So
many persons have lost their lives in a rather cheap manner. With no power
supply from the electricity company serving the area, they would rather turn on
the generator in a room (to avoid theft) in the apartment they are staying and go
to bed. This will result to death in sleep. They will be joined with the long
list of thousands of people who had been lost across the country to generator
fumes over the years.
The
fumes emitted by generators are fatal, often without the victims, who are
mostly asleep, knowing or realising the danger. They also have long-term
hazards as a possible cause of lung cancer. Experts therefore advise people
using the device to never run a generator indoors or in any area where
ventilation is limited and people or animals are present.
We
understand that due to the poor supply of electricity in Nigeria, most offices,
shops and homes are now being run by generators. Indeed, the state of Nigeria’s
power infrastructure has created an environmental nightmare across the country.
Almost every family, in what Nigerians have dubbed “face -me -I- face-you”
apartment, has a small power generating set, derogatorily known as
“I-better–pass my neighbour”. So bad is the situation that in some houses as
many as 10 generating sets could be found within a radius of five metres.
Yes,
generators provide “emergency” power for light, fans, fridges, television to
video games and such like. But aside the noise and pollution they emit, there
are also health costs. As most health experts have warned, fumes from these
generators could be deadly. The fumes contain carbon monoxide, a dangerous
invisible, odourless and colourless gas. When inhaled, carbon monoxide replaces
oxygen in the tissues and can easily lead to death. The tell–tale signs on the
victims are dizziness, nausea, headache, even confusion, symptoms mistakenly
attributed to too much alcohol or sun; or something else. That explains why the
story of people who sleep at night with their generator on without waking up
the next morning has now become a common tale. Besides, exposure to moderate
and high levels of carbon monoxide over a long period of time has been linked
with an increased risk of heart disease. This could lead to a shorter life
span.
What
is particularly worrisome about this development is that as pervasive as it is,
there is still no public awareness campaign by the relevant authorities on the
dangers posed by generators.
Therefore,
against the background that hardly a week passes without reports of fatalities
resulting from generator fumes, users must be made aware of the necessary
precautions to take.
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