Nigerian Senator Introduces Bill To Regulate Importation Of Generators
In Nigeria, diesel emissions from domestic generators surpass those from workplaces, trucks, and buses, and pose greater risks to human health and the environment due to proximity to homes and prolonged duration of use.
Diesel exhaust contains more than 40 toxic air contaminants, including many known or suspected cancer-causing substances, such as benzene, arsenic, and formaldehyde. It also contains other harmful environmental pollutants, including nitrogen oxide, currently the single most important ozone-depleting emission. Nitrogen oxide is unregulated by the Montreal Protocol (2). In relation to human health, it is estimated that up to 70% of cancer risk attributable to inhalation of toxic air pollutants in the United States arise from diesel exhaust (3). Exposure to diesel exhaust has been linked to lung cancer in occupational settings (4). In Nigeria, indirect evidence of the impact of diesel exhaust on lung cancer is indicated by its rising incidence among urban-based nonsmokers less than 60 years old (5), most of whom use diesel generators on a daily basis. Regional surveys suggest that Nigeria’s asthma prevalence among adults increased from 5.1–7.5% in 2003 to 13.1–14.2% in 2006, and Nigeria currently has the highest prevalence of asthma in Africa, after South Africa. Outdoor pollution was self-reported as an important risk factor by surveyed participants .
DEATH FROM GENERATOR FUMES
the fumes emitted by generators are fatal, often without the victims, who are mostly asleep, knowing or realising the danger. They also have long-term hazards as a possible cause of lung cancer. Experts therefore advise people using the device to never run a generator indoors or in any area where ventilation is limited and people or animals are present.
Due to the epileptic supply of electricity across the country, most homes, offices and shops are run mostly by electrical generators. Indeed, the state of the power infrastructure has created an environmental nightmare across the country. Almost every family, particularly those in the cities, has a power generating set to light up their homes, watch television, to pump water from boreholes, and perform other tasks. So bad is the situation that in some buildings, as many as 10 generating sets could be found within a radius of five metres.
But aside the noise and pollution they emit, they also constitute health hazards. As most health experts have warned, fumes from generators, like those from car exhausts, are deadly. The fumes contain carbon monoxide, a poisonous, invisible and odourless gas. When inhaled, carbon monoxide replaces oxygen in the tissues and can easily lead to death. The telltale signs on the victims are dizziness, nausea, headache, even confusion, symptoms mistakenly attributed to too much alcohol or something else. That explains why the story of people who sleep at night with their generators on without waking up the next morning has become commonplace. Besides, exposure to moderate and high levels of carbon monoxide over a long period of time has been linked with an increased risk of heart disease.
But what is particularly worrisome about the development is that as pervasive as the problem is, there is still no public awareness campaigns by the relevant authorities on the dangers posed by generators at homes. We feel the general public should be adequately enlightened on the dangers posed by generators, and how they can be safely used, mostly at homes. This should be the responsibility of the health and environment authorities at both the federal and state levels. By so doing, we will be able to save our people from painful but cheap deaths.
- A massive fire has razed the popular Balogun Market on Lagos Island, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, with eight buildings burnt and properties worth multi-million naira destroyed.
eight buildings have been razed by the rampaging inferno, with traders watching akimbo as their wares go up in flames.
In Addition…
Senator Bima, Muhammad Enagi (Niger South Senatorial District
The senator representing Niger East Senatorial District, Senator Bima Muhammad Enagi Representing APC, Niger South
On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, introduced a bill to regulate the use of generators in the country.
The Bill which passed its first reading on the floor of the senate last week is entitled: “A Bill for an Act to Prohibit/Regulate the Importation and Sale of Generating Sets to Curb the Menace of Environmental (Air) Pollution and to facilitate the Development of the Power Sector”.
The Bill provides that anyone who “knowingly” sells generators in Nigeria should be jailed for 10 years. It commands “all persons to stop the use of electricity generating sets which run on diesel/petrol/kerosene of all capacities with immediate effect”.
Here’s what the bill looks like in summary…
The bill is titled: A BILL FOR AN ACT TO PROHIBIT/REGULATE THE IMPORTATION/USE OF GENERATING SETS TO CURB THE MENACE OF ENVIRONMENTAL (AIR) POLLUTION AND TO FACILITATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE POWER SECTOR.
Sponsor: Senator Bima, Muhammad Enagi (Niger South Senatorial District).
ENACTED By the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Enagi’s bill seeks for the:
- Prohibition/Regulate the importation of generating sets.
Any person who:
a) Imports generating sets; or
(b) Knowingly sells generating sets, shall be guilty of an offence and be liable on conviction to be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not less than ten years.
Provided that this subsection shall not apply to the importation or sale of any generating set to be used for essential services.
- Ban Excludes Essential services.
(3) The ban/prohibition of generating sets shall not include generating sets used for essential services which include:
(i) Medical purposes (hospitals and nursing homes and healthcare facilities), (ii) Airports,
(iii) Railway stations/services,
(iv) Elevators (lifts)
(v) Escalators,
(vi) Research Institutions, and
(-vii) Such facilities that require 24 hours electric power supply:
(b) Approval for exclusion shall be obtained from the Minister in charge of Power which shall brief the Federal Executive Council quarterly on approvals granted.
- Ban on Use
All persons are hereby directed to stop the use of electricity generating sets which run on diesel/petroI/kerosene of all capacities with immediate effect in the country.
- Meaning of Generating Sets
In this “Bill” generating set (Generator) means a machine that is used for producing electricity.
Explanatory Memorandum
This Bill seeks to ban the importation and use of generating sets (generators) in the country and to curb the menace of environmental pollution which leads to potential health hazards it poses to the whole nation. (Outlook Media).