News---CAS in the Belt and Road Initiative

In a lab of the CAS Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) in Beijing, Winifred Uduak Anake, a visiting woman scientist from Covenant University, Nigeria was dashing to finish testing the 100 plus samples she collected from her home country. “I am trying to find out the type and amount of hazardous trace metals bound to the tiny particles trapped on the filters,” she explained: “out of worries about their possible threat to human health.”

Before concluding her three-month stay she needed to complete examining the morphology of the particles, total trace metals, and chemical speciation for bioavailable metals using scanning electron microscope coupled with an energy dispersive X-ray system (SEM-EDX), wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (WDXRF), microwave accelerated reaction system (MARS), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

She was anxious to finish all the complicated work before going back to Nigeria, where she would not have adequate/sufficient infrastructure and technological aid to do the necessary tests.

Anake working in a lab at the CAS Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) in Beijing. (Photo by courtesy of CEGT)

Passionate Pursuit

Anake won a scholarship sponsored by the CAS- TWAS Centre of Excellence on Green Technology (CEGT, http://cegt.ipe.ac.cn), an entity based in IPE and jointly operated by CAS and the World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS), to support her study at IPE. Named CEGT Scholarship, the program aims to promote the development of green technology, as well as the transformation of scientific achievements in developing countries.

Anake in lab with her host at IPE, CAS Member Prof. ZHANG Suojiang. (Photo by SONG J.)

Now with access to state-of-the-art experiment equipment and techniques here, eventually Anake got a chance to unravel the mystery seated in the extremely tiny particles, which had long troubled her.

“My research skills have been sharpened, through exposure and access to sophisticated analytical instruments. I believe this will make the research work visible in high- impact journals,” Anake commented on her study and work at IPE with optimism, in a talk with the author occurring in late October 2015, days before her flying back to Nigeria.

A chemist seeking to solve environment problems that border on human health, Anake is very concerned about the health effects of the tiny particles in the atmosphere — known as PM2.5 due to their grain sizes less than 2.5 µm— generated by mixed sources, including the booming industries in her country. “We have lots of industries in Nigeria, like oil recovery and petrochemical, metal melting, cement production, construction and others. Yes, they create wealth, but in the mean time they also cause problems: they produce PM2.5 with pollutants adhering to them. Therefore while formulating the research for my PhD thesis, I want to do something to deal with this,” she explained.

Even in the vicinity of the place where she is studying, the Covenant University in Ota of Nigeria, Anake narrated, they have a lot of industries. The landscapes have prompted her to pursue research to track the particles, in the hope of finding out if any connection exists between the pollutants and increased occurrence of respiratory diseases. “We are very concerned because there is no emission control of such pollutants. Nor is there any suitable solution to trap the particles.”

“They are thinner than hair size and can be inhaled by people. They go straight to the lungs, and get stuck in the organs of the body. What makes it worse is the fact that they are not just particles. They have pollutants adhering to it, including trace metals, some of which are carcinogenic.”

Noting the dearth of data showing chemical speciation and health risks associated with PM2.5 particulates, especially from heavily industrialized areas, and no convincing evidence on the part of regulatory bodies to enforce stricter emission limits, she began to take action.

Anake and her experiment teacher at IPE. (Photo by courtesy of Anake)

Anake found some signs of connections between the particles and increased cases of respiratory diseases in her search for relevant literature. Further, she heard some bitter complaints from the residents in the environments of the sampling sites during her sample collection. “They complained of the incessant emission of noxious chemicals, which caused itching on the throat, coughing, and irritation of the eyes amongst others. This is most disturbing, especially for the sensitive groups, namely patients of asthma, the elderly, and the children,” she recalled. “If you check with nearby hospitals,” she continued: “you can see frequent challenges, mostly at peaks of such emissions.”