Assessment of Total Suspended Particulate Matter (TSPM) Emissions from Sawmills in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

This research evaluated the total suspended particulate matter (TSPM) emissions and other pollutants in sawmills located within Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria as well as the occupational health effects on the workers. The study utilized real-time air quality assessment tools alongside structured questionnaires which were implemented in a mixed methods cross sectional approach. These tools together with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were used to gather spatial, environmental, and demographic information from a total of 384 sawmill workers in 12 sawmills across the three senatorial districts of the state. Findings indicated that particulate matter concentrations at the sources of wood dust almost always surpassed WHO limits with measurements between 2.08 mg/m³ to 3.12 mg/m³ especially in areas such as Idu Uruan and Ikot Ekpene. Several workplaces also breached the OSHA’s 85 dB (A) limit for noise with some exceeding 110 dB (A). Most of the workers were men aged between 31 to 45 years, poorly educated, and had more than six years of work experience which indicated chronic exposure coupled with low health literacy and inadequate protective measures. All these factors underline the need for ordinances pertaining to social governance in occupational health and safety, environmental protection, and didactic policy. This study calls on health policymakers, occupational health experts, and sawmill owners to take comprehensive measures for sustainable policy to contain pollution and the health risk among workers for the wood processing industry in Nigeria.