According to her, the pollution from the company has worsened such that they had no option than to send the students home for health and safety reasons.

[contextly_sidebar id=”v2rlkIVNP9DyM0xmVvzRkI2AaRJ244k2″]“The student agitated that because of the smoke they could not stay. The boy’s dormitory and the classroom block are close to the factory. Since Tuesday the stench and the smoke which for some time now has subsided erupted again. Ghana Education Service is very much aware of the situation,” she said.

She said all efforts made by the management of the school and the district education office to get the situation addressed have proven futile.

“Some time ago, we were all invited to a meeting, the management of the school, the District Education Office and the management of the company, and then when we expressed our concerns, we were asked to put certain measures in place which to some extent we did, but we do not know what happened, and this week since Tuesday the smoke and the stench are being coming again,”she said.

The pollution by the Chinese company at Asutsuare in the Greater Accra Region, is reportedly affecting the health of some two thousand students of the school.

Speaking to Citi News about the situation, the Headmistress of the school, Sylvia Baaba Yankey, said academic work is being affected by the pollution.

“We experience the fumes on the compound every now and then, some of them who took ill were taken to the hospital. According to some of them, the doctor advised them to stop smoking, meanwhile they don’t smoke” she said.

Pollution by Kuntunse tomato factory

Residents at Korleman City, an estate at Kuntunse in the Ga West Municipality, last year raised similar concerns about how the activities of a Chinese Tomato paste factory was affecting them.

The residents first raised concerns over the possible long-term health hazards, following the improper disposal of waste by operators of the factory.

According to them, thick smoke filled the air during the company’s operation during the day and at night, with excessive noise.

Independent investigations by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA revealed that the tomato factory was operating illegally and the agency proceeded to fine the company GHc15,000.

The company was also ordered to halt any form of production.

The factory, which belongs to some Chinese expatriates, stopped operating for a while but resumed full production again.

After a back and forth between residents and the Ga West Municipal Assembly, the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, ordered the company to close down.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Speaking to Citi News about the situation, the Headmistress of the school, Sylvia Baaba Yankey, said academic work is being affected by the pollution.

[contextly_sidebar id=”mnMzaqPhGn2CID7EUfXn0CHkZEoqB9zX”]“We experience the fumes on the compound every now and then, some of them who took ill were taken to the hospital. According to some of them, the doctor advised them to stop smoking, meanwhile they don’t smoke” she said.

According to Baaba Yankey, the emission from the company prevents students from staying in any of the school’s facilities.

“We experience serious pollution and students cannot stay in the classroom, and certainly it is a major concern,” she said.

The authorities of the school, who are also affected by activities of thse toiletries and plastics manufacturing company, say they are engulfed by the fumes on a daily basis.

Pollution by Kuntunse tomato factory

Residents at Korleman City, an estate at Kuntunse in the Ga West Municipality, last year raised  similar concerns about how the activities of a Chinese Tomatoe paste factory was affecting them.

The residents first raised concerns over the possible long-term health hazards, following the improper disposal of waste by operators of the factory.

According to them, thick smoke filled the air during the company’s operation during the day and at night, with excessive noise.

Independent investigations by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA revealed that the tomato factory was operating illegally and the agency proceeded to fine the company GHc15,000.

The company was also ordered to halt any form of production.

The factory, which belongs to some Chinese expatriates, stopped operating for a while, but resumed full production again.

After a back and forth between residents and the Ga West Municipal Assembly, the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, ordered the company to close down.

–

By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Osudoku SHS students lament health risks from Chinese factory appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

More numbers of allergies in both adults and children would also be recorded due to the high amounts of hydrochloric acid being released into the atmosphere, she added.

These were stated during a panel discussion on Climate Change and its impacts on public health at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), on Monday.

Mrs McCarthy said air pollution was the largest environmental health risk in the world, as more than seven million people globally died annually from that.

The EPA administrator said poor women and children paid a heavy price for indoor air pollution as they spent more time at home breathing in smoke and soot from leaky coal and wood cook stoves.

She said cleaning up the air could save lives and prevents non-communicable diseases and also reduce disease risks among women and vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly

She, therefore, urged Ghana to take advantage of the efficient technologies available to continue to grow economically in a manner where natural resources would be more effectively protected.

She called on Ghana and other African countries to invest in efficient renewable energy for energy security, promote low-carbon transport for less congestion and pollution and low-input agriculture to boost food security.

Mrs McCarthy said Climate Change strategies must also look at ensuring higher efficiencies in fuel-wood utilisation and how it could contribute to improved health and profit margins of women traders.

She said people must be educated on the devastating effects of climate change and the need to shift to clean technologies that were vital to a stable and successful future.

She said Ghana must learn from the challenges and successes of the US at a time when the country was becoming more urbanised and industrialised.

She also indicated that Ghana could follow some of the legal steps the US had taken in the industry, energy and transportation sectors to reduce carbon emissions.

Dr Frederick Ato Armah, the Head of Department, Environmental Science, UCC, said Africa must stop playing victims of the impact of Climate Change and be more proactive in dealing with the issue because they had in a way contributed to it.

Dr Sabastian Eliason, the Head of Department, Community Medicine of the School of Medical Sciences, UCC, said the impact of Climate Change posed great danger to public health and pragmatic measures were needed to address it.

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Source: GNA

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