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respiratory tract diseases, diseases of the central nervous system and blood steam, cancers.
Deformities in children, lung damage and skin problems have also been reported.46
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roads, office quarters, waste disposal sites, as well as other short term uses such as seismic lines, drilling sites and temporary project accommodation.48
B. The Exploration Stage
After acquisition of land, the next phase in the oil and gas production process is the exploration process which begins with seismic operations when MNOCs seek to discover oil and gas reserves. To carry out seismic survey, vegetation is cut down to ensure that the holes for the dynamites are placed in a straight line known as seismic lines. Mangrove forests cut down in the seismic process have a very low regeneration rate and it has been claimed that it might take up to 30 years for mangrove trees to fully recover from line cutting.49 In addition, during seismic operations, detonators are sometimes used and SPDC has stated that “in densely populated or environmentally sensitive areas where explosions are not practical, vibrator trucks are used” rather than dynamite. In the riverine communities, aquatic lives of species are affected by the release of chemicals into the sea while regular fishing activities are disturbed.
C. The Drilling of Exploration Well Stage
This is the drilling of exploration well stage. Pollution of the environment is caused during this stage as chemicals and sludge generated, such as oily residues, tank bottom sludge and obsolete chemicals, if not properly treated and disposed of, carry high pollution, health risk, disturbance to economic activities and physical environmental qualities.50 For example, in ShellvAmbah,51 dredging operations on Shell’s property led to the destruction of property on the adjacent land belong to the Wesewese family. Specifically, mud dredged from Shell’s
48Ibid.
49A R Temitope and A AAdedeji, ‘Public Participation: An Imperative to the Sustainable Development of the Nigerian Oil Industry’’
<https://www.bhu.ac.in/lawfaculty/blj/2006.../5_RT%20AKO_Public_Participation_1_[1].doc accessed 30 September 2017.
50Ibid.
51(1999) 3 NWLR (pt 593) 1.
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land reportedly covered and destroyed 16 fish ponds including various fish channels and lakes.
D. The Production Stage
This is the stage with the highest danger of pollution. The production of oil and gas in Nigeria carries with it the risk of oil spillage and gas flaring. According to the official estimates from the NNPC, which is based on the quantity of spilled oil reported by the operating companies, approximately 2,300 cubic metres of oil are spilled into the Niger Delta environment in 300 separate incidents annually. Similarly, statistics from the Department of Petroleum Resources [DPR] indicate that between 1976 and 1996, a total of 4,835 incidents resulted in the spillage of at least 2,466,322 barrels of which an estimated 1,896,930 barrels (representing 77 percent) were lost to the environment.52 The adverse effects of these oil spillages on the environment include contamination of water sources, destruction of crops and trees, as well as loss of fishing grounds and destruction of mangrove forests which are the natural habitats for vast species of fish population, in addition to the destruction of other marine living resources. Thus, in Shell v Tiebo VII,53 the plaintiffs instituted an action on behalf of the Peremabiri community against Shell for damage occasioned to their environment from an oil spill. The spill reportedly covered much of the River Nun, a tributary of the River Niger which flows through the plaintiffs’ community and serves as the source of drinking water.
Due to the spill, the water was contaminated, raffia palms were destroyed and fishing activities – the people’s occupation, were severely impaired, amongst other damage suffered.
Oil spillage has a major impact on the ecosystem into which it is released. Immense tracts of the mangrove forests have been destroyed. An estimated 5 to 10 percent of Nigerian mangrove ecosystems have been wiped out either by settlement or oil. The rainforest which
52Environmental Resources Managers Limited, ‘Niger Delta Environmental Survey Final Report’, Phase 1, Volume 1, 249.
53(1996) 4 NWLR (pt 445) 657.
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previously occupied some 7,400 km2 of land has disappeared as well. Spills in populated areas often spread out over a wide area, destroying crops and aquacultures through contamination of the groundwater and soils. The consumption of dissolved oxygen by bacteria feeding on the spilled hydrocarbons also contributes to the death of fish. In agricultural communities, often a year’s supply of food can be destroyed instantaneously.
Because of the careless nature of oiloperations in the Delta, the environment is growing increasingly uninhabitable.People in the affected areas complain about health issues including breathing problems and skin lesions; many have lost basic human rights such as health, access to food, clean water, and an ability to work.