Hazards Assessment Analyses of Fossil-fuel Generators: Holistic-study of Human Experiences and Perceptions in South-Southern Nigeria

Abstract: Users of fossil-fuel generators for electricity-supply to households/buildings/premises/apartments in Port-Harcourt, Uyo & Calabar metropolitan-cities [and environs] of Nigeria, with their Neighbours were repeatedly engaged for three (3) consecutive years, to determine their subjective-perceptions and experiences of the associated environmental, health, psycho-social, financial, security and safety hazards/issues etc. Field surveys/investigations were conducted on the study-area, which was segmented into three-hundred (300) settlement-clusters; then, tailor-suited questionnaires were administered to generator-users and their neighbours [as "˜respondents']. After analyzing the data, research-findings revealed that: There is an overwhelming dependence on, and a prevalent/predominant use [80.1% of all 68,400 households/buildings/premises/apartments surveyed in 3 years] of fossil-fuel generators in these cities and environs. Some generator-users are fully-aware and "˜strongly-agree' that, there are related: Environmental-hazards [air-pollution (50.9%) and noise-pollution (48.8%) etc.]; Health-hazards [sleep-disturbance (84.6%), hearing-loss (67.1%), ophthalmic-problems (45.0%) & difficulty in mental-concentration (88.8%) etc.]; Psycho-social issues [quarrels/verbal confrontations (89.4.0%), reports to local-authority(ies)/mediation (6.4%), revenge-attempts (2.6%), forced-relocations (1.3%), arrests (0.2%) & litigation (0.1%) etc.]; Financial-implications [purchase-costs ranging from US$90.91 - ≥US$60,606.06 etc.]; Security concerns/challenges [the 5,500 reported cases of gunshot-violence i.e. 41.8% of all 13,158 generator-related crimes committed etc.]; and Safety-hazards [fire-incidences, fuel-ingestions and deaths accounting for 5.6%, 60.5% and 2.2% resp. of all 8,928 reported-cases of generator-use related accidents].