Community Awareness, Risk Perception, and Water-Source Vulnerability: Evidence from Residents Living near Retail Fuel Stations in Gwagwalada Central, Abuja, Nigeria

Soile Idayat Motunrayo, Adamu Haruna, Chindo Istifanus Y., Ekeh Lawrence Chinagorom, Oluwatayo Abimbola O., Osa-Afiana Awele O.

Abstract


Retail fuel stations are spreading into the residential and commercial areas of fast-growing Nigerian towns, yet research on petroleum contamination has concentrated on the Niger Delta, and the community-level risks of small, chronic retail spills in secondary towns of the Federal Capital Territory remain poorly documented. This study assessed hazard awareness, risk perception, self-reported exposure and water-source vulnerability among residents living near retail fuel stations in Gwagwalada Central, Abuja. A cross-sectional survey was administered face to face to 305 adult residents (77.6% of the 393 targeted) selected by stratified systematic random sampling within 300 m of stations, in English. Awareness was measured with three objectively scored factual items, and perceived risk with a five-point Likert battery. Associations were examined with chi-square tests. Borehole or well water was the main domestic source for 63.6% of respondents, a plausible pathway for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) migration. Although 63.9% knew that fuel spills can contaminate groundwater, only 30.2% knew that benzene is found in petrol and 34.8% that long-term exposure can cause cancer; only 39.3% answered at least two of three items correctly. Perceived risk was highest for fire or explosion (mean 4.51 of 5) and drinking-water contamination (4.36), while agreement that residents are well informed was lowest (2.16). Awareness was not significantly associated with education (p = .192) or distance (p = .954), but only 19.3% had ever received safety information. Residents feel acutely exposed to a hazard whose chemical basis they largely cannot name, and the deficit reflects access to information rather than education or proximity. Benzene-focused risk communication and water-quality testing for households near stations are recommended. 


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References


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