Environmentalists and experts have called on the Lagos Federal government to ban the use of mercury containing devices and promote free alternatives in medical centres.
Bothered by the hazard of mercury substances on health, environmentalists and experts have called on the Federal government to ban use of mercury containing devices and promote free alternatives in medical centres.
The stakeholders met at a workshop organised by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRAdev) in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Health to raise awareness and train heath workers on the use of mercury chemical.
According to a recent UNEP survey skin lighteners also contain mercury, which are used by a large fractions of the population. Around 80 per cent of the inhaled mercury vapour is absorbed in the blood through the lungs. It may cause harmful effects to the nervous, digestive, respiratory, immune systems and to the kidneys, besides causing lung damage.
The stakeholders, who spoke at a one-day workshop titled ‘’mercury free health care in Nigeria’’ held recently, emphasised that mercury is one of the world’s most ubiquitous heavy metal neurotoxicants and is therefore a serious global environmental and human health problem.
Lagos State’s Special Adviser on public health, Dr Yewande Adeshina, while explaining the objective of the workshop, called for a ban on use of mercury containing devices, adding that this would effectively promote the use of mercury free alternatives, support the allocation of human and financial resources to ensure procurement of mercury free alternatives and a sound management of health care and also ensure a gradually replaceable equipment is installed. Adeshina, added that the Metallic mercury is very volatile and when spilled has a large surface area so that high atmospheric concentrations may be produced in enclosed spaces, particularly when environmental temperature is high, which ultimately accumulates in soil where it is transformed to a more toxic form- methyl mercury, which builds up in food chain.
Also Executive Director, SRADev Mr. Ane Leslie Adogame said that mercury a very harmful substance could cause adverse effect especially in those who are breastfeeding during the first few years of life.
“A child’s brain is still developing and constantly absorbing nutrient, mercury may affect a child’s development such as walking, talking, shortening attention span an d causing learning disabilities”. Adogame stressed.
According to a lecturer in the faculty of public health, university of Ibadan, Dr Godson Ana: “Mercury is a recognised global pollutant which has received little attention in Nigeria. It is a toxic substance of global concern that causes significant harm to human health, wildlife and ecosystems.