Concerned about the risks that could emanate from improper handling of chemicals, the Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA) has emphasized the need for safe operational practices in the chemical and allied services industry.
At the 2025 stakeholders symposium with the theme, Chemical Handling Safety: Standards, Strategies and Compliance, held under the auspices of PHCCIMA’s Chemical and Allied Services Trade Group, on Tuesday in Port Harcourt, the Chamber’s president, Dr Chinyere Nwoga, said the need for safety and standards compliance within the chemical and allied ecosystem cannot be over-emphasized.
She said despite the importance of chemicals that necessitates their daily usage, PHCCIMA believes that more stakeholder oversight and engagement are needed to ensure professionalism and adherence to standards in the handling of chemicals.
”Chemical is used in our everyday life, so it’s important to know how to use chemicals safely,” she noted, adding that the symposium is aimed at deepening cooperation between PHCCIMA – as the voice of the private sector – and stakeholders in the chemical and allied services sector as well as experts in the field.
Nwoga commended the chemical and allied services trade group headed by Engr David Ofoegbu, for organizing the program and urged experts to do justice to the theme for the benefit of operators and participants.
Earlier in her opening remark, Beatrice Raymond, secretary, Chemical and Allied Services Trade Group, said chemical safety is not optional but fundamental hence the need for compliance to standards.
She explained that the symposium aims to strengthen, facilitate and promote regulatory frameworks and stakeholder engagements geared towards building a culture of safety in the chemical and allied services sector in Rivers State in particular and Nigeria at large.
Delivering the keynote lecture entitled Chemical Handling Safety: Standards, Strategies and Compliance, Prof. Kaine Okorosaye Orubite of the University of Port Harcourt, said to underscore their importance, chemicals are used in the production of care products, cleaning products, electronics, agro products and drugs.
She said while some chemicals are friendly, others are hazardous, toxic and dangerous, making essential for them to be handled with caution and strict compliance to safety standards to prevent accidents, health risks and environmental damage.
”Transparency in the chemical importation business is necessary. They (dealers) should be trained regularly for them to know the identity and hazard level of the chemicals they’re selling,” she said.
As standards for handling chemicals, Prof. Okorosaye listed patronizing suppliers approved by NAFDAC (National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control), having good storage facilities in properly ventilated environment, personal protective equipment, minimisation of exposure duration and frequency,
eliminating hazardous chemicals for safer alternatives, adherence to established standards and proper disposal of waste chemicals.
In his presentation, Oligbu Chukwuma, director, NAFDAC, South-South Zone, said the agency is doing its best to ensure safety within the chemical and allied services ecosystem through strict oversight and enforcement of regulations.
”As a way of ensuring safety, we ensure that permits are issued to those involved in chemical business. Before any person is permitted to distribute or import chemicals, such must have a storage facility and competent personnel, perimeter fence, CCTV, armed guards, guard dogs and watch tower,’ he said, adding that storage facilities should be located away from residential buildings while regular monitoring and verification should should be maintained.
There were representatives from the Rivers State Fire Service and ministries of health and environment.
