Dr Ogungbemi Olalekan, a medical practitioner has warned Nigerians against situating dumpsites in residential areas, as they are hazardous to our health.
Olalekan said this adding that dumpsites could cause water and airborne diseases.
“Dumpsites situated close to residential areas posed a major health hazard such as water and airborne diseases to people living in such areas.
“During rainy seasons if dumpsite is not properly made or situated far away from the residential areas, water can take some of the micro-organisms from the dumpsite and spread them to the house. Thereby causing people who are using the natural source of water to cook, bathe and for drinking purposes to easily develop water-borne diseases,” he said.
The Medical Doctor further said that rodents were attracted by the foul odour emanating from the dumpsite thereby forcing them to leave their natural environment to feed from the dumpsite.
According to him, the rodents usually gain access to the house through dumpsites to feed on food and eventually infect people with viral diseases such as Lassa fever and dengue fever.
He warned the public not to set fire on dumpsites as it contained flammable materials that could result in wildfire capable of igniting the whole community and causing environmental pollution.
Olalekan then emphasised that poor situation of dumpsite was an indication that government and communities were paying less attention to environmental health.
“Some people think it is an advantage to live close to dumpsite to avoid working a long distance to throw their waste, but they should also know that there is a disadvantage that outweighs their assumed advantage.
“Because when they are infected with diseases, they will spend a lot of money, some people may not even survive the diseases which dump site pose to them,” the physician warned.
“Every community is supposed to have where dumpsite should be situated on their map, so when you see illegal dumpsite it means that the community is poorly planned.
