Kampala — OIL tests by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) have shown unacceptable levels of heavy metals in the waste water and mud cuttings left behind by the oil companies in the process of their exploration activities.

The cuttings are pieces of rock that come out of the Earth's crust during drilling. They are thrown in open waste pits which get filled with water when it rains.

The cuttings also contain a mixture of chemicals that are used to cool the temperature of the drilling head. The heavy metals found during the soil tests, carried out at the end of July, were lead, zinc, chromium, cadmium, manganese, cooper, nickel, iron, manganese, phosphates, nitrogen, chloride and sulphates.

The study, carried out at 10 oil fields of Tullow Oil in Buliisa and Hoima districts, showed lead concentrations in the waste water of up to 19 times the standard level.

Lead is a poisonous metal that can damage nervous connections and cause blood and brain disorders.

Low lead levels have been associated with changes in children's mental development and behaviour such as hyperactivity and lowered performance on intelligence tests.

Exposure to high lead levels can damage the brain and kidneys and ultimately cause death. In pregnant women, high levels of exposure may cause miscarriage, while in men it can damage the organs responsible for sperm production.

High lead concentration was found in the waste water of all the oil sites tested. The waste water at the Taitai-1 oil site in Butiaba, for example, showed lead concentration of 1.9 parts per million, whereas the standard level is 0.1. The Taitai-site also showed cadmium concentration of 0.2 parts per million, double the standard level of 0.1. Cadmium and several cadmium-containing compounds are known carcinogens and can induce many types of cancer. They are also a potential environmental hazard.

Zinc up to 300 times the standard level was found in the mud cuttings at all 10 sites tested in Hoima and Bulisa.

Although zinc is an essential requirement for good health, excess zinc can be harmful. Free zinc ion in solution is highly toxic to plants, invertebrates and vertebrate fish.

UWA boss Moses Mapesa says the quantities of waste are still small and not an immediate cause of concern. However, he warns, when production starts and the waste quantities increase, they could become harmful to nature and human beings.

"If you have heavy rains, the waste can overflow and kill plants and lower life forms. These include insects such as grasshoppers and spiders, reptiles, amphibians and small mammals," Mapesa said.

He noted that this would affect the food chain of other animals. "Invertebrates are food for birds while small mammals are food for vultures, eagles, marabou stocks and herons." Apart from overflowing, there is also a danger of leakages of the waste into the soil, Mapesa said.

"The concrete floor can create cracks. Metals can move underground and have an impact on soil life. Should this be in a community area, it has the potential of affecting the ground water."

Purongo farmer

In Murchison Falls National Park, Heritage Oil removed the waste and deposited it in the garden of a farmer in Purongo in Amuru district, according to Mapesa.

"The man was paid sh300,000 to put the drill mud in his garden. A pit was dug and the waste was dumped there. Some residents heard about it and complained."

The National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) has since written to the oil company ordering it to rectify the problem.

"The danger is that heavy metals can get into the ground water and come out through the boreholes," Mapesa noted.

"We don't want this waste water in the park and neither should it be dumped carelessly into the community."

UWA wants the waste disposal issue sorted out before the oil companies start the second phase of testing.

There is a solution to the waste problem, Mapesa noted. "The Government has identified a technical firm to help the oil companies in waste management and disposal."

However, he does not know how much it will cost and who will foot the bill. "Eventually the oil companies might incorporate this cost in their final investment."

Another sticky point for UWA was the number of wells that were going to be drilled simultaneously in the world-famous Murchison Park.

The authority feared that having six wells drilled at the same time would disturb the game life and affect tourism at a time when the sector is booming.

There were concerns by conservationists that elephants and giraffes would move northwards, into the villages of Amuru district, and be killed.

This issue, however, has been resolved with the oil companies, according to the UWA boss. "The wells will be drilled one after the other at both sides of the park, three on the southern bank by Tullow and three on the northern bank by Heritage."

Workers' camps

A third issue of concern for UWA are the camps for the oil workers, which were inside the park for the previous exploration activities.

"We want these camps outside the park. We have evidence of increased poaching arising out of the presence of these workers," Mapesa observed.

He said the rangers discovered a lot more snares (traps) for animals during the period when Simanya Camp in the Buligi area was operational than before and after.

"We discovered a lot of snares. They were meant to catch antelopes but mostly elephants and buffaloes were caught and we had to rescue them."

Mapesa explained that the oil companies contract local people to provide food and other services, some of whom might be disguised poachers.

"They come in from across the Albert Nile. There is no way you can monitor what those workers are doing all the time. Some even used materials of the oil companies to make traps."

UWA wants Heritage to set up its camp in Pakwach or Purongo, arguing that this would allow their rangers to better control poaching.

"In that case, there would be no reason why people should be in the park before 7am and after 7pm."

The oil companies argue that setting up camp outside the park would increase the traffic and cost of the operation.

But Mapesa dismisses the arguments. "Even when you are inside the park there is still a lot of movement," he says.

He particularly wants to avoid a permanent presence in the park once production starts, which can last for a period of 30 years.

"If you keep them now in the park, the temptation to keep them permanently is higher."

Oil companies

Both Canadian Heritage Oil and Irish Tullow Oil are sensitive to environmental and health issues, as well as the concerns of the tour operators.

Aidan Heavey, the boss of Tullow Oil, in an interview with Saturday Vision recently said his company has a culture of being very strict on environmental and social issues.

"From an environmental point of view, the last thing you want is pollution in such a beautiful area," he said about the oil-rich Albertine graben.

"If you have an oil spill in the lake, it would be a disaster for the villagers. We are drilling in a sensitive environmental area. So you have to plan a well that is not going to interfere with the local environment."

The world has changed since the first oil was found in Africa in the 1970's, he noted, adding that environmental spills are no longer tolerated.

"There was little regulation in relation to transparency, environmental and social issues. Quite frankly, some of the things that happened in the past were a disgrace. The oil companies have a lot to answer for," he said.

Heritage, too, claims to be environmental-friendly and rehabilitate the areas where they operate to their original state.

"Heritage has a very well structured pre, during and post drilling strategy aimed at ensuring that every site the company works upon is rehabilitated to exactly the same or even better state than it was before," general manager Brian Westwood stated in a recent letter to the Uganda Tourism Association.

Abdul Byakagaba, Heritage senior geologist, said their presence in the park had increased vigilance by game rangers deployed to their sites.

"I think our presence greatly increased the park authority vigilance. That is why they were able to see more traps."

Heritage bosses are scheduled to meet a selected group of stakeholders in the tourism industry tomorrow.

"One of our proposals will be to set up a working committee of key representatives that can engage with the oil companies operating in Block 1 (Murchison Park) on an ongoing basis," said the invitation letter by Amos Wekesa of Great Lakes Safaris.

"Separately we are also working on creating a guide to oil and tourism in Murchison Falls conservation area to summarise some of the basic development and arguments surrounding the subject."

These developments show that oil companies have come out of their ivory tower and are willing to cooperate with other stakeholders for sustainable development.