Air Quality in the Vicinity of a Landfill Site in Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

The study investigated the air quality status in the vicinity of Rumuolumeni landfill with a view to determining the possible influence of weather parameters on the concentration of air pollutants from the landfill. Air quality parameters determined include nitrogen oxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), methane (CH4), volatile organic compounds (VOC), ammonia (NH3), and hydrogen sulphide (H2S). Weather parameters examined include temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction. These data were collected with respect to distance from the center of the dumpsite into the residential area at 200m intervals for seven days using composite sampling technique. Pearson Correlation Statistics was used to test significant influence of distance from the dumpsite on the concentrations of pollutants. Results indicate that, pollutants considered except NO2 were higher at the dumpsite than the residential area. The mean value of SO2, CH4, VOC, NH3 and H2S at the dumpsite was 0.67 mg/m3, 0.06 mg/m3, 2.28 mg/m3, 0.12 mg/m3, and 0.19 mg/m3 respectively. Distance from the center of the dumpsite accounted for 41% (r2 of 0.4096; r of 0.64) and 29% (r2 of 0.2916; r -0.54) variation in the concentrations of NO2 and NH3 respectively at p=0.05. Results indicate that NO2, NH3 and H2S had significant correlations with temperature at 5% significant level with correlation coefficients (r) of 0.740, -0.766, and -0.699 respectively. In addition, NO2, NH3 and H2S were significantly correlated with relative humidity at 5% significant level with correlation coefficient (r) of -0.653, 0.727 and 0.646 respectively while SO2 and VOC were significantly correlated with wind speed at 5% significant level with correlation coefficient (r) of 0.591 and 0.739 respectively. The study recommends that measures to capture landfill gases and prevent their migration to the community are necessary. Keyword: air quality, landfill, meteorological parameter, atmospheric pollutants, Port Harcourt

Meteorological Conditions in the Vicinity of Landfill and its Implications for Atmospheric Pollutant Stagnation in Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

The paper examined the meteorological conditions in the vicinity of landfill and its implications for atmospheric pollutant stagnation in Rumuolumeni. Air quality parameters such as; Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), Sulphur dioxide (SO2), Methane (CH4), Hydrogen sulphide (H2S), Ammonia (NH3) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) were measured using an industrial scientific ITX multigas monitor. The weather parameters (wind speed and direction, temperature, and relative humidity) were collected using Kestel 400 version 3.00 handheld weather trackers. Result indicates that the mean temperature around the dumpsite was lower than that of the neighbouring community and decreases with increase in distance from the dumpsite. This implies that pollutants stagnation is expected at the vicinity of the landfill. The total mean of relative humidity at the landfill site was higher than the relative humidity at the residential area and there was no pattern derived between distance from the center of the dumpsite and relative humidity. The total mean wind speed at the landfill site was lower than that of the residential area, thus greater proportion of air pollutants from the dumpsite were deposited around the landfill. In this study, the concentrations of SO2, CH4, VOC, H2S, and NH3 were all higher at the landfill site and thus, this suggests that the landfill site at Rumuolumeni was a good source of these pollutants. Mean temporal value of temperature, relative humidity and wind speed was 29.7oC, 65.3% and 0.24m/s respectively. It was also discovered that relative humidity correlated inversely with temperature. Furthermore, both temperature and relative humidity were significantly correlated with NO2, NH3 and H2S. Wind speed had significant influence on the concentration of both VOC and SO2. The study also showed that distance from the centre of the landfill site influences the concentrations of the air pollutants. Distance significantly influenced the concentrations of NO2 and SO2. Periodic assessment of the air quality arising from the landfill site in the residential area is advocated in the area. Keywords: air quality, landfill, meteorological parameters, pollutants concentration, residential areas

Spatial Analysis of Atmospheric Pollutants from Rumuolemeni Landfill, Port Harcourt using GIS

The study identified spatial variation of air quality status in the vicinity of the landfill site in Rumuolumeni. Air quality parameters of nitrogen oxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), methane (CH4), volatile organic compounds (VOC), ammonia (NH3), hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and weather parameters of temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, were collected with respect to distance from the center of the dumpsite into the residential area at various locations for seven days using composite sampling technique. Global Positioning System (GPS) was used to determine the longitude (y-coordinate) and latitude (x-coordinate) of each location which was used with the air quality and weather parameters to determine the areas of equal concentration of air quality through the method of interpolation in ArcGIS 9.3 environment. The spatial coverage of levels of concentration of each air quality parameters was calculated in hectares (ha) in ArcGIS 9.3 environment. The GIS analysis showed that the spatial coverage of the entire study area was 1.128 sq km. Result indicates that concentrations of NO2 in the study area varied spatially; values ranging between 0.034mg/m3 and 0.042mg/m3 covered 0.217sq km while the range between 0.026mg/m3 and 0.033mg/m3 covered 0.194sq km and much of this spatial coverage was within the built up area of the study area. However, the concentration of VOC between 0.543 and 0.813 mg/m3 had a spatial coverage of 0.019 sq km while the higher levels of concentration between 2.432 and 0.2.971 covered 0.027 sq km. The concentration levels of VOC between 1.353 and 1.622 mg/m3 covered 0.267 sq km, 1.893 and 2.162 covered 0.150 sq km and 1.623 and 1.892 mg/m3 covered 0.280 sq km. There was no general pattern between the level of concentration of VOC and the spatial coverage. The spatial coverage of the concentration of SO2 range of values of 0.187 and 0.373 mg/m3 was 0.413 sq km. The mean value of wind speed at the dumpsite was 0.22m/s while it was 0.25m/s in the residential area. This indicates that the pollutants have the tendency to stagnate over time in the vicinity of the landfill. It is recommended that the landfill be closed given the rate of urban sprawl to avoid the unhealthy consequences of inhaling these toxic gases. Keywords: Pollutant concentration, GIS, ArcGIS 9.2, interpolation, meteorological parameters

Association between Non-Cigarette/Smokeless Tobacco and Hypertension in the National Health Interview Survey: A Pseudo-Panel Analysis

This study sought to examine assumption between having ever used non-cigarette tobacco or smokeless tobacco, and a diagnosis of hypertension among a sample of 13, 086 United States adults participating in the National Health Interview Series from 2012-2014. A pseudo-panel analysis of data extracted from the Integrated Health Interview Series Survey was conducted. The generalized linear mixed model was used to quantify the effect of a history of non-cigarette tobacco, smokeless tobacco, and socio-demographic predictor variables on the response variable, a diagnosis of hypertension. The transformed data, based on the pseudo-panel technique, resulted in fifty-seven (57) birth cohorts and followed in 2012, 2013, and 2014. The mean age was 51.6 years (±12.4). The findings of this study revealed that the odds of hypertension diagnosis for non-cigarette tobacco users was 0.8846 times lower (95% CI: 0.7907, 0.9896) than non-users after adjusting for possible confounders such as age, language, education, income and years of smoking. Our study suggested that the association between the use of non-cigarette tobacco and the diagnosis of hypertension among the sample population is consistent enough to assume a less plausible association between the two variables

Association between Non-Cigarette/Smokeless Tobacco and Hypertension in the National Health Interview Survey: A Pseudo-Panel Analysis

This study sought to examine assumption between having ever used non-cigarette tobacco or smokeless tobacco, and a diagnosis of hypertension among a sample of 13, 086 United States adults participating in the National Health Interview Series from 2012-2014. A pseudo-panel analysis of data extracted from the Integrated Health Interview Series Survey was conducted. The generalized linear mixed model was used to quantify the effect of a history of non-cigarette tobacco, smokeless tobacco, and socio-demographic predictor variables on the response variable, a diagnosis of hypertension. The transformed data, based on the pseudo-panel technique, resulted in fifty-seven (57) birth cohorts and followed in 2012, 2013, and 2014. The mean age was 51.6 years (±12.4). The findings of this study revealed that the odds of hypertension diagnosis for non-cigarette tobacco users was 0.8846 times lower (95% CI: 0.7907, 0.9896) than non-users after adjusting for possible confounders such as age, language, education, income and years of smoking. Our study suggested that the association between the use of non-cigarette tobacco and the diagnosis of hypertension among the sample population is consistent enough to assume a less plausible association between the two variables

The Potential of Some Non-Conventional Vegetable Oils in Biodiesel Applications

This work studied the potentials of some non-conventional oils biodiesel as an alternative to biodiesel made from a conventional seed oil (palm kernel oil), and petroleum-based diesel. The fruits of three non-conventional oilseeds, namely:PerseaAmericana (Avocado pear), Irvingiagabonenses (Dica nut) and Darcryodesedulis (Native pear)were obtained from local markets in Ile-Ife, Osun State Nigeria while petroleum-based diesel (PBD) used for comparative study was obtained commercially.The outer fleshylayers of the fruitswere separated from the seeds while both were air-dried for some days and later milled. The oils extracted from the milled samples were esterified to produce biodiesel usingmethanol in the presence of NaOH as catalyst. The biodiesels were analyzed for their fuel properties using standard methods.Results showed that the biodiesel yield ofIrvingiagabonensisoil diesel (IGOD),Darcryodesedulisoil diesel (DEOD) and Persia americanaoil diesel (PAOD) were94%, 82% and 96% respectively. These values compared favourably with that of palm kernel oil diesel (PKOD) (91%) produced under same conditions, and with the literature standard yield of 96.5% set for biodiesel. The pour pointsof PKOD, PAOD and DEOD were3, -6 and 1oC,respectively, with PAOD pour point very close to that of PBD (≥-10oC) obtained under similar experimental conditions. Except for IGOD, all the oils have pour points within the standard range of -15 to 16oC set for biodiesel suggesting the suitability of the oils for biodiesel applications.The iodine values of the biodiesel ranged between 9.64 and 16.52 meq/kg and agreed closely with 12-18 meq/kg reported in literature for PKOD. The biodiesel blend with PBD in the ratio 10:90, 20:80, 30:70 and 40:60 demonstratedimprovedphysico-chemical properties (including smoke point, flash point, cloud point, pour point, density, viscosity and acid value) that could meet the fluidity requirements for biodiesel applications

Development of Electrochemical Nanosensor for the Detection of Malaria Parasite in Clinical Samples

In this study, electrochemical nanosensors were developed from the synthesized metal oxide (MO) nanoparticles by supporting it on a gold electrode (Au). The activity of the developed nanosensor toward the detection of malaria biomarker (β-hematin) was determined and the optimum conditions at which the maximum detection and quantification occurred were established. β-Hematin current response at the sensors was higher when compared with the bare Au electrode and followed the order Au-CuO (C) > Au-CuO (M) > Au-Fe2O3 (M) > Au-Fe2O3 (C) > Au-Al2O3 (M) > Au-Al2O3 (C) > bare Au. The developed sensors were stable with a relatively low current drop (10.61–17.35 %) in the analyte. Au-CuO sensor had the best performance toward the biomarker and quantitatively detected P. berghei in infected mice's serum samples at 3.60–4.8 mM and P. falciparum in human blood serum samples at 0.65–1.35 mM concentration

Effects of degumming on biodiesel properties of some non-conventional seedoils

This study examined the effect of degumming process on physicochemical and biodiesel properties of six non-conventional oils in Nigeria extracted from the seeds and flesh of Terminalia catappa (seed), Irvingia gabonesis (seed), Glycine max (seed), Persea americana(flesh), Tithonia diversifolia (seed), and Dacryodes edulis(flesh). The fruits and seeds were air-dried to constant weight and pulverized. Oil was extracted from the milled sample using Soxhlet extraction method. The oils were degummed using 300 μg/mL of NaCl solution to obtain the refined (degummed) oil. Physicochemical properties of both degummed and crude oils were carried out using the AOAC (1990) methods. The fuel properties of the biodiesel obtained were carried out using ASTM methods. Results showed that degumming process lead to high biodiesel yield and reduced the acid value and iodine value compared with the crude oils. The study therefore concluded that degummed oils were a better substitute for biodiesel fuels production

Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in some personal care products in Nigeria

The study was carried out to determine the presence and concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in some personal care products in Nigeria. Commonly used consumer care products grouped into four classes, namely: plastics, cosmetics, disinfectants and washing products, were purchased from some supermarkets in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The solid samples were pulverized and the PAHs and OCPs were extracted with n-hexane and dichloromethane, respectively using Soxhlet extraction method, while the liquid samples were extracted using liquid-liquid extraction method. The quantitative and qualitative determinations were carried out using Gas Chromatography coupled with Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID) for PAHs, and Gas Chromatography coupled with Electron Capture Detector (GC-ECD) for the OCPs. The results for PAHs analysis gave an overall mean concentration of 3259.10 ± 5223.16 μg g−1 for plastics and 8388.00 ± 7106.55 μg g−1 for cosmetics. Comparatively, the concentrations of PAHs in the cosmetic samples were higher than in plastics samples, while both values were greater than the recommended limits of PAHs in consumer care products as stipulated by the World Health Organization. For the OCPs, disinfectant samples had a total mean concentration of 10.65 ± 6.50 μg mL−1, while washing products had a total mean concentration of 35.31 ± 39.31 μg mL−1. The concentrations of OCPs in washing products were higher than their concentrations in disinfectant samples. The results of the OCPs in some samples were greater than Maximum Residual Limit (MRL) recommended by the European Commission. The study concluded that consumer care products used in this study contained PAHs and OCPs at levels that could be risky to human health if the consumer care products are not used with caution. Keywords: Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), Plastics, Cosmetics, Consumer care product