The environmental impact of the sugar industry waste in Sudan

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of Sudanese sugar manufacturing waste on the communities surrounding the industries. The study employed a cross-sectional survey in which 311 respondents living in factory areas. The selected sugar industries included Kenana, Guneid, Halfa, Sinnar, Assalaya, and White Nile. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 19. Descriptive statistics, nonparametric statistics, and logistic regression were employed. The results showed that wastewater discharge has a significant (P < 0.05) effect on community health. Respondents indicated that the waste creates an ideal environment for parasites to reproduce, off-odors to develop, and ultimately contamination of water. A multinomial logistic regression model showed that wastewater (i.e., off-odors and mosquitoes) have significant (P 0.05) influences on causing health risks (i.e., malaria) to people living around sugar factories. The study also revealed that the lack of sugar industry wastewater management has significantly affected crop and animal production. The suspended particles and bagasse fly were significant (P 0.05) in causing eye and respiratory system diseases in the region. Health services provided by the industries significantly (P = 0.05) impacted community satisfaction. In this regard, the study designed a framework for enhanced handling the industrial waste to be adopted by the Sudanese sugar industry decision-makers. A framework was developed to reduce the impact of waste to the lowest possible level by improving management strategies sufficiently to minimize its impact.