Management Of Oil Spillages From Inland Oil Terminals In Industrial Area Of Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

Oil spills are one of the major environmental threats to both humans, animals and the physical environment. Naturally, oil terminals are a safety hazard because they hold tons of this dangerous, highly flammable product. Various mitigation measures to curb oil spillages have been put in inland oil terminals in Kenya but, these spillages are still occurring. This study focused on inland oil terminals located in industrial area of Nairobi City County, Kenya. The main objective of this study was to examine the appropriateness of the existing mitigation measures in managing oil spillages from oil terminals in the industrial area of Nairobi City County, Kenya. The sub objectives were i) to identify causes of oil spillages in the terminals ii) To examine the preventive and management strategies put in place to address oil spillages in these terminals and, iii) To assess the policy, legal and institutional mechanism used to address oil spillages in these terminals. Data collection was collected from 12 September 2017 to 19 October 2017, through Key informant interviews by use of semi-structured questionnaires administered to the oil terminal representatives and relevant regulatory institutions. This data was analysed and presented in form of bar charts and descriptive methods. The study has identified that the leading cause of oil spillages in the oil terminals is lack of staff adherence to the oil products loading instructions, followed by mechanical faults, equipment failure and lack of induction to new staff involved in the loading procedures. The preventive and management strategies put in place to manage oil spillages in the oil terminals are: i) implementation of policy, legal and institutional mechanisms including Environment Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) of 1999 and its (Amendment) Act of 2015, Environmental (Impact Assessment and Audit) Regulations 2003, and (Amendment), 2016, National Environmental Policy of 2013 and Environmental Management and Coordination (Deposit Bonds) Regulations, 2014. ii) preventive engineering works including installation of automated valves and alarms in the terminals that stop any oil supply whenever a spill is detected in the system and iii) staff training and awareness creation on the safety procedures to observe while conducting loading procedures. However, these strategies have been analysed to be inappropriate in the management of oil spillages due to short comings in their implementation key being, lack of adherence by the workers to the laid down safety procedures in the terminals , poor maintenance schedules of oil terminals equipment leading to mechanical failures, lack of coordination in the institutions such as Ministry of Environment and Forestry, NEMA, NDOC and NCCG and, gaps in the existing legislation such as lack of adequate responsibility allocation to the implementation of the National Environmental Policy of 2013, and absence of relevant legislations including the Petroleum and Energy policies. This study concludes that the mitigation measures put in place to prevent and manage oil spillages in the inland oil terminals in industrial area of Nairobi City County are inappropriate and need improvement to improve their effectiveness when implemented in these terminals. The study has therefore proposed recommendations including i) the oil terminals partnering with institutions such as OSMAG, DOSHS and NDOC to conducting frequent refresher training to staff in the terminals on a need-based analysis. ii) conducting induction to new staff. iii) collaboration of the Cabinet Secretaries in the Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, Ministry of Environment and Forestry and the Ministry of Devolution and Planning to streamline their roles and avoid overlap to enable for better implementation of the legislation and, to build on human and financial capacities in these institutions all geared towards preventing and managing oil spillages.