Soot crisis deepens as gas flaring worsens health risks

Goli Innocent 

Lagos — What is unfolding across Nigeria’s oil-producing communities is no longer just an environmental issue, it is a public health emergency that is growing in silence. From Rivers State to most parts of the Niger Delta, communities living around illegal refineries and gas flare sites are reporting worsening cases of respiratory illness, skin complications, and long-term reproductive health challenges.

The United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, has repeatedly warned that exposure to soot and hydrocarbon pollution in the Niger Delta is far above safe limits, with some groundwater samples in heavily polluted areas recording benzene concentrations up to 900 times higher than World Health Organization, WHO, guideline values. Benzene is a confirmed carcinogen linked to blood disorders and long-term cancer risks, even at low exposure levels over time.

In Port Harcourt and surrounding communities, medical practitioners have continued to report rising cases of asthma, chronic bronchitis, and eye irritation, especially among children. Health workers in the region have also linked prolonged exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), largely from artisanal refining and gas flaring, to increased hospital admissions for respiratory distress. WHO data shows that PM2.5 exposure above 35 µg/m³ significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular and lung disease, yet industrial and illegal refining zones in the Niger Delta regularly exceed this threshold many times over.

In places like Bille in Rivers State, community-level environmental assessments and advocacy reports have raised alarm over methane leakage from ageing oil infrastructure. Methane itself is not only a potent greenhouse gas but also an indicator of broader hydrocarbon seepage, which often coexists with toxic compounds such as benzene and toluene. Local monitoring exercises cited in environmental advocacy trainings, including those by groups like MAJI, have described methane concentration spikes far above normal atmospheric levels, pointing to systemic failure in leak detection and maintenance.

The human cost is becoming harder to ignore. Women in affected communities are reporting increased reproductive health complications, including infertility and early onset menopause symptoms. While peer-reviewed Nigerian studies remain limited due to funding gaps, regional health surveys and NGO field reports consistently point to a correlation between long-term exposure to hydrocarbon pollution and hormonal disruption in women of reproductive age.

Gas flaring, despite being officially prohibited since the late 1970s under Nigerian law, still persists in parts of the Niger Delta. Data from the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, and satellite observations from global energy monitoring platforms show that Nigeria remains one of the top gas flaring countries in Africa, releasing millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide and methane annually. These emissions do not stay in the atmosphere alone; they settle back into soil and water systems, compounding exposure risks for nearby populations.

Artisanal refining, locally known as “kpo fire”, has further intensified the crisis. The process, which involves crude distillation in makeshift facilities, releases a cocktail of toxic pollutants including soot, sulphur compounds, and heavy metals. Environmental analysts have linked the black carbon deposits seen across rooftops, rivers, and farmlands in Rivers and Bayelsa States to these illegal operations. Black carbon, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, is one of the most harmful short-lived climate pollutants, with severe implications for both climate stability and human health.

Beyond the reports and analysis, what stands out is the lived reality: communities waking up to blackened water surfaces, children coughing through the night, and families forced to breathe air that carries the smell of crude oil. The science is clear, but the enforcement gap is wider.

Until gas flaring is fully enforced against, illegal refining dismantled at scale, and real investment made in environmental remediation, the Niger Delta will continue to carry the burden of an avoidable health crisis that is both man-made and long-standing.