Dana Crash and public health
The Dana plane crash
in Lagos and public health implications
No doubt that there must be some health fall-outs from the
Dana airline plane that crashed in Lagos, Nigeria, on the 3rd of
June, 2012. The public stand at risk of jeopardizing their health especially
those with pulmonary problems. There are speculations that within the vicinity
of the crash will be newborn babies with immature lungs, fragile and
immuno-compromised old men and women, young men that smoke cigarettes and
second-hand smokers, young women that has been exposed to smokes that exudes
during cooking on kerosene stove, firewood or even gas ovens and pregnant women.
With an already saturated and polluted air, compounded with the countless
generators in almost every apartment or compound, the inflamed flight and
charred bodies have added more risk to the population around the crash scene
and eye-witnesses.
It is observable that most people that ran to the scene of
the crash had no nose mask, safety boots or hand-gloves. This has exposed them
to contamination of different shades: water, air, blood etc. They have been
primarily exposed to two forms of inhalation: the smoke from the flight that
has been mixed with roofing aluminum, asbestos, cement, paints, and the fumes
from recovered bodies.
The Ministry of Health in conjunction with notable teaching
and private hospitals should do preliminary assessment of the people residing
within a reasonable length from the crash and the first-responders too
(fire-fighters, policemen, civil defense, military, first-aiders, healthcare
professionals). They should assess them for skin irritation and breathing
problems, and possibly do a free x-ray of their chest. In conducting this
primary examination, effort should be made to avoid insertion of healthcare professionals
own judgment. Rather, assessment should be objective. If possible,
eye-witnesses should also be informed and educated about the importance of
being assessed by the healthcare workers. Education is chiefly here. It will
not only be useful now but also in the future. If the public knows that their
health is being compromised in such a situation, they will not crowd crash
scenes again thereby allowing professionals space and time to do their work.
It might be possible that the water may have been
contaminated too. Assessment should be done in this regards too.
When aviation fuel-induced fires combines or does not
combine with explosion of fiber-reinforced composite materials (Ogundipe,
2012), there is a tendency that those untrained responders and neighbors might
have been exposed to health hazards.
Given the number of people that gathered at the crash scene,
it is important for government and professionals to design a Public Health
Assessment Register. In this register shall be the names of those assessed for
possible health implications resulting from the air disaster, age, sex, height,
weight, length of exposure, nasal assessment for air particulates, diagnosis
and treatment. Apart from this approach, a precautionary teaching shall also be
conducted by the Federal Ministry of Health and the National Orientation
Agency, hospitals and clinic. This sensitization effort will go a long way in
bringing awareness to Nigerians on the possibility of being exposed to toxins
when incidents like this occurs. Thus, they will avoid “rushing” to plane crash
scenes in the future.
References
Ogundipe, S. (2012). Dana air disaster: potential health
hazards loom. Retrieved from: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/06/dana-air-disaster-potential-health-hazards-loom/
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