PUBLIC HEALTH CONSEQUENCES AND HEALTH PROMOTION STRATEGIES AGAINST SOOT IN PORT HARCOURT METROPOLIS OF RIVERS STATE.

The emergence of soot as air pollution has called for concern of the people and government in recent times. Soot is an output of incomplete combustion of carbonated fuels, usually petroleum based chemical substance in liquid or gaseous form. This paper focused on the Public health consequences and health strategies of soot in Port Harcourt Metropolis of Rivers state, Nigeria. The paper examined the concept of soot, causes of soot, and occurrence of soot in Niger Delta, Port Harcourt as well as Rivers state. The prevailing health effects of soot was respiratory diseases such as asthma, lung cancer, vascular dysfunction and thrombus formation. The high ambient of soot in the air affects the environment and human activities emanate from industries and gas companies which contribute to millions of death annually. Short-term Public health effects of these are irritation of the eyes, nose and throat; cough, chest tightness, wheezing, dyspnea and acute exacerbation of asthma, worsened allergies, asthma, bronchitis and lung cancer while long-term effects include arrhythmias and lung cancer among others. The population at risk of soot effect include babies/children leading to difficulty in breathing, low birth weight, children and adult throat irritation, cardiopulmonary diseases and susceptibility to health problem. The paper also identified the socio-economic status (SES), including income level, social status estimated by educational attainment, and work status evaluated based on type of occupation,. This could have an influence on susceptibility of a population due to soot. This paper concluded that there is a continuous occurrence of soot in Port Harcourt Metropolis. It was recommended that Health education programmes and enlightenment should be given to the populace with regards to illegal bunkery activities in the State on the negative implications of soot and encourage them to embrace other activities that would be hazards free to them and the environment. Government should implement laws and policies that would protect government properties, the environment and health of the populace so that those who get involved in illegal bunkering can be prosecuted