The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, during the weekend appealed to the Federal and Rivers State Governments to urgently end the illegitimate refineries and other air pollution causing soot in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

 According to the association, the soot, in the form of thick black smoke covering the entire Port Harcourt City, could be the root cause of some of the respiratory problems being experienced by inhabitants of the city, saying that the health implications of the endemic black soot in Port Harcourt could be worse than Ebola if the long term effect is evaluated.