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EnvironServ (K) Ltd workers on site on August 11, 2016. The company was
contracted by Kenya Pipeline Company to clean up the Thange River in
Kibwezi East constituency following an oil spill. PHOTO | PIUS MAUNDU |
NATION MEDIA GROUP
By PIUS MAUNDU
A report on the impact of oil that spilled into the Thange River
basin in Kibwezi East constituency last year has linked cases of liver
and stomach diseases among residents to petroleum poisoning.
The report states that results of tests done on 161 patients out of 1,071 in February this year showed they contracted diseases caused by benzene and toluene poisoning. The two elements are found in oil.
The report, seen by the Nation, was compiled by Panafcon Consultants, a Nairobi-based economic and social impact assessment firm contracted by Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC).
In one case, a 95-year-old man from Thange Village complained of difficulties in breathing and general body weakness during the survey.
He underwent liver function tests and results showed “features of benzene /toluene poisoning.”
In another case reported by the company, a 47-year-old woman from Mbulutini Village is said to have white blood cells abnormalities, which can be caused by benzene/toluene.
According the report, it will cost KPC over Sh200 million to compensate the affected 1,071 residents following the pollution of the river and its environs for 18 months after the spillage.
COMPENSATION
The report recommends Sh153 million be used to compensate the effected residents for medical expenses and each of the 161 people be granted Sh500,000.
According to the report, the remaining 950 residents should be given Sh80,000 in compensation and another Sh41 million for loss of livestock and crops.
The report recommends further assessment to be carried out in the area since “human and livestock medical results at the study boundary are positive for exposure and [a] much wider area may have been affected by petroleum products after the spillage.”
Residents discovered traces of oil in shallow wells in the river bed, before they notified KPC. The company repaired a section of the Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline that was the source of the spill.
Last week, KPC distributed maize, beans and rice to three schools and 800 residents from the affected villages.
This was part of a relief food programme sponsored by the company to cushion the affected residents who have been unable to carry out any farming.
“Besides the food aid, KPC ... also recently gave Sh1 million to pay school and college fees for the needy in the village,” said KPC spokesman Janson Nyantino during the food distribution exercise.
SOURCE: NMG
The report states that results of tests done on 161 patients out of 1,071 in February this year showed they contracted diseases caused by benzene and toluene poisoning. The two elements are found in oil.
The report, seen by the Nation, was compiled by Panafcon Consultants, a Nairobi-based economic and social impact assessment firm contracted by Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC).
In one case, a 95-year-old man from Thange Village complained of difficulties in breathing and general body weakness during the survey.
He underwent liver function tests and results showed “features of benzene /toluene poisoning.”
In another case reported by the company, a 47-year-old woman from Mbulutini Village is said to have white blood cells abnormalities, which can be caused by benzene/toluene.
According the report, it will cost KPC over Sh200 million to compensate the affected 1,071 residents following the pollution of the river and its environs for 18 months after the spillage.
COMPENSATION
The report recommends Sh153 million be used to compensate the effected residents for medical expenses and each of the 161 people be granted Sh500,000.
According to the report, the remaining 950 residents should be given Sh80,000 in compensation and another Sh41 million for loss of livestock and crops.
The report recommends further assessment to be carried out in the area since “human and livestock medical results at the study boundary are positive for exposure and [a] much wider area may have been affected by petroleum products after the spillage.”
Residents discovered traces of oil in shallow wells in the river bed, before they notified KPC. The company repaired a section of the Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline that was the source of the spill.
Last week, KPC distributed maize, beans and rice to three schools and 800 residents from the affected villages.
This was part of a relief food programme sponsored by the company to cushion the affected residents who have been unable to carry out any farming.
“Besides the food aid, KPC ... also recently gave Sh1 million to pay school and college fees for the needy in the village,” said KPC spokesman Janson Nyantino during the food distribution exercise.
SOURCE: NMG
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