Burning tires for scrap metal, a huge healthrisk – Experts

From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

A dangerous survival trend is quietly unfolding across informal waste dumpsites in Northern Nigeria. Driven by spiking unemployment and poverty, an increasing number of children and youths are burning discarded tires to extract internal steel cables for scrap resale—igniting a severe public health and environmental crisis in the process.
According to a recent field survey conducted by Comrade Ibrahima Yakubu, Head of Communication and Strategy at African Climate Reporters, this highly hazardous activity has become a primary livelihood for vulnerable youths.
The process is simple but devastating: youths gather abandoned tires, set them ablaze, and wait for the rubber to incinerate so they can salvage the remaining metal wires. These extracted cables are then sold to scrap vendors in local markets, where they find a steady customer base.
Alarmingly, some of the youths interviewed revealed that these toxic wires are actively sought after by local households.
“This is how we survive,” one youth stated, explaining that women purchase the salvaged wires for use in home cooking and other domestic chores.
For many, the financial return completely overshadows the unseen danger.
“I don’t know the implications of the smoke to health and the environment,” admitted one young worker whose identity was withheld.
“Upon learning of the risks from researchers. I promise to stop this attitude immediately.
“ I will stop burning waste tires to halt polluting the surrounding environment,” he stated.
According to environmental scientists, tires are highly complex, non-combustible structures. When burned openly, they release benzene-derived extender oils, chemical compounds heavily linked to cancer risks.
Comrade Yakubu, who also lectures on science and environmental studies at the African Institute of Waste Management and Environmental Studies, warned that the black smoke emitted from tire fires carries a cocktail of carcinogens and fine particulates.
Yakubu emphasized, noting that the residual metallic toxins are nearly impossible to purge from the environment once airborne.
Medical experts warn that inhaling this smoke can lead to chronic respiratory illnesses, aggravated asthma, and heightened risks of cardiovascular diseases.
He noted that the most vulnerable populations include children and infants, pregnant women and fetuses, as well as the elderly and individuals with compromised immune systems.
Beyond the respiratory toll, the environmental fallout is systemic as heavy toxic black soot routinely settles on nearby homes, farmlands, and open water sources, while the chemical ash and unburned residues leach directly into the soil, threatening local agriculture.