Heavy Metal Contamination Indices for oil spilled Agricultural Soils in three Local Government Areas of River State, Nigeria

Communication in Physical 2019, 4(1): 8-16 Authors: Emeka Chima Ogoko, Kelle Henrietta Ijeoma & Enete Uchenna Oliver This study evaluated the contamination indices of heavy metals in Agricultural soil contaminated with crude oil spills in three localgovernment areas (LGAs) within Rivers State, Nigeria (namely, Eleme, Ahoada and Oyigbo). Soil samples were taken at various depths (0-15cm, 15- 30cm and 30-45 cm) from the three LGAs. Concentrations of chromium, copper, iron, nickel and zinc ions were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Results obtained indicated that mean concentration of chromium ionranged from 10.53 -24.61mg/kg, copper ion ranged from 1.97-2.73mg/kg, iron ion ranged from 1329.58-1838.32 mg/kg. Nickel ion ranged from 1.07-3.03 mg/kg while mean zinc ion concentrations ranged from 0.38-3.99 mg/kg. The results also revealed thatmean concentrations of all the studied heavy metal ions were higher in oil spilled soil samples than those not exposed to spillage, indicating possible increase in soil heavy metal ions concentrations through oil spillage. Also, concentrations of heavy metal ionswere found to increase with soil depth and was attributed to natural processes. Calculated contamination factors indicated low to moderate contamination except Cr and Ni for Oyigbo samples whose CF values indicated moderate and considerable contamination. Pollution load index indicated low pollution levels for Ahoada and Oyigbo soil samples while that of Eleme waspolluted. The degree of contamination for all the heavy metals revealed low degree of contamination expect for nickel where it showed moderate degree of contamination. The ecological and the potential ecological risks were within the range of lowecological risk pollution for soil samples at the spillage sites in the three Local Government Areas

Ecological Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Soils from Dumpsites within Umuahia, Nigeria

Communication In Physical Sciences 2020, 5(2): 124 -135 Authors: Jude C. Nnaji, and E. ChukwuReceived 15 March 2020/Accepted 28 April 2020 Ecological risk assessment of heavy metals at five dumpsites (1 – 5) in Umuahia, Nigeria was carried out. Soil samples were collected at distances of 0, 5 and 10 m from each dumpsite and from a control site. Samples of water leaf and African Spinach leafwere also collected and analysed for heavy metal ions. Soil physicochemical parameters were determined using official and recommended methods while heavy metal ion concentrations were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Results obtained indicated that the texture of soil samples were predominantly sandy loam while pH values ranged from 6.21±0.37 to 7.70±0.29. Organic matter content ranged from 1.65±0.52 to 4.15±0.36 % while electrical conductivity had a range of 98.47±7.25 – 201.57±15.86µS/cm across the dumpsites. Mean concentrations of heavy metal ions in soils from the dumpsites weresignificantly higher (P < 0.05) than those from the control site. Average metal pollution indices showed that soils in the dumpsites are unpolluted except cadmium in Dumpsites 4 and 5. Degree of contamination values showed low degrees of contamination but enrichment factors for Pb, Cd and Cr in some Dumpsites indicated significant enrichments. All dumpsites had geo-accumulation indices less than 1.00 indicating unpolluted soil except Pb and Cr in some Dumpsites which showed moderate pollution. Ecological risk and potential ecological risk indices indicated low ecological risk. Mean concentrations of cadmium ions in the two vegetables from the dumpsites exceeded the Codex maximum limits for Cd in leafy vegetables. Although severe pollution is not pronounced for soils within the study dumpsites, it is recommended that measures should be engaged to control waste disposal in these dumpsites since heavy metals can bioaccumulate and increase in concentration to severe the environmental quality of thedumpsites in the near future. &nbsp

Performance evaluation of clay-sawdust composite filter for point of use water treatment

Water borne diseases have remained a major challenge in most developing countries. This is usually as a result of lack of access to clean water and contamination associated with water fetching and conveyance. This work explores the possibility of improving water quality and eliminating the possibility of recontamination by the use of point of use (POU) water filters made from cheap locally available materials. The performance of POU water filters for the purification of water obtained from various sources was investigated.  Sawdust was used as a burnout material in order to enhance the rate of filtration. The clay was first characterized and then various proportions (5%, 10%, 20%, 30% and 50% by weight) of sawdust were mixed with the clay for filter production. The clay was found to have a specific gravity of 2.4, a high liquid limit of 81.6% and a medium plastic limit of 48.54%. The flow rates of the filters ranged between 0.0005litres/hr for the filter with 5% sawdust and 0.8litres/hr for the filter with 50% sawdust. The average removal of suspended solids (SS) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) was 98.6% and 33% respectively while the mean Log10 reduction in total count (TC) was 93.1%. Result of analysis of variance showed that there was no significant difference between the performances of the filters. However, there was a significant difference between the flow rates with F(18.71) > F critical (5.14). This implies that while burnout materials improve water quality, increasing burnout materials in clay filters beyond 50% does not significantly affect the performance for the filter with respect to the quality of effluent but with respect to flow rate. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v35i4.3

Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on Manufacturing Sector Output Growth in Nigeria

Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.Peer reviewe

Biodisinfection and Coagulant Properties of Mixed Garcinia kola and Carica papaya Seeds Extract for Water Treatment

Garcinia kola (Heckel) and Carica papaya (Linn.) seeds from ripe fruits were investigated for their disinfection and coagulation activity in water. The phytochemical analysis indicated the presence of alkaloid, saponins, flavonoid and tannins in both seeds. Physicochemical analysis of the water samples was determined before and after treatment with seed solutions. Results showed that mixed Garcinia kola and Carica papaya extracts had no significant effect (P > .05) on temperature, pH, conductivity and chloride but significantly reduced (P = .05) TDS, BOD, nitrate, nitrite and turbidity. The coagulation and antimicrobial efficiency of mixed Garcinia kola Heckel and Carica papaya seed solution at different concentrations on turbid surface water (collected from Ogbor Hill River in Aba) were studied and compared. Microbial reduction for mixed extract of Garcinia kola and Carica papaya solution showed antimicrobial efficiency of 41.67 – 83.33% for Total coliform, 47.85 – 60.89% for E. coli, 12.87-83.33% for Fecal streptococcus, 40.46 – 83.33% for staphylococcus Aureus and 50.43 – 74.36% for Total heterotrophic bacteria at different concentration. Mixed Garcinia kola and Carica papaya seed solution reduced the turbidity perfectly at the optimum doze of 3% at which 67.83% turbidity was removed by mixed solution. Garcina kola and Carica papaya seeds are non toxic and do not significantly affect the pH and conductivity of the treated water. So, as natural coagulants, both seeds may be potentially viable for treating water

An Optimization Approach for Assessing the Reliability of Rainwater Harvesting

This study was aimed at developing an optimization approach to rainwater harvesting (RWH) considering three (3) water consumption scenarios (WCS). These scenarios which include basic water need (BWN), pour flush (PF) and full plumbing connection (FPC) corresponding to 50 litres per capita per day (lpcd), 75(lpcd) and 150(lpcd) respectively were simulated for different categories of buildings. Reliability of supply was determined by first obtaining composite surplus/deficit of rainwater followed by optimizing the redistribution of surplus rainwater harvested to deficient buildings. Results showed that when total annual rainfall intercepted by roof exceeded total demand, 100% reliability of water supply was guaranteed. Reliability was found to be a linear function of storage. When reliability of supply is possible, the optimized storage bears an inverse exponential relationship to the roof plan area per capita. The relationship between surplus/deficit and roof plan area per capita follows a onephase decay pattern. An optimal redistribution of surplus water from self-sufficient buildings to deficient ones gave an improvement in supply reliability from 64 to 87% for basic water need, 47 to 58% for pour flush and 28 to 29% for full plumbing connection

Optimum temperature and stocking density for transportation of tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) broodstock in the semi-arid zone of Nigeria

Oreochromis niloticus broodstock of mean weight 32.3g were cropped in the morning with dragnet from a 1 ha reservoir and transported in round tanks to the Hatchery complex of the National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research where they were stocked into 5m x 5m indoor concrete tanks filled with clean water and with aerators at a density of 4 fish/m1. They were acclimated for 5 days and then packaged into 60 liter capacity water proof bags at the following stocking densities: 60, 80, 100, 120, 140 fish/60 lit bag. Each stocking density had bags with ice blocks and bags without ice blocks in triplicate. The water proof bags were oxygenated, loaded into quick fitting plastic bowls and transported in a bus from New Bussa to Warra, Kebbi state, a journey of 3 hours. The trip was repeated four times. Percentage survival in bags with ice block were 100%for stocking densities 60, 80, 100 fish/60 lit bag, 95.1%for 120 fish/60 lit bag and 84. 7%for 1-10 fish/60 lit bag (mean temperature 23.5~?C). Mortalities were recorded in all the bags without ice block but the highest survival was in the bag with stocking density 60fish/60 lit bag (mean temperature 29.2~?C)

Probabilistic risk assessment and spatial distribution of potentially toxic elements in groundwater sources in Southwestern Nigeria

The study investigated the concentration of potentially toxic heavy metals (PTHM) in groundwater sources (hand-dug wells and boreholes), spatial distribution, source apportionment, and health risk impact on local inhabitants in Ogun state. One hundred and eight water samples from 36 locations were analysed for Cr, Ni, Pb, Fe, Mn, Mg, Ca and Al. Mean values of 0.013, 0.003, 0.010, 0.088, 0.004 and 3.906 mg/L were obtained for Pb, Cr, Ni, Fe, Mn, and Al respectively at Iju district. Meanwhile, the average values of Pb, Ni, Fe, Mn, and Al concentrations at Atan district were 0.008, 0.0023, 0.011, 0.003, and 1.319 mg/L respectively. Results also revealed that the 44.4% and 11.13% of the borehole and well-water samples surpassed the World Health Organization limits for Pb at Atan. In Iju, the concentration of Pb and Al were relatively high, exceeding the stipulated standard in 100% of the samples. The Multivariate statistical analysis employed produced principal factors that accounted for 78.674% and 86.753% of the variance at Atan and Iju region respectively. Based on this, PTHM were traced to geogenic sources (weathering, dissolution, leaching) and anthropogenic emissions from industrial activities. In addition, the hazard quotient values obtained from the health risk assessment identified potential non-carcinogenic risk due to Pb via ingestion route. Ni was found to have high carcinogenic risk on adult and children, having exceeded the threshold limit. The outcome of the carcinogenic risk assessment revealed that 88.67% (for adults) and 1.12% (for children) of the cancer risk values surpassed the specified limits at Iju, whereas the cancer risk values were considerably lesser at Atan. In conclusion, the report of this study should serve as a beacon that will spark up strategic planning, comprehensive water resource management, and extensive treatment schemes in order to address the health complications linked with environmental pollution