH AND SAFETY PERSPECTIVES TO PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION IN AGRICULTURE

Agriculture, unlike industrial activity which has always resulted in pollution, has been environmentally benign for most of its history until after the Second World War when the system disintegrated. Then, crop residues were incorporated into the soil or fed to livestock, the manure returned to the land in amounts that could be absolved and utilized. Mechanized farming, however, is reliant on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Hence, crop residues and livestock excreta, which were once recycled have become wastes and their disposal a continuing problem for the farmer. With the present national policy on agriculture, there is the need for private sector participation especially in the area of environmental health and safety for economic and environmental sustainability.Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Health Economics and Policy,

Resource utilization practices and sustainable development at the Lake Chad basin

The paper examines the resource utilization practices of the Lake Chad in view of the need for sustainable development of the natural resources of the area, which are being recklessly exploited. The issues of obnoxious fishing practices, inappropriate agricultural practices, indiscriminate grazing, reckless fuel-wood harvesting, water pollution etc were discussed. There are clear indications that the current resources utilization practices are pushing the natural resources of the area beyond the limit of their regenerative capacity. This is traceable to institutional weakness and inadequate management strategies at the Lake Chad basin. Suggestions were made towards witnessing a change of attitude to resource use, exploitation and management strategie

PHYTO-REMEDIATION OF LEAD-CONTAMINATED SOIL USING AMARANTHUS CRUENTUS

Previous studies have shown that some vegetables have the ability to absorb metals from soil. Since they are early maturity species, they possess the potential to be used as phytoremediating agents. Also, synthetic chelates have been found to induce lead desorption from soil matrix, thereby enhancing uptake into plant tissues. Therefore, a study was carried out to determine the potential of Amaranthus cruentus as a soil lead remediating plant. The experiment was carried out using a randomized block design. Soil samples were subjected to five levels of lead contamination namely control, 600ppm, 600ppm + EDTA, 1800ppm and 1800ppm + EDTA, each treatment had five replicates. Three plants each were carefully transplanted from nursery to experimental pots and grown for 32 days. Ethylenediaminetetra acetic(EDTA) (3.0 mmole EDTA/kg soil) was applied to EDTA amended treatment 8 days before harvesting. The result showed that EDTA has some effect on lead solubility in soil as well as lead absorption by A.cruentus. However, there were variable increases in lead uptake from the contaminated soil to the plants. Lead contamination did not have significant effect on growth and yield parameters of A cruentus. Since the transfer factor (TF) of the plant is greater than one, it may be a promising species for phytoremediation.Amaranthus cruentus, Lead, phytoremediation, soil, Land Economics/Use,

Levels of fungi aerosols in residential houses in Benin City, Southern Nigeria

Lack of monitoring residential homes for fungi contamination, has reportedly resulted in various health outcomes in vulnerable occupants. This study assessed the level of indoor and outdoor airborne fungi contamination and reveal the identity of air borne fungi species in the study area. Forty-five households were randomly selected across the five local council areas in Benin city for airborne sampling. Airborne fungi were assessed bimonthly using the passive sampling technique. Discrete colonies of fungi were enumerated and mean values of triplicate concentrations were expressed in Colony forming unit / m3 (CFU/m3) Airborne fungi isolates were characterized and identified using standard procedures. The mean indoor and outdoor meteorological parameters ranged between 31.2 to 32.3°C and 31.1 to 32.5°C (Temperature); 71.6 to 74.1% and 63.0 to 74.1% (Relative humidity) respectively. The fungi concentrations varied from 301.0 to 747.1 CFU/m3 and 337.67 to 554.6 CFU/m3 (indoor); 223.8 to 450.4 CFU/m3 and 378.64 to 532.7 CFU/m3 (outdoor) in wet and dry seasons. The prevalent fungi genera isolated from the indoor and outdoor air across the sampling sites were Penicillium, Cladosporium, and Aspergillus. The outdoor fungi concentrations showed a significant association (R = 0.360 and 0.260; R2 = 0.130 and 0.032; p< 0.01) with indoor fungi concentrations in both seasons. The study revealed high airborne fungi counts and fungi species of public health interest in the houses. Regular cleaning and maintenance practices to reduce the increasing effect of fungi spores is highly recommended

Acute toxicity of glyphosate-based isopropylamine formulation to juvenile African catfish (Clarias gariepinus)

The formulation of glyphosate composed of Isopropylamine salt (41 % wt) is widely used as herbicide both in the terrestrial and aquatic environment. This study examined the toxicity of the surfactant Isopropylamine salt of glyphosate herbicide to post juvenile African catfish (Clarias gariepinus).. This experimental design was based on the standard Total Residual Chlorine (TRC) method with interval time of 24, 48, 72 and 96 hrs. Gulping of air, restlessness, surface to bottom movement, sudden quick movement and excessive resting at the bottom were abnormal behaviour observed in the exposed fish. Mortality of C. gariepinus increased (p<0.05) with an increase in glyphosate concentration. The results showed that the 96h LC50 value of glyphosate was 300 mg/L while the maximum allowable concentration (MAC) of this toxicant is 30.0 mg/L. The effect of the toxicant on C. gariepinus was both time and concentration-dependent.Keywords: Acute toxicity, Clarias gariepinus, Glyphosate, LC50, Mortalit

Municipal water resources management: evaluation of water consumption by car wash facilities in Bauchi Town, Nigeria

Car wash can be defined as a facility used to clean the exterior and in some cases, the interior of motor vehicles. These facilities are common in Bauchi and other cities in Nigeria. They use water as a major input thereby causing serious challenges to water resources management. Car wash facilities in Bauchi depend on municipal water supply by water board. The study aimed at determining the rate of municipal water consumption by car wash facilities in Bauchi. It was carried out by measuring the volume of water used in washing cars by some selected car wash facilities in the town using both bucket and hose methods. The data collected were analysed using statistical method such as random sampling techniques and simple descriptive method like Tables, Figures and mean. The result shows that 1,710,091.2L is withdrawn daily from the municipal water supply by car wash facilities. This is more than the quantity of water serving zone ‘L’ of the 16-zones of Bauchi Water Demand Zones. It also shows that the use of hose consume 441.2L/day and the use of bucket consume 115.5L/day which indicate that more water is wasted using hose method. Therefore, car wash facilities consume significant amount of water supplied by the Water Board. If the current trend continues and with the proliferation of car wash in Bauchi, there will be water shortage to the populace who are the primary beneficiaries.Keywords: car wash, Bauchi, input,Water Board, consumption, volum

An Assessment of the evidence of Climate change in Bauchi, Nigeria

The study aimed at identifying the evidences of climate change in Bauchi. The emphasis was to find out if there are changes on the temperature and rainfall over time; to what extent these changes occur and likely impact these changes will have in Bauchi. The study was done in Bauchi town, Bauchi state of northeastern Nigeria. Elements of climate such as temperature and rainfall of the study area for a period of thirty (30) years between 1978 and 2008 were collected and analyzed using statistical method of Time Series Analysis. Findings from the study showed that rainfall in Bauchi was increasing by 0.2mm per annum. The findings also showed that temperature was increasing by 0.02990c per annum. This implies that Bauchi may be vulnerable to flooding and ecosystem change. And having a detrimental effect on agricultural produce thereby leading to food scarcity in the town. The annual increase in temperature by 0.02990c and rainfall by 0.2mm indicate that Climate Change is real in BauchiKeywords: climate change, Bauchi, food scarcity, Time Series Analysis, temperature and rainfall

Effects of Pharmaceutical Effluents on Soil Microbiome and Physicochemical Parameters

Soil contamination from pharmaceuticals is an evolving issue, consequently measurable data on their microbial effects are deficient. Thus, this study investigated the effects of pharmaceutical effluents on soil microbiome and the physicochemical parameters of soil samples obtained from Ugbowo, Benin City, Nigeria using standard procedures. The experiment which lasted for four weeks consists of four treatments of soil samples with pharmaceutical effluents of different percentages and one soil sample without pharmaceutical effluents (control). These include: soil treated with 250 ml of pharmaceutical effluents (25%); soil treated with 500 ml of pharmaceutical effluents (50%); soil treated with 750 ml of pharmaceutical effluents (75%), soil treated with 1000 ml of pharmaceutical effluents (100%) and soil treated without pharmaceutical effluents (0%). There was significant increase in the soil microbial counts in all effluent treatments compared to the control soil. A total of 16 isolates were identified. Ten were isolates belonging to the genera Bacillus, Arthrobacter, Proteus, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Escherichia, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Streptococcus, and Chromobacterium, while Fusarium sp., Mucor sp., Saccharomyces sp., Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus sp. and Penicillium sp. were the observed fungal isolates. The mean values of the soil physicochemical properties were all significantly higher in the treated groups compared to the control. This study revealed that pharmaceutical effluents altered the soil microbiological and physicochemical properties. The possibility of these alterations was due to the high nutrient content of the effluent which enriched the soil with additional nutrients needed for microbial growth

Evaluation of Health Risk Concerns of Trace Metals in Borehole Water Proximal to Dumpsites in Benin City, Nigeria

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the health risk concern of some trace metals in selected borehole drinking water proximal to open dumpsites in Benin City. Borehole water samples were collected and analysed for trace metals using standard methods. Health risk and pollution indices were used to characterise the trace metals. The average daily dosage (ADD) results showed low concentrations of the trace metals in the various borehole sites. Oluku 1 had Mn (0.04), Zn (0.11) and Cu (0.01). Oluku 2 had Mn (0.43), Zn (0.18) and Cu (0.01) while Ikueniro 1 had Mn (0.05), Zn (0.17) and Cu (0.01) and Ikueniro 2 had Mn (0.04), Zn (0.15) and Cu (0.01). The hazard quotient (HQs) and hazard index (HI) values were < 1. The results of the Metal Pollution Index (MPI) revealed the values of Oluku 1 (4.6E-06), Oluku 2 (1.0E-04), Ikueniro 1 (1.4-05) and Ikueniro 2 (5.6E-06). The classification of the water were within class 0 and 1. The findings of this study have revealed that the trace metal contents found in the boreholes waters were within the safe limits as referenced. On this premise, the borehole waters were recommended safe for consumption without any health risk impact, consequent of no evidence of pollution.Keywords: Health Risk; Trace Metals; Borehole Water; Dumpsite