The oil palm project in Kalangala district is on the spot again following a report by the district's water department that highlights the risk of pregnant mothers giving birth to blue babies, owing to the increased contamination of the water sources by chemical compounds from fertilizers used in the plantations.
A study conducted by the Kalangala district water department about three months ago reveals increased contamination of the water sources by potassium, fluorides and nitrates that form a major composition of the NPK fertilizer used by oil palm growers in the district.
"Those [compounds] are very dangerous to human life when they move into the normal ground water course. Nitrates are very dangerous, and people can give birth to blue babies; it weakens the bones," Francis Iga, the senior district water officer, told journalists.
According to Kalangala district health officer, Dr Hilary Bitakaramire, the blue baby syndrome is an environment related health problem scientifically known as methemoglobinemia. It arises when an infant's blood is unable to carry enough oxygen to body cells and tissue. The condition is caused by a rise in the level of methemoglobin in the blood, a
non-oxygen-carrying enzyme that is continually produced in the body. It is converted to hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying enzyme in the blood, by a red blood cell enzyme called methemoglobin reductase.
Because infants under the age of six months have little methemoglobin reductase in their systems, an excess of methemoglobin, or methemoglobinemia, can be fatal if left untreated. Excessive nitrates in drinking water can adversely affect children's health, sometimes causing blue baby syndrome. When ingested, these nitrates are converted to nitrite in the digestive system, which nitrites react with the hemoglobin in the blood, forming high amounts of methemoglobin.
If too much of the enzyme, which cannot carry oxygen, is present in the blood, the infant's tissue and organs may be deprived of oxygen, which may cause the baby to develop a bluish coloring and possibly suffer long-term digestive and respiratory problems. This syndrome occurs mostly in babies aged six months or younger, but can
also be found in older children and adults.
Mothers facing a risk of giving birth to babies with this condition are mainly those living on the main islands of Buggala and Bubembe where oil palm growing has taken root.
"We are getting concerned and we have, in fact, informed the Water Sources Development Department of the ministry of Water and Environment to come and carry our further investigations to [establish] whether our ground water sources are being contaminated by the fertilizers," Iga said.
District directive
In the meantime, the district leadership is asking farmers with oil palm plantations around water bodies to uproot their crops up to a distance of at least one acre away.
Robinah Nanyunja became the first victim of the new directive when she was ordered to uproot her palm trees in the vicinity of a newly constructed Shs 42m gravity water project at Kasisa fishing village on Bubembe Island.
"This area must be protected for the good of the community because we need the water. Otherwise, if we leave the palm oil around here, she is going to apply fertilizers and nitrates will enter into the water and contaminate it," said Willy Lugoloobi, Kalangala district chairman.
Despite being surrounded by Lake Victoria, Kalangala district still faces a challenge of safe water coverage, with residents of islands like Jjaana, Nkese, Nkose, Kitobo and Ddajje facing a high risk of contracting waterborne diseases such as dysentery, cholera and bilharzia, which have previously claimed lives here.
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201203290951.html
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