‘Kejetia traders exposed to poisonous vehicular fumes’ — Federation of Kumasi Traders

The health of traders at the Kejetia Market in Kumasi is being put at serious risk due to dangerous levels of poisonous vehicular fumes, according to the Federation of Kumasi Traders.

Chairman of the Federation, Nana Prempeh, speaking to Kumasi-based Abusua FM says extractors installed to absorb the gases from the heavy traffic around the market are not working properly.

“You can see and smell the smoke from the items the traders sell. Traders are there every day, inhaling the fumes from the cars. The extractors are supposed to be on 24/7 to absorb all the gases, but that's not the case. They don't even switch them on," he stated.

He expressed worry that ground floor traders in particular are exposed to high concentrations of toxic vehicle exhaust on a daily basis.

Considering they spend long hours at their stalls every day, the health consequences could be severe over time, bemoaned the traders.

In addition to air quality issues, Nana Prempeh also raised alarming fire safety concerns at the busy market.

He challenged the Ghana National Fire Service to verify that the majority of fire hoses available for fighting outbreaks were leaking.

The Federation President said smoke and fire detectors are also not functioning properly.

“Let’s go to the market and set up something to generate smoke and see how many detectors and smoke alarms will work," the federation chairman stressed.