Toxic Air and Soil in Automobile Workshop Impact Negatively on the Health Status of Automechanics: The Nigeria Environment

Objective: Auto-mechanics are constantly in contact with both air and soil harmful chemicals and toxic substances in their environment. A comparative cross-sectional study of analysis of hazardous stationary emissions of air and soil petroleum pollutants in automobile workshops has been analyzed. Furthermore, the impact of prolonged or continual occupational and environmental exposure on health of auto-mechanics from two distinct and contrasting automobile workshop environments was studied. Methods: Data were collected by a questionnaire interview designed about occupational activities, lung functions and blood samples of the subjects, soil samples and air qualities from automobile workshops and control sites were collected for analysis. Samples were collected from June to September 2016, during the rainy season. Results: Auto-mechanics are at higher risk for respiratory, hepatic, reproductive, haematological, immune, platelet and selenium dysfunctions, as a result of direct exposure to both volatile organic compound (0.212 ppm) and total petroleum hydrocarbon (62.370 mg/kg) toxicities, respectively. There were substantial regional variations in the burden of the petroleum toxicant estimates, with Ihiala bearing most of the burdens compared with Port Harcourt and Obrikom. The present data revealed increase in concentration of some liver enzymes, total bilirubin, total protein, mean platelet volume, but decrease in selenium, red blood count, white cell count, haemoglobin, haematocrit, testosterone, force expiratory volume in auto-mechanics in comparison with control (p ≤ 0.05).