Environmental and health hazards of residents domiciled around Africa’s largest landfill

Abstract

Landfills are a nuisance and an environmental feature whose siting creates uncertainty, anxiety and unrest in nearby residential neighborhoods. As such, hazards from Africa’s largest Landfill in Nigeria were surveyed, considering a 3 km radius of the site. Primary data were collected across four seasons from 473 participants in neighborhoods situated within a 1, 1–2 and 2–3 km radius of the site. The research established that environmental and health hazards experienced differ significantly in space, due to exposure to landfill pollutants which varied in space. However, experience in both the dry and rainy seasons was the same. The overall results reveal that place dependence, social bonding and economic status are the significant factors influencing residents’ decision to continue residing in their neighborhoods despite the hazards. The research advocated for more studies on the spatio-temporal pattern of hazardous land uses to ensure a sustainable environment that supports healthy living.

Keywords:

• environmental hazards
• health risks
• landfill
• waste management
• waste disposal sites

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the residents interviewed for their hospitality and patience. Appreciations go to the field assistants as well to Ms. Kolawole Oluwatoyin for the language corrections. Also, I am grateful to the anonymous reviewers who made an important contribution to improving the manuscript.

Disclosure statment

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.