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Locals renew concerns over dust from crude oil facility
Tilenga Industrial Park where the central processing facility will be constructed in Kasenyi Village, Buliisa District. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- In 2017, the government through TotalEnergies acquired 772 acres of land at Kasenyi from 153 people to establish the processing facility for crude oil before it would be transported to Kabale and then to Tanga port in Tanzania through the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) measuring a distance of 1,443km.
Residents from villages surrounding the oil central processing facility at Kasenyi in Buliisa District have reiterated that dust from the site is posing a health risk to them.
Construction of the facility commenced last year in June and works are being undertaken by Mota-Engil and Karmod Beta, which were contracted by TotalEnergies.
But residents, who have in the past petitioned the government over the matter, say the use of heavy earth moving equipment such as graders, excavators, vibro rollers and trucks at the site has made life miserable for them.
Mr Denis Chombe, a resident of Kisomere Village in Ngwedo Sub-county, said since construction started, the earth movement equipment is generating dust daily, which flows into their homes, farms and gardens.
Mr Mugisa Jelasy Mulimba, another resident who lives a few meters away from the construction site, said his family stands high chances of contracting airborne disease as result of inhaling dust.
He says their cries for help have always fallen on deaf ears.
“Since ast year when Mota-Engil started clearing close to 750 acres of land in this area, we get a lot of dust from the facility, most of the time our household items such as utensils and clothes are full of dust,” Mr Mulimba says.
“We have written several letters to TotalEnergies but they are always dodging to meet us,” he adds.
Mr Ezekiel Ungeirwoth, another resident, says apart from dust, the machines also generate a lot of noise both day and night.
“Some of us rejected Shs3.5 million payment plus 30 percent disturbance allowance per acre. We need at least Shs21 million per acre so that we can relocate to somewhere else to live comfortably,” Mr Mulimba said.
But Ms Gloria Sebikari, the manager for Corporate Affairs and Public Relations at Petroleum Authority of Uganda (PAU), said all Tilenga project activities, just like other oil and gas activities in other parts of the Albertine Graben, are undertaken with due consideration to the environment and host communities.
“This includes ensuring that all identified adverse impacts during project implementation are mitigated,” she said in a statement.
This is not the first time the affected residents are complaining of dust. In February, they petitioned the Ministry of Health, seeking action against rising dust levels and air pollution.
In their petition, the affected residents claimed that the dust was contaminating their food and water source points.
But Ms Sebikari explained that the high dust levels were a result of very strong winds coupled with a prolonged dry spell within Buliisa District and the surrounding areas.
“To deal with this challenge, the frequency of water spraying has been increased to suppress the dust generated. In addition, site activities that generate high dust levels have been scaled down, and vehicle movements are being limited within and outside the operation areas,” the statement read.
