Check safety of cement emissions in Tororo

I make reference to my two past comments, ‘Discuss Tororo industrial issues in Parliament’ in the New Vision of January 27,2017, and ‘Industrial pollution in Tororo: Why there is need for policy action’ of November 12,2018. I speculated that people living around Tororo Cement factory and chimneys for burning lime could be dying slow deaths due to the dangerous emissions from these facilities.

I suggested that action be taken to measure these emissions to see if they are within the acceptable levels. All we have seen is that the environment has been damaged irreversibly with water bodies drying up. I also tried to provoke a level of public debates by raising the dilemma of having industrial development versus cost of human well-being.

There seems to be no clear policies to deal with environmental hazards caused by industries and if they are there, they are dormant. It is now four years and the situation has not changed, perhaps it is even worsening. Many people could be dying of lung cancer than we imagine.

The Independent of August 30, 2020 reported Virtual Rotary Cancer run in Muyenga, Kampala, in which the Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, while officiating at the launch, called for cancer screening and also warned government against focusing on fighting only Covid-19 while ignoring other diseases.

It was observed that in Uganda in 2018, at least 32,617 new cases of cancer were recorded. The Uganda Cancer Institute reported that patients present themselves for treatment at advanced stages, indicating the low level of knowledge in the public and their perceptions of cancer.

Interestingly, cancer kills more people per day than Covid-19.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (a WHO agency), there were 9. 6 million deaths from cancer in 2018, which translates into 26,000 deaths a day worldwide.

Tororo is a unique district that requires attention given the level of environmental contamination away from the cement factory premises. First, cement parking bags in the factories are faulty as they leak cement. There are two depots or outlets of cement in Tororo town on Bazaar Stree. Trailers pack here to load or offload cement, often blocking the Mbale Highway.

The area is too dusty with layers of cement that are blown around by wind. This poses great danger to people who come shopping. The area is surrounded by pharmacies, banks, supermarkets, groceries, restaurants, etc. The cement loaders at the depots are coated with cement dust and they wear no masks.

Going forward, I suggest that cement factories be monitored to ensure that they comply with health regulations. The quality of cement bags should be of a standard paper gauge. Fauna in water springs within 5-kilometre radius of the factory, must be examined regularly to determine the level of factory pollution. All factory employees plus cement loaders must be checked for cancer periodically, etc.

Dr Joshu Okoth,
[email protected]