Dear UNEP, we're at dire risk of respiratory diseases in Rivers State. Please #StoptheSoot
The Issue
The soot arrived without warning and at first, we didn't pay any mind to it.
Yes, we noticed the black feet and the black surfaces but perhaps we thought it was just a harbinger of the long awaited harmattan.
An eyewitness report recollects her initial experience with the Port Harcourt city black dust in November 2016. According to her,
"Whenever my niece and nephew go outside without shoes, they come back with black feet and I remember always asking them what they stepped on outside that made their feet black."
One by one the residents of Port Harcourt city became aware of an alarming and yet to be identified substance which has persisted and tripled in quantity over the past three months-a black flaky substance which is clearly visible to the eye and which we have surely been inhaling for three months or longer.
Memos and appeals to government institutions and environmental agencies have yielded no result other than a promise to carry out investigations and we believe that in the absence of any results almost two months later, it is imperative that we seek the assistance of UNEP.
The residents of Rivers State are at an ever increasing risk of respiratory diseases due to this unidentified substance which cannot be restrained by closed doors and windows.
A #Stopthesoot hash tag has been trending on the microblogging site Twitter as residents of Port Harcourt share their alarming discoveries of the insidious and pervading black soot. A Twitter user had this to say:
"My younger sister has has had a persistent cough for almost one month despite constant medication. My two year old son has a runny nose and whenever I wipe his nose, there are black streaks in it. We are obviously inhaling this soot."
Several theories have been postulated concerning the source of the soot but no concrete conclusions or solutions have been reached. The situation is indeed dire.
The goal of this petition is to:
1. Urge UNEP to employ its considerable clout to investigate the content and source of this air borne pollutant in Port Harcourt.
2. Present the report of its findings on the black soot to relevant government agencies.
3. Galvanize our government and environmental agencies into taking immediate actions to stop the soot.
The Issue
The soot arrived without warning and at first, we didn't pay any mind to it.
Yes, we noticed the black feet and the black surfaces but perhaps we thought it was just a harbinger of the long awaited harmattan.
An eyewitness report recollects her initial experience with the Port Harcourt city black dust in November 2016. According to her,
"Whenever my niece and nephew go outside without shoes, they come back with black feet and I remember always asking them what they stepped on outside that made their feet black."
One by one the residents of Port Harcourt city became aware of an alarming and yet to be identified substance which has persisted and tripled in quantity over the past three months-a black flaky substance which is clearly visible to the eye and which we have surely been inhaling for three months or longer.
Memos and appeals to government institutions and environmental agencies have yielded no result other than a promise to carry out investigations and we believe that in the absence of any results almost two months later, it is imperative that we seek the assistance of UNEP.
The residents of Rivers State are at an ever increasing risk of respiratory diseases due to this unidentified substance which cannot be restrained by closed doors and windows.
A #Stopthesoot hash tag has been trending on the microblogging site Twitter as residents of Port Harcourt share their alarming discoveries of the insidious and pervading black soot. A Twitter user had this to say:
"My younger sister has has had a persistent cough for almost one month despite constant medication. My two year old son has a runny nose and whenever I wipe his nose, there are black streaks in it. We are obviously inhaling this soot."
Several theories have been postulated concerning the source of the soot but no concrete conclusions or solutions have been reached. The situation is indeed dire.
The goal of this petition is to:
1. Urge UNEP to employ its considerable clout to investigate the content and source of this air borne pollutant in Port Harcourt.
2. Present the report of its findings on the black soot to relevant government agencies.
3. Galvanize our government and environmental agencies into taking immediate actions to stop the soot.
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on 9 February 2017