DEATH AT PETROL STATIONS
By Mugira Fredrick

She smiles as a minibus approaches towards her. Shouting in Kinyankole language, “aha aha sebo,” translated to mean here here sir, she directs the minibus’ driver towards a place where she can easily refuel it.

The girl whose name I came to discovered as being Lillian Kyomuhendo does this for a living.

Kyomuhendo arrives at her workstation at Caltex Petrol Station in Mbarara town at eight in the morning daily dressed in a blue skirt and green blouse and leaves at 6 pm in the evening.

She is not the only one. Kyomuhendo is part of about 800 females in the south-western region who are at risk of dying from several diseases as a result of exposure to harmful leaded fuel following the nature of their work as petrol station attendants.

An official with the Agency that oversees environment in Uganda-NEMA Jeconeous Musingwire says there are about 200 petrol stations, which are in operation in the south-western districts of Mbarara, Bushenyi, Ibanda, Ntungamo, Kabale, Isingiro, Kisoro and Rukungiri.

“At least 4 pump attendants on each of these petrol stations are females,” says Musingwire who is also the focal person for NEMA in charge of the south-western region.

“Because of the nature of the way females dress, such as the mini skirts, they are more likely to absorb through their skin petrol especially the leaded one which dangerous to their health,” Musingwire continues to elaborate.


According to the Uganda National Bureau of Statistics (UNBS), lead is an addictive that is added to petrol during the process of refining to boost the engine performance and to prevent possibilities of engine knocking.
Most countries in the Eastern Africa sub region including Uganda still use only leaded gasoline according to the UN environment watchdog UNEP.

Environmental health scientists grade lead under the persistent waste substances which are toxic when inhaled or absorbed.

The Deputy Director of the Institute of Public Health at Makerere University Dr. William Bazayo says people who work as pump attendants at petrol stations inhale gases and fumes of petrol containing lead through their bodies and at times swallow it directly when they are eating some bites at their duty areas.


Dr. Bazayo sides with Musingwire on the issues of who faces a greater risk of exposure to lead. He insists females who work at these stations have a greater chance of exposure to lead than males because at least a third of their bodies are uncovered.


Dr. Bazayo, who is a specialist in Occupational and Environmental Health, warns that the more lead exposed to, the more risk of suffering from the dangers it poises.

“Such people face a risk of suffering from the loss of memory as a result inhaling lead,” says Dr. Bazayo.

He reveals further that lead also causes brain cancer, lung cancer and skin cancer among several others diseases. He says such diseases were on increase in the country.

“There are several problems for females who work at petrol stations such as miscarriages and several others have not been documented,” says Dr. Bazayo.

Dr. Bazayo calls for more efforts to protect such workers from exposure to lead.

Section 39 of chapter 4 of the Uganda Constitution (1995) stipulates that every Ugandan has a right to a clean and healthy environment. However, with increased unemployment in the country, this can never be respected.

Desperate unemployed people take on any job irrespective of the occupational hazards. They see such jobs as a liberator.

Kyomuhendo says she was forced to take on this job of pump attendant so as to earn a living. She is a senor 3 graduate.

A girl I found doing a similar job at Shell Ankole in the centre of Mbarara town, Kiconco Asiimwe told me she has no problem with her job as long as she earns some money. She is a senior 4 graduate.

However, what is more worrying still is the salary they earn at the end of the month. Just 40,000 to 80,000 shillings depending on the time they spend on these petrol stations. The more time spent on these stations working, the more money earned. Likewise the more time spent of these stations working, the more lead inhaled.

A manager at one of the petrol stations in Mbarara who was hesitant to reveal his names says the female pump attendants approach them searching for jobs like any other job seekers

He however says females are preferred because they attract customers and are sometimes trustable unlike makes whom he said are, “rough.”

“We help these girls to earn a living otherwise they would be in the villages doing nothing,” insisted the brown looking man clad in a yellow shirt and brown pairs of trousers , similar to what other staffs at the petrol stations were dressed in.

Asked about the sell of leaded fuel, the hospitable manager revealed that they were cooperating with government in ending the sell of this fuel. However he stressed that most of their customers still use leaded fuel because their vehicles still use old fashion engines.

World Bank and UNEP recommend that the global use of leaded fuel be phased out completely from petrol due to its adverse health effects on human beings.
In Uganda the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development instituted a national task force to ensure leaded fuel is phased out by 2006 however some petrol stations in the country still sell this harmful fuel.

With persistent poverty in the country, such harmful fuel is bound to continue on the markets. Not so many people in the country have enough funds to buy vehicles of the latest models which use unleaded fuel.

Musingwire says that what should be done now is the protection of those who are easily exposes to this harmful fuel.

“Every petrol station owner should ensure that his workers especially the pump attendants wear protective gears such as overall,” says Musingwire. He also suggests that pump attendants should always work not more than 8 hours at petrol stations as a move intended to minimise their exposure to leaded fuel.

There is need for concerted efforts from government, petrol station owners and civil society partners in urgently phasing out of the use of leaded gasoline as move intended to secure the unsuspecting people who get exposed to it and later suffer from dangerous diseases.

ENDS