The Impact of Noise and Dust Level on Rental Price of Residential Tenements around Lafarge Cement Factory in Ewekoro Town, Nigeria

This study employed hedonic pricing model to investigate the impact of noise and dust spewed from a cement factory on a sample of 126 tenements from 11 residential settlements within Ewekoro local housing market in Nigeria. Market-wide hedonic model for all the 126 tenements within 5.5km of the cement factory) was estimated. In addition, two separate unrestricted hedonic models were also estimated (the first consisting of 38 tenements within 2.5km of the factory and the other comprising 88 tenements located between 2.5km to 5.5km of the factory). The hedonic models which take the doublelog functional form were estimated with house rent (a proxy for house price) as the dependent variable. Generally, the results of the market-wide model revealed that, dust level and noise, which are negative externalities from the cement factory dampen rent by 21.90% (N 13815) and 1.49% (N 24.80) respectively within the study area. Findings from the unrestricted models further signify that tenement rents tend to decrease with increasing distance to Lafarge cement factory due to severity of dust and noise. As panacea to this problem it is recommended that government should provide policy response - the introduction of effluent fees which would force the cement and other manufacturing companies to internalize their externalities by paying for noise and dust pollution. The basic objective of such policy response is for manufacturing companies to move to the use of energy efficient and eco-friendly plants that generate less noise and dust in their production operations. On the other, the cement company should also imbibe Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as part of its efforts in providing a sustainable living environment for the residents in Ewekoro town.Key words: Cement factory, Externalities, Hedonic modelling, Tenements, Settlements

Analysis of some selected toxic metals in registered herbal products manufactured in Nigeria

The use of herbal medicine has been on the increase in many developing and industrialized countries and Nigerians in particular has been using herbal medicine for many centuries. The approval of these herbal remedies by regulatory bodies has further encouraged the use of herbal remedies. The safety of these herbal remedies is however poorly understood. This study investigated the concentration of arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury in twenty registered ready to use herbal products. Twenty brands of herbal remedies were purchased randomly from the Pharmacy shops in Lagos, digested with aquaregia (3:1 HCl: HNO3) and were analysed using atomic absorption spectroscopy (Buck 205 Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer). There was no detectable lead in any of the 20 herbal samples; however, all the samples contained a detectable amount of one or more of the other metals of interest. The Oral Component Limit (OCL) for arsenic, cadmium and mercury as stated by USP are 1.5, 0.5 and 1.5 μg/g, respectively. All the samples contained arsenic and mercury below the USP OCL, while sixtyfive percent contained cadmium out of which fifty-five percent were above USP OCL. The results obtained from this study suggest a significant risk to consumers’ health considering the toxicity of these heavy metals.Key words: Herbal remedies, toxic heavy metals, atomic absorption spectrophotometry

Proximate and chemical composition of three species of snails in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

This trial was conducted to determine the proximate and chemical composition of three common species of snails in Nigeria. The species were Archachatina marginata (T1), Achatina achatina (T2), and Achatina fulica (T3). The three species constituted the three treatments and thirty-six adult snails were used for this trial (twelve snails in each treatment). They were randomly allotted to individual treatment and placed on a ration with 24% crude protein and 2600 kcal/kg M. E. for four weeks, for physiological stability and to minimize source effect. The outcome of the proximate and chemical analysis revealed no significant variation (p>0.05) in the proximate and chemical analysis parameters in the three species of snails (p>0.05), such as Dry matter, Crude protein, Crude fibre, Ether extract, Ash and Nitrogen free extract. Likewise mineral salts like Calcium, Iron and Phosphorus. The Sodium content of the foot and shell were significantly different from each other (

Analysis of some selected toxic metals in registered herbal products manufactured in Nigeria

The use of herbal medicine has been on the increase in many developing and industrialized countries and Nigerians in particular has been using herbal medicine for many centuries. The approval of these herbal remedies by regulatory bodies has further encouraged the use of herbal remedies. The safety of these herbal remedies is however poorly understood. This study investigated the concentration of arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury in twenty registered ready to use herbal products. Twenty brands of herbal remedies were purchased randomly from the Pharmacy shops in Lagos, digested with aquaregia (3:1 HCl: HNO3) and were analysed using atomic absorption spectroscopy (Buck 205 Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer). There was no detectable lead in any of the 20 herbal samples; however, all the samples contained a detectable amount of one or more of the other metals of interest. The Oral Component Limit (OCL) for arsenic, cadmium and mercury as stated by USP are 1.5, 0.5 and 1.5 μg/g, respectively. All the samples contained arsenic and mercury below the USP OCL, while sixtyfive percent contained cadmium out of which fifty-five percent were above USP OCL. The results obtained from this study suggest a significant risk to consumers’ health considering the toxicity of these heavy metals

Utilization Of Cassava and Pawpaw Diets By Growing Snails

Two hundred and twenty five (225) growing snails of an average weight of 70g were used for the feeding trial, with five dietary treatments. The trial lasted fourteen weeks. The diets were isonitrogenous (18.30% crude protein) and Isocaloric (2500kcal/kg M. E). The treatments were T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5. The rations had 10% inclusion of pawpaw leaf (T2) Unripe Pawpaw fruit (T3), Cassava peel (T4) cassava leaf (T5). The treatment without the inclusion of pawpaw and cassava meal served as the control treatment (T1). Snails in (T2), had the best performance in terms of daily weight gain (3.65g), efficiency of feed utilization (0.49) and feed to gain ratio (2.02), closely followed by T4 (ration with 10% cassava peel meal); T5, T3 and T1 (control treatment). Feed intake in all the treatments was not depressed. Feed intake was generously enhanced in T4 and T5, revealing that the inclusion of cassava peel and leaf enhanced feed intake. The high feed intake in T4 and T5 affected the feed to gain ratio and efficiency of feed utilization. Feed to gain ratio values of 4.18, 2.02, 1.85, 6.13 and 6.29 for (T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5) showed that T2 and T3 were the best, this also reflected in the efficiency of feed utilization, which showed that T2 and T T3 were the most efficient. It could be concluded that the inclusion of parts of cassava and pawpaw in the rations of growing snails, had positive impact on the growth and performance indices. In terms of rating, pawpaw leaf and cassava peel inclusion were ahead of pawpaw fruit and cassava leaf. All the plant parts were valuable, because all the treatments were better than the control. Snail farmers are encouraged to adopt the utilization of pawpaw and cassava parts in snail feeding, because of their availability and affordability. Key words: Cassava, pawpaw, growing snails Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and the Social Sciences Vol.2(2) 2004: 84-8

Effect Of Different Protein Levels on The Performance Of Growing Snails

One hundred and eighty (180) snails were used for the feeding trial that lasted for fourteen weeks. Four dietary treatments were used: the diets had the same energy (2500kcal/kg M. E.) and only varied in their levels of protein (10%, 15%, 18% and 20%). Feed intake was highest in T4 ( 20% crude protein ,14.79g), followed by T3 (18% C. P with 11.40g). Feed intake in T4 was significantly (

Utilization Of Cassava and Pawpaw Diets By Growing Snails

Two hundred and twenty five (225) growing snails of an average weight of 70g were used for the feeding trial, with five dietary treatments. The trial lasted fourteen weeks. The diets were isonitrogenous (18.30% crude protein) and Isocaloric (2500kcal/kg M. E). The treatments were T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5. The rations had 10% inclusion of pawpaw leaf (T2) Unripe Pawpaw fruit (T3), Cassava peel (T4) cassava leaf (T5). The treatment without the inclusion of pawpaw and cassava meal served as the control treatment (T1). Snails in (T2), had the best performance in terms of daily weight gain (3.65g), efficiency of feed utilization (0.49) and feed to gain ratio (2.02), closely followed by T4 (ration with 10% cassava peel meal); T5, T3 and T1 (control treatment). Feed intake in all the treatments was not depressed. Feed intake was generously enhanced in T4 and T5, revealing that the inclusion of cassava peel and leaf enhanced feed intake. The high feed intake in T4 and T5 affected the feed to gain ratio and efficiency of feed utilization. Feed to gain ratio values of 4.18, 2.02, 1.85, 6.13 and 6.29 for (T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5) showed that T2 and T3 were the best, this also reflected in the efficiency of feed utilization, which showed that T2 and T T3 were the most efficient. It could be concluded that the inclusion of parts of cassava and pawpaw in the rations of growing snails, had positive impact on the growth and performance indices. In terms of rating, pawpaw leaf and cassava peel inclusion were ahead of pawpaw fruit and cassava leaf. All the plant parts were valuable, because all the treatments were better than the control. Snail farmers are encouraged to adopt the utilization of pawpaw and cassava parts in snail feeding, because of their availability and affordability. Key words: Cassava, pawpaw, growing snails Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and the Social Sciences Vol.2(2) 2004: 84-8