Perception of Health Effects of Limestone Quarrying Among Residents of Iyuku Community, Edo State

Background: The quarry industries of various countries contributes less than 5% of their gross domestic product. Despite this the economic, social, environmental and health impacts of quarrying are very widespread. Objectives: The main aim of the study is to assess the health effects of limestone quarrying on the residents of Iyuku Community. Methodology: This cross sectional study was carried out on the residents of Iyuku community, a combination of simple random and cluster sampling technique were employed to get data from 330 respondents who are residents of Iyuku community. Questionnaires, which were self administered were used to collect the data. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) 26 ^TH version and the results where presented in form of numerical and diagrammatic presentations. Results: In this study majority are males 217 (65.8%) , while 113 (34.2%) are female. Mean age of the respondents aged 40-49 years is 45.03 ± 10.185 years. Ninety five respondents (28.8%) visited the quarry site regularly and reported the highest form of exposure was noise 67(70.5%), and this was closely followed by exposure to dust . A large amount of respondents knew about dust control and noise reduction measures. Also 87.9% of respondents perceived that the mining company is not doing anything to address the community health needs. The most common health challenge experienced by respondents was cough, and most of the respondents attributed their symptoms to mining. Particulate matter values measured from central point at the quarry site to various distances read 0m, 250m, 500m, and 1km read 39, 22, 17, 13ug m ³ and were constantly decreasing. The Particulate Matter (PM _2.5 ) values were correspondingly decreasing. The average weight of particulate dust measured on the masks of 3 subjects were 2.0170, 3.5011 and 2.6539 randomly measured at various times. Conclusion and Recommendation: Limestone quarrying, has a vast and wide range of effects on the health of the surrounding communities, which have profound effects on the health of individuals and members of the community. Therefore it is necessary to pay attention to both the health risks and the health needs