AS the government embarks on gas extraction, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) has assured the public that all safety measures are seriously observed in the exploration and extraction of gas and oil across the country.
The TPDC Director of Exploration and
Development, Mr Kelvin Komba, said yesterday that the body believes in
zero fatality in both gas and oil extraction.
“TPDC is very serious on health, safety
and environment. We cannot allow any company or any process to take
place without considering such key issues.They are everything to us,” he
said.
He added that TPDC makes sure all
exploration companies and its officials adhere to the Environment
Management Act, 2004. “TPDC conducts its activities by taking into
account the Environment Management Act, 2004.
Whoever violates the law faces legal action immediately,” he said.
He said his office is looking forward to
asking the Ministry for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries to conduct
studies and give results regarding claims that fishermen no longer get
enough fish along areas where gas projects are located.
"We would like to ask the ministry
concerned through the fisheries sector to conduct a special study on the
availability of fish.
However, what I understand is that gas
extraction activities are taking place about 100 kilometres offshore
where most of our fishermen do not reach," he noted.
TPDC Communication Manager, Ms Maria
Msellemu, said her office has been conducting awareness trainings to
villagers in the southern regions.
According to Ms Msellemu, TPDC offers learning materials prepared in simple language.
The upshot is to enable everybody to
understand issues regarding gas exploration, extraction, its importance
to the country’s economy, measures to be taken during extraction and
other things of such nature. "We are doing all these because we value
safety, health and environment.
Our focus now is in the Southern
regions, but we are also eying the Northern Lake Zone regions," she
explained. She added that TPDC also trains journalists to ensure they
manage to publish analytical reports with enough knowledge on gas and
oil related matters.
TPDC has also formed at least 32 oil and
gas clubs in various secondary schools. "We have formed 32 oil and gas
clubs at different secondary schools in the southern regions. In Lindi
for example, we have a total of 15 clubs and 17 clubs are in Mtwara,"
noted Ms Msellemu.
TPDC public relations officer, Mr Malik
Munisi, said the body uses brochures, seminars and public rallies to
pass information to the public regarding gas and oil projects in the
southern regions.
"Citizens have been informed on the
measures to be taken in case of any problem. We have supplied them with a
hotline phone number so that they can make free calls whenever they
smell or see anything unusual.
We have a 24-hour emergency response
unit which responds to calls and addresses problems as soon as
possible," he said. Earlier, experts and environmental activists urged
the government and its regulatory bodies to ensure pre-cautions and
safety measures are given top priority to avoid safety hazards, which
may result from improper gas extraction activities.
According to experts, if not well
handled, gas extraction could lead to global warming, air, water and
land pollution as well as earthquakes in some areas, which is dangerous
to human beings and nature generally.
Some areas where drilling occurs have
experienced increases in concentrations of hazardous air pollution,
which results in adverse health outcomes, including respiratory
symptoms, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Some experts who spoke to the ‘Sunday
News’ urged the government through its regulatory bodies to make sure
safety measures are considered so as to protect Tanzanians and other
living organisms life as well as the environment.
Dr Abubakar Salama from the department
of chemical and mining of the College of Engineering and Technology
(CoET) of the University of Dar es Salaam said unconventional gas
extraction leads to water pollution.
He said the practice may pose health
risks to nearby communities through contamination of drinking water
sources with hazardous chemicals used in drilling the wellbore,
hydraulically fracturing the well, processing and refining the oil or
gas or disposing of wastewater.
Dr Salama said during the drilling
process, there is a possibility for leakage of dangerous gas from pipes.
“When gas leaks, it reduces the amount of oxygen and thus human beings
in the vicinity can get lung and heart related diseases as well as
cancer,” he said.
He added that gas extraction also may
affect ecosystem. He said gas extraction leads to bush clearing and
erosions, which harm local ecosystem.
According to Dr Salama, such exercises
cause segmentation that also leads to lower water level and thus
animals, insects and other organisms escape away during the clearing
processes. Moreover, human beings are forced to get water from deep
wells.
“Apart from using water from deep wells, still there is a danger of being contaminated with chemicals in case pipes are leaking.
This could affect human being’s health
and probably kill other living organisms including fish,” said Dr
Salama. One major cause of gas contamination is improperly constructed
or failing wells that allow gas to leak from the well into groundwater.
On earthquake, Dr Salama said earthquake can happen in areas with hydraulic fracturing that is linked to low-magnitude.
On ileum gas, the expert said improper
extraction of ileum gas can cause dizziness, fatigue, headache,
suffocation and other problems of such nature. He said its liquid could
lead to skin complications.
Dr Salama advised the government to move people’s residences to at least one kilometre from the processing site.
“The government must compensate people
and move them from all project areas, it is very dangerous for them to
continue staying there,” he said.
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