With the Coronavirus ravaging the country, the Lagos State government has concluded a new survey to determine quality of the air within its environment.
The survey came 14 years after the World Bank supported the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) to carry out a Vehicular Emission Monitoring Study in 2006.
According to government sources, the survey, which field work started on April 20, 2020 and ended on April 28, was aimed at supporting the government in addressing the pandemic and other air quality related challenges within and beyond its confines.
The source indicated that the exercise was conducted through the coordination of the Lagos State chapter (Mainland) of the Nigerian Environmental Society (NES), Lagos State Ministry of Environment and Water Resources and its agency, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA).
It was also done with the support of officials from the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Multiple Development Services (MDS) Ltd., Anila Resources Nigeria Ltd; CESSED of the Lagos State University, Lagos Office of the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMET), and Donald Resources and Services Ltd., with Prof. Babajide Alo, a NES Fellow and Director of Centre for Environmental Human Resources Development of the University of Lagos, as Project Advisor.
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The study, it was gathered, would assist in understanding what further measures to take to ensure that areas with high levels of air pollution take extra precautions to slow the spread of Coronavirus and to deploy extra resources to deal with the outbreak.
The outcome of the study, the source said, would also enrich the existing baseline data established for more comprehensive air quality management for the state, and to establish the impact of COVID-19 on air pollution.
According to NES officials, choice of sampling location was influenced by known areas for road traffic, crowded city centres and markets.
It said sampling locations as agreed upon by the technical team was based on the Lagos Division, namely Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos (Mainland and Island) and Epe.
Confirming the development, Dr. Eugene Itua, Chairman, Lagos NES (Mainland), and Project Coordinator of the survey, said: “The overall objective of this assignment is to create a good basis for the Lagos State government to make categorical statement on air quality status generally and, in particular, in relation to the COVID-19, and develop a more robust management plan for cleaner air and better environment.”
