SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT AND ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS OF OIL PALM MILL INDUSTRY ON THE RESIDENTS IN DARU AND YENGEMA, JAWI CHIEFDOM, KAILAHUN DISTRICT SIERRA LEONE

Abstract

The oil palm industry's socioeconomic impact and risk to human health evaluation were quantitative and descriptive cross-sectional studies to determine the oil palm industry's socioeconomic influence on local communities and risk to human health in the surrounding area. The two residents of the study site were chosen at random. The study included 51 respondents in total. Questionnaires and key informant interviews were used to generate the results. The outcomes of the study revealed that the industry has economically boosted nearby residential dwellings and has had an equivalent consequence on the surrounding local populations. Although many respondents have not used the Moa River, which is a few meters away from the dumpsite, it is believed to have been contaminated by palm oil mill wastewater through percolation, which has resulted in a sizable proportion of respondents suffering from some health problems from the consumption of the untreated River Moa (1). In the survey, an average of 25% (7) of total respondents in the Yengema village indicated a high prevalence of diseases and poor health in their homes as a result of drinking untreated River Moa water, while the remaining 75% did not. The River Moa is not used as a source of drinking water for 100% of the residents in Daru town, according to the research. KEYWORDS: socio-economic, impact, health hazards, palm oil mill industry.