The environmental impacts of vermiculite industry :

Abstract

The study aimed at examining the ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF VERMICULITE INDUSTRY CASE OF NAMEKERA VERMICULITE INDUSTRY IN BUTIRU SUBCOUNTY IN MANAFWA DISTRICT. The general objective of the study was to determine the environmental impacts of' vermiculite industry on the livelihood of people living in Butiru sub-county Manafwa district. The study used both qualitative and quantitive approaches to collect data that was analyzed and presented by the help of software like excel. The methods of used to collect data were interviews, questionnaires (appendix l), and field observations. The data was collected from the sample of 60 respondents particularly from the industrial workers and the immediate communities or villages around the vermiculite industry. It was established that the community of Butiru has been affected by the existence of the vermiculite industry attributed to its industrial activities thus agricultural production has been lowered and also prevalence of the health problems faced by the community natives and the industrial workers. It has been indicated in the findings where the local communities are affected by agricultural losses in crop production and animal rearing due to industrial activities. It was found out that also the highest number of respondents is affected by the health problems due to the existence of' the vermiculite industry and its impacting activities especially during processing of' vermiculite hence flu has been the prominent health problem faced by the locals. Also findings indicate that most individuals and the entire community have benefited from the existence of the vermiculite industry through infrastructural development and employment opportunities. Findings also show that the industrialization policies and rules are not enforced properly due to severe pollution and low compensations offered to the affected parties thus the quality of the environment has been damaged. Also findings indicate that most respondents incur loss or costs in obtaining clean safe water from nearby which could have not been the case if the industry never existed. Therefore, this study will be used by policy and decision makers in designing and implementing the polities in regard of allocation of industrial projects and processing sites of vermiculite and other related mineral industries when setting up the standards for acceptable levels of emissions (pollution levels) without compromising the welfare of the a biotic and biotic ecosystem services or functionality hence attaining sustainable development and environmental quality. In summary, the vermiculite industry emits a lot of dust and smoke particles into the environment that has affected negatively the local communities of Butiru sub-county through business inconveniences, loss incurred in obtaining clean safe water and poor agricultural yields plus severe cases of health problems affected the locals in the industry and the entire community.