Skip to main content

LAWMA DISTRIBUTES PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT TO SWEEPERS, PSP OPERATORS

Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), today, 29th March, 2020, distributed personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, to its sweepers and PSP operators across the state to protect them from infection in the course of their duties.


Items distributed included hand sanitizers, liquid soap, safety goggle, rubber work gloves, and re-useable nose masks, among others.

Speaking at the presentation of the materials at LAWMA Headquarters, Ijora, the Managing Director, Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin, noted that the move was in compliance with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s directive that all necessary steps be taken to arrest the further spread of corona virus.

He said that the over four thousand PSP employees and fifteen thousand street sweepers must be adequately protected because of the hazardous nature of their public sanitation service which may expose them to infection by the corona virus. 

According to him, “We are kitting our sweepers and PSP operators as we have always done, in line with the directive of the incident commander, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who has repeatedly stressed, that all precautionary measures must be taken, to curb the spread of corona virus”

“We have more over fifteen thousand sweepers and four thousand waste handlers working with private PSP operators, and they all must be adequately and properly protected from infection. Our move is also in line with the instructions of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that all preventive measures must be taken”, he added.

Speaking further, he said: “These PPE kits will protect their mouth, nose and eyes from possible infection from the waste they handle”.

Dr. Gbadegesin said the sweepers and PSP operators must keep working throughout the stay-at-home period since they are essential workers and the city must be kept clean during the pandemic. He added that additional measures that will be taken including sanitization and disinfection of LAWMA operational depots, dumpsites, transfer loading stations and waste bin locations across the state. 

In his remarks, the president, Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria and chairman of Lagos State chapter, Mr. David Oriyomi, thanked LAWMA and the state government for the protective items, promising that they would be put to good use, while also urging other states to emulate the Lagos example.

Akinleye Hakeem Kayode
Assistant Director, Public Affairs 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

THE LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT IS IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIC ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES TO TACKLE WASTE MANAGEMENT ISSUES

...As the Environment Commissioner Conducts a Tour of Major Dumpsites The Lagos State Government publicly announced over the weekend its commitment to adopting strategic initiatives aimed at improving waste disposal and waste management practices. Following a tour of the primary dumpsites at Olusosun and Soluos 3, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, stated to the media that the government remains steadfast in its resolve to provide Lagosians with a sustainable and operational environment. Wahab indicated that within the upcoming 18 months, the state plans to decommission the Olusosun and Soluos 3 landfills. These sites will be transformed into contemporary Transfer Loading Stations, where waste will be sorted, compacted, and redirected for recycling and resource recovery. He noted that the Governor and the State Executive Council have regularly discussed waste-related issues, with particular attention given to the conditions at Olusosun ...

Air pollution is literally rewriting our DNA. New research links dirty air to the same cancer mutations found in smokers.

Air pollution can cause DNA mutations that have been linked to lung cancer, according to new research showing strong connections between polluted air and the same genetic changes often seen in smokers.  Scientists analyzed the cancer genomes of 871 non-smokers with lung cancer from four continents and found a clear pattern. People living in areas with high levels of air pollution had more mutations in key genes tied to lung cancer, namely TP53 and EGFR, and were nearly four times more likely to show the SBS4 mutation, a known result of exposure to tobacco smoke. These mutations were far less common in non-smokers from cleaner regions. The study also uncovered a new mutational signature, SBS40a, present in 28% of non-smokers but absent in smokers, with no clear environmental cause identified. The research compared these non-smoker genomes with 345 smoker genomes to show both shared and unique patterns.  Secondhand smoke was linked to only a small increase in these g...

Lagos Government seals Oko Oba Abattoir over unhygienic practices

Lagos State Government on Thursday announced the shutdown of the Oko-Oba abattoir over unsanitary activities, waste mismanagement and unhygienic handling of animal products. This directive was given by the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab after an extensive inspection tour with the media to Oko-Oba the Abattoir at Oko-Oba in Agege informing that the Ministry received a petition from the Ministry of Agriculture to intervene as regards various Environmental and health infractions going on at the abattoir. According to him,  “What was witnessed at the abattoir today is heart-wrenching; the operators have defied and chosen to take laws into their hands as they slaughter animals and discharge the Waste into public drainage system with impunity and this is totally unacceptable.” Wahab said that upon the visitation to the abattoir, it was observed that the operators discharge all animal wastes into the public drainage channels leading to ...