Dust Project

MONTHLY ACTIVITY REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2009

NAME: OFOEGBU OBINNA DEPT/DIVISION: POLYMER AND PETROCHEMICALS RANK: SENIOR RESEARCH OFFICER PROJECT TITLE: PRODUCTION OF DUST SUPPRESSANT INTRODUCTION: Generated dust pollution in our environment comes from various sources, one of which is the unpaved road surfaces found within our communities. The generated dust pollutes the environment causing contamination of water bodies, impairs visibility, increases the wear and tear of moving parts of vehicles, shades and clogs the pores of plants causing stunted crop growths. They also form carriers of most air borne diseases and leads to damage of internal human organs like the lungs causing respiratory problems and plausible kidney stones etc. Hazardous and environmentally unfriendly materials have been used to produce dust suppressants up till now. They percolate into the soil and leak into water bodies with harmful consequences to both plant and animals. In view of the residual harmful effects of these imported dust suppressants, the project is targeted at the production of environmentally friendly dust suppressant from locally available raw materials. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The project is aimed at producing locally, dust suppressant(s) that will substitute the imported ones and eliminate the importation and harmful side effects that result from the use of these imported ones. Objectively, the project is geared towards a 100% environmental friendly local raw materials utilization complemented by a relatively lower cost of production.

PLANNED BENEFICIARIES: Road construction and maintenance sector (e.g. FERMA), rural communities and individuals. COMMENCEMENT DATE OF THE PROJECT: 2004. PLANNED COMPLETION DATE: 2010 ASSISTANTS; None for now except the Youth Corpers and IT students. WORK DONE: Raw material sourcing, processing and analyzing. RESULTS ACHIEVED THIS MONTH : The raw materials were obtained from amongst locally available ones. They were processed and analysed to ascertain the availability of required material constituents. ACTIVITIES PLANNED FOR NEXT MONTH: A trial sample production of the suppressant will be carried out. The gathering of the raw material will still continue.