By Cynthia Alo

New research suggests that fumes from diesel generators widely used across Nigeria may be contaminating food sources and posing a hidden health risk. The study, published in Studies in Fungi, is among the first to document evidence that airborne pollutants from generators can be absorbed into edible mushrooms, indicating growing concerns about food safety in areas where generators operate close to cultivation sites. Generators are a lifeline for millions of Nigerians, supplying electricity to households, farms, and small businesses. But their emissions have long been linked to respiratory illnesses, carbon monoxide poisoning, and other human health related hazards. This study adds a new dimension to these concerns: the potential for generator pollutants to enter the food chain.

In this study published in 2025, Mr. Efe Jeffery Isukuru and his fellow coauthors documented evidence that fumes from diesel generators may be contaminating food sources and posing a hidden risk to vulnerable human populations. Mr. Isukuru, is a second-year doctoral researcher at Texas Tech University, has long studied environmental pollution and its human-health impacts. His latest work builds on nearly a decade of experience conducting air-quality assessments, toxicological evaluations, and hydrocarbon pollution studies across Nigeria’s high-risk environments.

A Hidden Food-Safety Threat in Nigeria’s Energy Crisis

With more than 60 million Nigerians relying on generators as their primary source of electricity, generator emissions have long been associated with respiratory illnesses, carbon-monoxide poisoning, and even fatalities. But Mr. Isukuru’s research suggests a new, alarming dimension to this public-health threat. “We have documented cases of families dying in their sleep from generator fumes”, Mr. Isukuru explained. “But what remained unknown was how these emissions might contaminate food that people consume daily. Our work provides evidence that generator pollutants don’t just harm the air, they may be entering our bodies through food”. This study showed that mushrooms positioned just 2 to 3 meters from an operating diesel generator absorbed high levels of organic pollutants such as total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a known potent cancer-causing compound. These chemicals are not only toxic when inhaled, they are also dangerous when ingested.

Evidence of generator fumes entering the food chain and why Mushrooms absorb these pollutants

What makes the findings especially of concern is not just that pollutants were detected but that mushrooms are biologically designed to suck these pollutants up. Mushrooms, particularly Pleurotus ostreatus which are edible, are known in environmental science as “bioaccumulators”: organisms that naturally absorb chemicals from the air, soil, or water. Their spongy, porous tissues act like filters, drawing in nutrients from the environment, but also pollutants when present. Mr. Isukuru’s study took advantage of this unique biological trait by placing these mushrooms inside an active generator house for seven days. The observation from the study showed that mushrooms can capture airborne contaminants from diesel exhaust efficiently. “Mushrooms are living sponges,” he said. “Their tissues are built to absorb moisture and nutrients from organic material, so when toxic hydrocarbons are present in the air, they take those in as well, even more readily than plants.”

Diesel generators emit a complex mixture of pollutants, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), soot particles, TPH, and PAHs which can cause cancer. When these pollutants are released, they do not simply remain suspended in the air; many attach to airborne particles or settle onto surrounding surfaces. Because mushrooms grow with exposed gills and have a high surface-area-to-volume ratio, they easily trap these particles. Mushrooms produce powerful natural enzymes, that help break down tough organic materials like wood. These same enzymes can also interact with environmental pollutants, allowing hydrocarbons and PAHs to diffuse into and bind within mushroom tissues. “In polluted environments, mushrooms don’t just get coated with toxins,” Mr. Isukuru explained. “They pull them inside their tissues. That means washing them is not enough. Once absorbed, those chemicals are difficult to remove.” The study found that the mushrooms placed closest to the running generator showed clear and significant contamination. The contamination was not uniform; mushrooms positioned in areas where airflow was restricted absorbed even higher pollutant levels, showing that ventilation plays a major role in how these toxins accumulate.

This research raises uncomfortable questions for Nigeria, where mushrooms are cultivated in nurseries that utilize diesel generators as source of energy, which might be a source for these pollutants. Many small-scale growers keep generators close to their grow rooms to maintain controlled temperature and humidity, often without realizing that fumes can penetrate the cultivation environment. Because mushrooms absorb pollutants at a biochemical level, contamination is internal, not superficial. These pollutants are linked to cancer, immune dysfunction, and developmental harm. Chronic, low-level ingestion is especially dangerous for children, pregnant women, and individuals living in densely populated urban areas where generators run daily. Mr. Isukuru warned that these pollutants “may be entering the food system in ways we have never accounted for.”

Implications for Vulnerable Groups

The findings raise concerns for populations that rely heavily on mushrooms as a dietary staple. In Nigeria and across many parts of the continent were mushrooms are widely consumed not only as a delicacy but as an affordable, high-quality protein source, especially among vegetarians and low-income households who cannot regularly access animal protein. Because mushrooms naturally absorb and internalize pollutants from their environment, contaminated mushrooms could become a significant and overlooked exposure pathway for hydrocarbons and PAHs in communities where generator fumes are pervasive. Mr. Isukuru warns that similar risks may extend beyond mushrooms to other foods with porous tissues or bioaccumulative tendencies, such as leafy vegetables, tubers grown in confined farm sheds, or foods dried or stored near operating generators. These hazards are particularly concerning for vulnerable groups: children, whose detoxification systems and organs are still developing; pregnant women, for whom even low-level hydrocarbon exposure can affect fetal growth and neurodevelopment; elderly people with weakened immune or metabolic function; and immunocompromised individuals who may be unable to process or eliminate toxic compounds efficiently. “These pollutants can accumulate over time in tissues,” Mr. Isukuru explained. “Even low-level but repeated ingestion poses chronic health risks, especially for those whose bodies are least equipped to handle toxic exposures.”

A Call for Stronger Policies and Cleaner Energy Options

Nigeria’s electricity shortages have pushed millions of households, farms, and businesses toward near-total dependence on diesel and petrol generators that currently supply more than half of the country’s power. But as research continues to reveal new routes of exposure to generator emissions, including the infiltration of pollutants into foods grown or stored nearby, experts say the country urgently needs stronger policies to reduce avoidable risks. Mr. Isukuru argues that policymakers must take immediate steps to curb the public-health dangers linked to generator emissions. He recommends stricter ventilation requirements for generator houses, enforceable minimum distances between generators and food-production areas, and nationwide campaigns to educate communities about the less obvious ways pollutants can enter homes and diets. Beyond these measures, he calls for expanded investment in clean, affordable, and sustainable energy sources that can reduce households’ reliance on generators especially in agricultural settings, where power is needed to run cold rooms, dryers, irrigation systems, and climate-controlled cultivation facilities.

His recommendations draw from years of environmental-health research, including work on crude-oil contamination, air-quality degradation, and the toxicological impacts of long-term hydrocarbon exposure. And he says the evidence is becoming too compelling for policymakers to ignore. “As Nigeria faces worsening air pollution, deeper generator dependence, and mounting food-safety concerns, we can’t keep treating generator fumes as just an air-quality issue,” Mr. Isukuru said. “This research shows how pollution moves through every layer of our environment, our air, our food, and ultimately our bodies. If generator emissions can penetrate food sources, then we must rethink how we power our daily lives before the silent damage becomes irreversible.”