Govt begins cleanup in Ogun community after lead contamination

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The Ogun State Government has commenced a remediation exercise in the Ogijo axis of the state, following concerns over alleged lead contamination linked to Used Lead Acid Battery recycling activities, as part of efforts to protect public health and restore the environment.

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The exercise follows a comprehensive environmental assessment conducted by the Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency, which included process audits of Used Lead Acid Battery facilities as well as soil, water, air and blood tests on residents of the industrial community.

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Lead contamination has become a growing environmental concern in communities hosting battery recycling facilities because prolonged exposure to the toxic metal can pose serious health risks, particularly to children and pregnant women.

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The Ogun State Government has in recent years stepped up oversight of industries operating within the state through OGEPA, with a focus on enforcing environmental standards, promoting responsible waste management and preventing pollution capable of endangering lives and ecosystems.

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A statement obtained by PUNCH Online on Sunday noted that while speaking during the flag-off of the remediation exercise, the General Manager of OGEPA, Kehinde Bello, said the intervention was aimed at eliminating potential sources of lead contamination and safeguarding residents from further exposure.

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According to him, the state has begun evacuating slag illegally dumped in different parts of Ogijo because of its hazardous nature.

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“The evacuation of this slag will take us weeks to complete because lots of them are illegally dumped in many communities surrounding the ULAB facilities, as the state government determined to evacuate them in the overall public interest and well-being of the residents,” the statement quoted Bello as saying.

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He assured residents that the government had taken steps to prevent a recurrence of indiscriminate disposal of hazardous waste.

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“The era of illegal dumping of slag is over as the state government has directed all the ULAB facilities to upgrade their technology by deploying automatic battery breakers to their system, which will reduce slag generation to the barest minimum as well as obey the state government’s standard procedures on slag management,” the statement quoted him as having added.

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Also speaking, the Director of Hazardous Material Management at OGEPA, Mr Babatunde Lawal, said the remediation programme extends beyond the evacuation of slag to restoring contaminated land through biological methods.

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“Aside from the evacuation of slag in those communities, there will be a bio-remediation exercise through planting of planting materials that will take off the Lead that might have gone to the soil so that the places where the slag was dumped and has now been evacuated will be free from lead contamination,” Lawal said.

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He urged operators of Used Lead Acid Battery recycling facilities to conduct their operations responsibly and in line with environmental regulations.

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Lawal said sustainable practices were essential to protecting the environment and ensuring the safety of residents living around industrial facilities.

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The Director of Inspectorate and Compliance at OGEPA, Mr Tunde Bolarinwa, said the agency would intensify monitoring of all ULAB facilities to ensure strict compliance with the state’s revised operational guidelines.

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He warned that any facility found violating the new standards would face appropriate sanctions.

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