Trace Metals Levels in Inorganic Fertilizers Commercially Available in Nigeria

Aims: To investigate the concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), vanadium (V) and zinc (Zn) in commercially available inorganic fertilizers (calcium superphosphate and urea). Place and Duration of Study: Urea and superphosphate fertilizers were purchased from a local market in Uyo, Southern Nigeria. Methodology: A total of twenty seven fertilizer samples were randomly taken representing triplicate samples from three urea and six superphosphate original fertilizer bags. Each sample were digested and extracted using the ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) extraction technique. The elemental analysis was performed using an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrophotometer (ICP-AES) (Optima 3000 – Perkin Elmer). Results: The analyses indicated the presence of trace metals in commercially available fertilizers sold in Nigeria. Cadmium was found in comparatively high concentrations. Zinc was found present in relatively high concentrations in both urea and phosphate fertilizer samples but As was found in low concentration. By comparison, the superphosphat

DETERMINATION OF HEAVY METALS AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH STATUS OF AGRO SOILS IN IKOT ABASI, NIGER DELTA, NIGERIA

Heavy metal pollution of soils is a worldwide concern due to the security of the agricultural products derivable from the heavy metal contaminated soils. The toxic metals enter the soil-agro ecosystem through natural processes derived from anthropogenic activities and geological weathered materials. This study is aimed at investigating the contamination status of soils from Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, being an area of intense agricultural and industrial activities. Twelve locations were demarcated for soil sampling, whereby top (0- 15 cm ) and sub-surface ( 15 – 30cm ) soil samples were obtained. The soil samples were air-dried and subjected to heavy metal determination (iron, Fe; cadmium, Cd; lead, Pb; zinc, Zn; copper, Cu; vanadium, V; nickel , Ni; chromium, Cr ; mercury, Hg ) by inductively coupled plasma– optical emission spectrometer (AGILENT 720 ICP-OES). The mean concentrations of heavy metals during the dry and wet seasons followed the order: Fe > Zn > Cu > Cr > Ni > Pb > V > Cd > Hg. The geo-accumulation index (Igeo) determined for all the metals studied were less than one , which falls in the Class zero , implying that the soils of the study area is practically unpolluted ; the potential ecological risk ( RI) were less than one , which was in the class of no potential ecological risk : modified degree of contamination ( mCd) calculated for both seasons falls in the category of less than 1.5 , which is nil to very low degree of contamination of the soils of the study area; pollution load index ( PLI), falls in the category of PLI of zero, which is excellence with no metal pollutant contamination. The public concern in respect of the security of the agricultural products derivable from the heavy metal contaminated soil, seem not to be applicable in the soils of Ikot Abasi, however, regular monitoring, is recommended to check possible future contamination

Metal contamination of surface water, sediment and Tympanotonus fuscatus var. radula of lko River and environmental impact due to Utapete gas flare station, Nigeria

Inter-seasonal studies on the trace metal load of surface water.sediment and Tympanotonus fuscatus var. radula of lko River were conducted between 2003 and 2004. The impact of authropogenic activities especially industrial effluent. petroleum related wastes. gas flare and episodic oil spills on the-ecosys1em are remarkable. Trace metals analyzed included cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr). copper (Cu). iron (Fe), lead (Pb), manganese (Mn). nickel (Ni). vanadium (V) and zinc (Zn). Sediment particle size analysis revealed that 1hey were characteristically psammitic and were predominantly of medium to fine grained sand (>73%). less of silt (<15%) and clay (<10%). These results correlated with low levels of trace elements such as Pb (0.03 ± 0.02 mg kg-'). Cr (0.22 ± 0.12 mg kg- 1), Cd(0.05 ± 0.03 mg kg- 1), Cu (0.04 ± O.Q2 mg kg- 1) and Mn (0.23 ± 0.22 mg kg- 1) in 1he sediment samples. This observation is consistent with the Scarcity of clayey materials known to be good scavengers for me1allic and organic contaminants. Sediments indicated enhanced concentration of Fe, Ni and V, while other metal levels were relatively low. The concentrations of all the metals except Pb in surface water were within the permissible levels,suggesting that the petroleum contaminants had minimal effect on the state of pollution by trace metals in lko River. No1ably, the pollutant concentrations in the sediments were markedly higher than the corresponding concentrations in surface water and T. fuscatus tissues, and decreased distance from point sources of pollution

Surface Mixed Layer Profile of Physical and Biogeochemical Variables in the Subpolar North-West and -East Atlantic Ocean: A Data-Model Comparison Study

This paper presents a study of physical and biogeochemical variables using numerical model and mixed layer oceanographic data from a 2 - 3 year in situ measurements in the Northwestern and Northeastern sites of the Atlantic Ocean. Model outputs are presented and indicated that very good estimates may be obtained. The outputs showed considerable agreement in reproducing seasonal distributions of pCO2, pCO2-T, pCO2-nonT, mixed layer temperature, and chlorophyll-a in both winter and summer, and therefore provide useful physical and theoretical understanding of their biogeochemistry. The model pCO2 indicated a distinct temporal variability with seasonal changes coinciding with the change in sea surface temperature. It also provides an agreement that there is a strong seasonal cycle of mixed layer parameters filliped by nonthermal and physical factors. As an outgrowth of this work, the pCO2 model outputs affirm the North Atlantic Ocean capacity as an important oceanographic sink for anthropogenic carbon dioxid

Trace Metals Levels in Inorganic Fertilizers Commercially Available in Nigeria

Aims: To investigate the concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), vanadium (V) and zinc (Zn) in commercially available inorganic fertilizers (calcium superphosphate and urea). Place and Duration of Study: Urea and superphosphate fertilizers were purchased from a local market in Uyo, Southern Nigeria. Methodology: A total of twenty seven fertilizer samples were randomly taken representing triplicate samples from three urea and six superphosphate original fertilizer bags. Each sample were digested and extracted using the ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) extraction technique. The elemental analysis was performed using an inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrophotometer (ICP-AES) (Optima 3000 – Perkin Elmer). Results: The analyses indicated the presence of trace metals in commercially available fertilizers sold in Nigeria. Cadmium was found in comparatively high concentrations. Zinc was found present in relatively high concentrations in both urea and phosphate fertilizer samples but As was found in low concentration. By comparison, the superphosphat

Surface Mixed Layer Profile of Physical and Biogeochemical Variables in the Subpolar North-West and -East Atlantic Ocean: A Data-Model Comparison Study

This paper presents a study of physical and biogeochemical variables using numerical model and mixed layer oceanographic data from a 2 - 3 year in situ measurements in the Northwestern and Northeastern sites of the Atlantic Ocean. Model outputs are presented and indicated that very good estimates may be obtained. The outputs showed considerable agreement in reproducing seasonal distributions of pCO2, pCO2-T, pCO2-nonT, mixed layer temperature, and chlorophyll-a in both winter and summer, and therefore provide useful physical and theoretical understanding of their biogeochemistry. The model pCO2 indicated a distinct temporal variability with seasonal changes coinciding with the change in sea surface temperature. It also provides an agreement that there is a strong seasonal cycle of mixed layer parameters filliped by nonthermal and physical factors. As an outgrowth of this work, the pCO2 model outputs affirm the North Atlantic Ocean capacity as an important oceanographic sink for anthropogenic carbon dioxid

Hydrochemical study of shallow ground water in Ikot Abasi Coastal Aquifer

Communication in Physical Sciences, 2021, 7(3):218-228 Authors: Usoro M. Etesin and Iniemem J. Inim  Received 14 April 2021/Accepted 27 September 2021 A hydrochemical study of shallow groundwater in Ikot Abasi coastal aquifer, Niger Delta, Nigeria, was undertaken, to assess the impact of incidences of oil bunkering, crude oil refining activities, burning of natural gas for power generation and aluminum smelting activities. Six groundwater samples were collected from existing boreholes at different stations, for dry and wet seasons respectively. The water samples were analyzed for temperature, pH, cations (Ca2+, Na+, K+ and Mg2+) , anions (chloride, sulphate, nitrate and  bicarbonate ),  total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), salinity, alkalinity and total hardness , bicarbonate (HCO3-) and alkalinity, using standard analytical procedures by American Public Health Association. To establish the water types in the study area, the test results acquired for exchangeable cations and nutrients were subjected to Piper Plot, Durov Plot, and Gandha Plot for two seasons.  The Piper Plot developed from experimental data revealed that water facies in Ikot Abasi aquifer are confined to only two types, with the majority of the samples having 67 percent plotted in the Ca-Mg-Cl water type, while 23 percent of the samples showed Na –Cl water type, which suggests freshness of the water with minor contribution from saline contribution. However, the Chandha plot for the groundwater indicated that within the study area 66.6 percent of the samples plot are within subfields-5, representing Ca2+ - Mg2+ - HCO3-  water type, while 33 percent were of the samples plot within subfield -4, which is an indication of the presence of a significant concentration of acidic ions over weak anions, signifying strong acidic anions in the water exceeding weak acidic anions. Also, the observed pattern for the results of the Durov plot reveals that 66 percent of the samples plot are in the reverse ion exchange zone and therefore suggest the occurrence of inverse /reverse ion exchange process occurring, due to due the direct exchange of calcium ion and magnesium ions from the aquifer matrix in addition to sodium and potassium ions from the groundwater. While 33 percent of samples plot along the dissolution or mixing line. Based on the Lloyd and Heathcoat classification, the result can be aligned to recent fresh recharged of the water characterized by simple dissolution or mixing without the domination of major ions, and can be attributed to fresh recent recharged water exhibiting simple dissolution or mixing with no dominant major anions and cations. In spite of the shallow depth of the aquifer in the study area, there is no observed contamination of the water. Although the aquifer in Ikot Abasi has shallow depths of between 1.8m to 8.4 m, the concentrations of lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, zinc, and manganese are below the permissible limits of 0.05 mg/L, except iron content which has values above the permissible limit of 0.3 mg/l. The waters have mean salinity of 0.01 %, indicating no saltwater intrusion even though the study area is coastal. The calculated mean pollution index also suggests the absence of contamination from anthropogenic activities. The distribution of major anions, cations, and occurrence of different hydrochemical facies suggest that the composition of the groundwater is significantly influenced by water-rock interactions

Cadmium, Copper, Lead and Zinc Tissue Levels in Bonga Shad (Ethmalosafimbriata) and Tilapia (Tilapia guineensis) Caught from Imo River, Nigeria

An investigation of the muscle-liver tissue concentrations of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) in two commercially important fish species (EthmalosafimbriataBonga shad and Til apia guineensis-Tilapia) caught from three stations within Irno River was carried out in 2004. Heavy metal contents varied significantly (p>0.05) depending on the fish species and on the type of tissues. The concentrations of the essential elements (Zn, Cu) were relatively higher in the muscle and liver tissues than the non-essential metals (Pb, Cd). The trends in tissue elemental concentrations in both species of fish was Zn>Cu>Pb>Cd. Heavy metal levels in liver tissues of both fish species were comparatively higher than levels obtained from muscle tissue. In general, T. guineensis showed higher levels of metal concentrations thanE. fimbriata. The concentrations of Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn in both fish species were within tolerance limits that are safe for human consumption