Abstract
Background: Air pollution is a significant factor in morbidity and mortality within industrial societies. Hazardous substances are distributed widely due to diverse human activities such as energy usage, agriculture and industrial production enterprises such as cement manufacturing factories. In most industrial areas of the world pollutants such as ozone, sulphur oxides, nitrous oxides cause acid rains as a result of acidic dust in the pollution complex, some industrial regions however are confronted with problems of alkalization due to high content of various industrial alkaline dusts like cement dust and ash. Toxic effects of air borne alkaline pollutants like cement dust on humans include damage to eyes, respiratory and nervous systems and a number of teratogenic, carcinogenic and mutogenic effects. Dust and fumes produced in cement factories make the respiratory tract an easy point of contact and entrance into the body by cement dust.
In a community in which such an industrial activity has been carried out on a large scale, since 1967, (its impact on the health of residents especially on long term basis warrants attention and needs to be investigated.
Objective: This study investigated the prevalence of cement dust exposure related illnesses among residents of Kalambaina, the host community of a cement factory and compared it with that in Gidan Madi a similar community but without a cement factory. Both communities are situated in Sokoto State, Nigeria.
Methodology: A total of 514 respondents participated in the study; 244 residents of Kalambaina, the exposed community and 270 in the non exposed community (Gidan Madi,) a The study employed a comparative cross-sectional analytical design. An interviewer - administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographic parameters, exposure to cement dust, respiratory signs and symptoms, and symptoms of other cement exposure related illnesses. It also enquired about habits like cigarette smoking. The information on occupation elicited those in dusty trades. The concentration of respirable dust was measured using the universal sample pump. The results were presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD),with statistical significance set at p< 0.05.
Results: The prevalence of cement exposure related illnesses: cough, phlegm, wheeze, shortness of breath with wheeze, chest pain, chest tightness, skin lesions and conjunctivitis were significantly higher in the exposed community P<0.0001 for all except breathlessness P=0.005. The concentration of respirable dust in the exposed community (0.614mg/m3±0.02mg/m3) was also significantly higher than in the non exposed community (0.06mg/m3± 0.001mg/m3) (P<0.01).
Conclusion: These results suggest that the health of residents of the host community of the cement factory was adversely affected as evidenced by the higher prevalence of cement dust exposure related illnesses and this may be due to the higher level of cement dust they were exposed to.
Keywords: Silica, Cement dust, cement dust related illnesses, air pollution, Kalambaina. Nigeria.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v3i8.37
