Professor of Analytical Chemistry (Ecotoxicology), Doris Fovwe Ogeleka, has warned that reckless dumping of deadly chemicals in water bodies by industries and individuals is producing toxic fishes, shrimps, crabs and other aquatic animals, which are killing Nigerians
Urging Nigerians to be wary of the source of fishes they consume, she said ingesting aquatic animals that had come in contact with chemicals, such as Neatex and Norust CR 486, is dangerous to humans and could induce cancer.
Ogeleka, who presented the fifth inaugural lecture of Federal University of Petroleum Resources (FUPRE), Effurun, Delta State, titled, ‘Ecotoxicology: Surveilling the Consequences of Chemicals in the Environment’,
identified four categories of ecotoxicology, namely: toxic, herbicide, water and nano.
Ogeleka analysed the problems envisaged in each category, the findings, consequences of exposed chemicals and the contribution of the study to knowledge.
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She disclosed a finding by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that approximately 3.4 million persons die yearly from drinking polluted water.
She said: “The ecological effects of pesticides and industrial chemicals to ecosvstem cannot be underestimated and evaluations need to be done
to safe guide organisms in the environment.
With little or no regular monitoring from regulators in Nigeria, namely Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Eederal Ministry of Environment (FMEnV) and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), most end users dispose chemicals indiscriminately.
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