While South Sudan is endowed with 3.5 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, the exploitation of this natural wealth is turning into a  catastrophe for some local communities, particularly in Melut County.  Through focus group discussions, individual interviews, and field  observations, the authors found the following:

1. Many households in Paloch, Melut County, are in close proximity to oil wells and facilities, and within a short distance of a large lake of toxic produced water, exposing them to highly toxic chemicals.
2. Livestock graze around the oilfields, passing on highly toxic pollutants to residents through the food chain.
3. Community drinking water, held in containers that are placed on  dusty roadsides by Dar Petroleum Operating Company (DPOC), and  chemical containers used by community members to hold water, are  likely sources of human exposure to toxic contaminants.
4. Communities have repeatedly complained about a high prevalence  of petroleum pollution that causes diseases and reproductive health  issues, including birth defects, infertility, stillbirth, and  miscarriages, among others. We discovered 13 cases of  birth defects, including spinal bifida, facial and head deformities, sexual organ deformities, limb deformities, and growth retardations.
5. All of the participants expressed anger and frustration, a sign of a more serious potential crisis that could cripple petroleum industry operations in the area, if not prioritized and addressed.

The authors recommend the following to the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGONU) and DPOC:

1. Urgently identify areas sufficiently distanced from the oil fields,  build basic services infrastructure in those areas, and relocate  residents away from the oil fields and facilities;
2. Fence off the oilfields to prevent access by humans, livestock, and  wildlife;
3. Conduct a comprehensive environmental and social assessment  similar to the one that has been conducted in Ogoniland in Nigeria  by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to assess  the extent of pollution damage, determine compensation and  remediation costs, and make recommendations that are enforceable  through an act of parliament or a presidential order; and
4. Expedite the tabling, review, and passage of the draft Environmental Protection and Management Bill to strengthen environmental  protection rules and enforcement capacity to better protect the  health and welfare of those South Sudanese suffering from oil industry operations.