Source Identification of Chemical Contaminants in Environmental Media of a Rural Settlement

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to identify the source of contaminants in Ubeji settlement. The contaminants assessed are oil and grease, TPH and related heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn). A total of 48 groundwater, 100 surface water, 160 soil and 100 sediment samples were collected from the study site from March to August, 2011. Measurements of oil and grease and TPH in samples were done gravimetrically, while atomic absorption spectrophotometry was used for determination of heavy metals. The results show significant contamination, as TPH levels in groundwater and surface water range from 22 to 96 mg L-1, while soil and sediment levels range from 600 to 2300 mg kg-1. Also, Cd, Cr and Pb levels in the groundwater and surface water range from 0.02 to 0.47, 0.51 to 1.3 and 1.7 to 4.1 mg L-1, respectively while soil and sediment levels range from 0.04 to 0.48, 28 to 66, 45 to 69 mg kg-1, respectively. However, Cu, Ni and Zn are within safe limits. PCA revealed that the source of the contaminants is a refinery and petrochemical company located close to the settlement

Prevalence of early child birth and its implication on safe child delivery in Osun State, South-Western Nigeria.

This paper examines frequency and predictors of early childbirth and its effects on safe child delivery. The data were derived from a study conducted in 2006 among 355 randomly selected women of reproductive ages in Iwo and Ife-north local government Areas of Osun State, Nigeria. Mean age of the total respondents was 29.1 years. With 16.8 years as age at sexual debut, the study confirmed a high rate of teenage pregnancy and revealed a high prevalence rate of early childbirth (59.7%) (52.2% in Iwo and 67.4% in Ife-north). Early childbirth was significantly determined by age at first sex, those that ever exchange sex for gift(p< 0.01) and those who came from polygamous home (p< 0.05). The study also discovered a high rate of unsuccessful/unsafe child delivery (stillbirth, wasted pregnancy and other complications) among in the study areas (63.6%). It was equally shown that unsafe delivery among teenage mothers was significantly common among those (teenage mothers) that gave birth in non-medical centres:those with longer hours of delivery labour(p< 0.01) with low education and those with low age of sexual debut. Base on the study findings, it is concluded that more efforts should be geared towards reproductive health and tract of young women in the study areas

Maternal Age at Birth and under-5 Mortality in Nigeria

The paper examined the impact of maternal age at birth on under-5 death in Nigeria. Secondary data were generated from the 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys in examining the relationship between maternal age at birth and under-5 mortality risk. Relationships between variables were tested through bivariate and logistic analyses. Out of 7620 sampled women for the study, almost 60% were less than 30 years old, the median age was 26 years- a youthful population. Analyses of the data revealed a high under-5 mortality rate (45.4%), a general high home delivery (62.4%) among Nigerian women, which dictates a low rate at which assistance by health professional is being sought during childbirth. Furthermore, mothers' median age at first birth was less than 19, while under-5 death was significantly pronounced among younger (less than 20 years) mothers and older women (above 35 years) (p<0.05). Maternal education which was significantly low among younger mothers was a predictor of under-5 mortality. Under -5 mortality is still high especially among younger mothers. Thus resolving this challenge in Nigeria will be inadequate if early childbearing issues are not addressed using a tailored framework alongside with the need to improve maternal education in Nigeria

Health Risk Assessment of Exposure to Metals in a Nigerian Water Supply

This article reports the health risk associated with chronic intake of metals in the municipal water supplies of Eleyele and neighboring towns in the Ibadan metropolitan area of Nigeria. A total of 42 composite samples, consisting of treated water from the water treatment facility and residential areas receiving personal-use water (i.e., tap water) directly from the facility, as well as raw water from the treatment facility's water supply dam were sampled twice every month for 7 months. Concentrations of the metals were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Among the metals studied, Cd, Co, Cr, and Pb were detected at concentrations higher than maximum regulatory limits. Cd, Co, Cr, and Pb concentrations in treated water at the treatment facility ranged from 0.08–0.10, 0.14–0.16, 0.04–0.22 and 0.07–0.36 mg L , respectively, while personal-use water ranged from 0.08–0.11, 0.15–0.29, 0.02–0.29, and 0.12–0.65 mg L , respectively. Likewise, concentrations of the metals at the dam ranged from 0.06–0.08, 0.17–0.20, 0.13–0.37, and 0.03–0.15 mg L , respectively. It is estimated that exposure to the metals in the water supply results in oncological and non-oncological systemic health risks higher than is generally acceptable for drinking water

Religious perceptions and attitudes of men towards discontinuation of female genital cutting in Nigeria: evidence from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey

Men‘s roles in any patriarchal society and the influence of their religious belief cannot be overemphasized especially in a culturally encrypted matter like female genital cutting (FGC).The study sample consisted of 8,111 men who had previous awareness of FGC from a cross-sectional nationally representative survey in Nigeria. The data took into cognizance the religious belief of the respondents as well as their attitude towards FGC among others. Analytical bivariate and multivariate ordered logistic estimates for FGC discontinuation were considered for the study. Of the total respondents, 29% reported that their religion required FGC for female children. A significantly higher proportion (89.4%; p&lt;0.01) of men whose religion did not require FGC were found subscribing to its discontinuation. Significantly lower odds of FGC discontinuation exist among those whose religious belief requires FGC practice. Religious teachings and beliefs are crucial correlates of men‘s attitude towards FGC. There is therefore a need to consider the religious beliefs of men when engaging them in strategies to fight FGC.Keywords: Female Genital Cutting, Perception, Attitude, Religion, Nigeri

Family type, domestic violence and under-five mortality in Nigeria.

Background: Nigeria still showcases unacceptably high under-five mortality despite all efforts to reduce the menace. Investigating the significant predictors of this occurrence is paramount. Objective: To examine the interplay between family setting, domestic violence and under-five death in Nigeria. Methods: Cross-sectional secondary data, the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, (NDHS) women dataset was utilized. Subset of 26,997 ever married and ever had childbirth experience respondents were extracted from the nationally representative women dataset. Dependent and Independent variables were recoded to suit the statistical analysis for the study. Results: The study revealed that 33.7% of the respondents were in polygyny family setting; one-quarter of the ever married women reported ever experiencing one form of domestic violence or the other. The results of the logistic regressions indicate that family type and domestic violence were significant predictors of under-five children mortality in Nigeria. Conclusion: The study concludes that women who belong to polygyny family setting and who ever experienced sexual domestic violence are highly susceptible to experience under-five children mortality than their counterparts. The study recommends that strategies and policies aimed at improving child survival should strengthen women empowerment initiatives, discourage multiple wives and campaign against domestic violence in Nigeria

Letters to the Editor: Adherence to iron supplementation in pregnancy

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Systemic chronic health risk assessment of residential exposure to Cd2+and Cr6+in groundwater

A health risk assessment was undertaken for residents of Ubeji community who consume groundwater contaminated with trace metals. A total of 96 composite groundwater samples were collected in the dry and wet seasons from 12 locally dug wells, which are major sources of groundwater to the community. Concentrations of the metals were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and were found to vary with season. Among the metals studied, Cd , Cr , and Pb were detected at concentrations higher than maximum regulatory limits. Cd concentrations (mg L ) range from 0.03 to 0.06 and 0.02 to 0.05 in the dry and wet seasons, respectively, while Cr levels (mg L ) range from 0.59 to 0.67 and 0.34 to 0.53, respectively, for the two seasons. Also, Pb levels (mg L ) range from 2.8 to 3.4 and 2.7 to 3.1 in the dry and wet seasons, respectively. It is estimated that exposure to metals in the community drinking water results in carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks that are higher than the generally acceptable risks of drinking water. Therefore, the results indicate that the concentrations of the metals in the groundwater are high and the consumption of water from the community wells may result in systemic chronic health risk to the residents

Prioritizing hazardous pollutants in two Nigerian water supply schemes: a risk-based approach

Objective To rank pollutants in two Nigerian water supply schemes according to their effect on human health using a risk-based approach. Methods Hazardous pollutants in drinking-water in the study area were identified from a literature search and selected pollutants were monitored from April 2010 to December 2011 in catchments, treatment works and consumer taps. The disease burden due to each pollutant was estimated in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) using data on the pollutant’s concentration, exposure to the pollutant, the severity of its health effects and the consumer population. Findings The pollutants identified were microbial organisms, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, lead and zinc. All were detected in the catchments but only cadmium, cobalt, chromium, manganese and lead exceeded World Health Organization (WHO) guideline values after water treatment. Post-treatment contamination was observed. The estimated disease burden was greatest for chromium in both schemes, followed in decreasing order by cadmium, lead, manganese and cobalt. The total disease burden of all pollutants in the two schemes was 46 000 and 9500 DALYs per year or 0.14 and 0.088 DALYs per person per year, respectively, much higher than the WHO reference level of 1 × 10−6 DALYs per person per year. For each metal, the disease burden exceeded the reference level and was comparable with that due to microbial contamination reported elsewhere in Africa. Conclusion The estimated disease burden of metal contamination of two Nigerian water supply systems was high. It could best be reduced by protection of water catchment and pretreatment by electrocoagulation

The burden of disease attributable to ambient PM2.5-bound PAHs exposure in Nagpur, India

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) bound to PM2.5 are genotoxic carcinogens that can also elicit non-cancer effects. Previous studies report substantial burdens of PAHs-related lung cancer, but no estimate for other cancer types or non-carcinogenic burden. Here, we assessed the burden of disease, in DALYs/person/year, attributable to thirteen priority PAHs in PM2.5 in Nagpur district, for several endpoints linked to benzo[a]pyrene, to inform policy decision-making for mitigation. We conducted detailed assessment of concentrations of PAHs in nine areas, covering urban, peri-urban and rural environments, from February 2013 to June 2014. PAHs concentrations were converted to benzo[a]pyrene equivalent concentration for cancer and non-cancer effects using relative potency factors and relative toxicity factors derived from quantitative structure-activity relationships, respectively. We derived severity for each endpoint using GBD 2016 dataset. The annual average concentration of total PAHs in Nagpur district was 458±246 ng/m3, and results in 0.011 DALYs/person/year (49,000 DALYs/year), much higher than the WHO reference limit of 1×10-6 DALYs/person/year. PAHs-related burden follow this order: developmental (mostly cardiovascular) impairment (55.1%) > cancer (26.5%) or lung cancer (23.1%) > immunological impairment (18.0%) > reproductive abnormally (0.4%). The estimated DALYs/person/year is high. Mitigation intervention should target combustion sources having the highest level of exposure