Cytogenotoxicity effects of industrial effluents on Allium cepa root meristem: A review on positive results and problems of effective compliance to environmental legislations; the Nigeria perspective

Most industries are sited with little or no consideration for environmental and social consequences, especially in developing countries. This has led to the discharge of genotoxic chemicals used for many purposes in the manufacturing processes into environmental compartments such as air, water, soil and sediments. Results of the cytotoxic and genotoxic assays of these wastewaters on Allium cepa root tip meristem showed significant reduction of mitotic indices and diverse forms of chromosomal aberrations, cytokinetic failures, micro and multiple nuclei. In Nigeria, the results of diverse assessments of industrial effluents have shown that they are environmental risks and potential mutagenic agents, problems still exist in the enforcement of on ground sound legislative by Federal Ministry of Environment and Federal Environmental Protection Agency. Failure in implementation of sound policies has been identified to be caused by weakness and poor enforcement by the necessary arms of the government, public awareness of international, national and local environmental laws. Legislation and standards that apply to existing and proposed projects are grossly lacking, the absence of mandatory disclosure of information by industries hinders monitoring which is a major problem to compliance and enforcement. Furthermore, there is absence of a legal framework which would ensure that industries comply with the requirement of standing environmental legislation. Any development that does not respect the environment cannot be said to be sustainable. There is therefore the need to integrate the environmental legislatives and environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports in the establishment and consequent monitoring of industries and industrial activities for the establishment and promotion of sustainable development and sound technologies.   Key words: Genotoxic, Allium test, industry, legislation, wastewater.