Physicochemical Parameters Of Effluents From A Lubricating Oil Company And Metal Analysis Of The Sediment Of The Receiving Stream In Osogbo Osun State, Nigeria

Effluent and its receiving sediment samples were collected on seasonal basis, comprising of three months (August to October, 2014) in the wet season and three months (December 2014 to February 2015) in the dry season. Five sampling points around the lubricating oil company were marked for the study. Physicochemical parameters of the effluent samples such as pH, temperature, conductivity, total dissolve solids were determined in situ. Dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand were determined by Winkler´s method. Digestion of the sediments was carried out by acid dissolution. The heavy metals (Mn, Ni, Co, Cd and Pb) level was determined using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The results revealed that the physicochemical parameters ranged between (27.40 to 29.860C) for temperature, pH (6.89 to 7.88), electrical conductivity (92.27 to 292.84µs/cm), total dissolve solids, dissolved oxygen (2.58 to 7.01mg/L), biochemical oxygen demand (5.00 to 14.00mg/L) for the sampling periods. The overall total metal was in similar order: Mn > Ni > Co > Cd > Pb for both seasons. Most of the results were within the recommended limit required except for the levels of biochemical oxygen demand which exceeded the recommended value of 10mg/L in dry season by WHO, (2006). Statistically, no significant difference at p ≤ 0.05 between the parameters obtained in both seasons. The study concluded that the effluents discharged from the lubricating oil company in osogbo was polluted based on the results of biochemical oxygen demand and the Cd concentrations in the sediment samples. &nbsp

Metal analyses of ash derived alkalis from banana and plantain peels (Musa spp.) in soap making

The objective of this work was to determine the metal content of plantain and banana peels ash derived alkali and the possibility of using it as alternate and cheap source of alkali in soap industry. This was done by ashing the peels and dissolving it in de-ionised water to achieve the corresponding hydroxides with pH above 12. The solution was then analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The analytical measurements were carried out in triplicate and the multi elemental solution was used for calibration of equipment. The abundance of essential metals was in these orders in both the banana and plantain alkalis: K > Fe > Ca > Mg > Mn > Zn > Na and Fe > K > Ca > Mg > Zn > Mn > Na, respectively. The presence of other metals besides K and Na at higher concentrations limits the foamability of the soaps but could be adapted as thickeners and emulsifiers in greases. The concentrations of elements with health risk in the ash derived alkalis are within the allowable range of the Commission of European Communities (2008) limit.Key words: Banana, plantain, ash derived alkali, major elements, minor elements

Effect of metal poisoning and the implications of gender and age on the elemental composition in patients with mental behavioural disorders

The objective of this work was to investigate the possible correlation between the exposure to selected toxic metals and the behavioural disorder of mentally ill patients. The study also sought to establish if gender and age of the patient had an effect on the pattern of the elemental distribution in their head hair and blood samples. To achieve this, the concentrations of a number of selected toxic metal elements were determined in 60 mentally ill patients and 43 healthy individuals (control) in Ile-Ife area, in Nigeria, using inductively coupled plasma spectrophotometer-optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES). The behavioural disorder cases investigated were 8 bipolar, 2 post partum psychosis, 43 schizophrenia and 7 non-specific cases. The concentration ranges of Cu, Zn, Ca, Li, V, Be (for both males and females), Cd and Sr (for females only) as analyzed from the patients’ head hair with behavioural disorders, were found to be similar with those of the controls. However, the concentration ranges of Al, Ba, Mg, Cr and Cd, Sr (for males only) were higher in patients than in the controls, while those for K and Fe were found to be higher in the controls than in the patients for both males and females. Blood samples analysis showed that, nearly all the elements were higher in the female (patients and control) than in the males; a possible indication that women may be at greater risk than men. It was also shown that, age may have an influence on the accumulation of some specific elements. The accuracy of the analytical results was experimentally demonstrated by NCS DC 73347 certified reference material that was analyzed along the standards while the significance of the data obtained was tested statistically at both p = 0.01 and 0.05

Heavy metal contamination in stream water and sediments of gold mining areas of South Western Nigeria

This study assessed the seasonal variation in heavy metal contamination of stream water and sediments in the gold mining area of Atakunmosa West local Government, Osun State, Nigeria. Twelve villages of prominence in illegal gold mining were selected for the study covering dry and wet seasons of 2012. Stream water and sediment samples were randomly sampled for both seasons. Samples were analyzed with atomic absorption spectrometric method (AAS) and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) for Cd, Zn, Pb, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu and As. The trend observed for the metals analyzed in the stream water for both seasons are Cu > Zn > Fe > Cd > Pb > As. In stream sediments, higher mean concentration values were generally recorded in the dry season than in wet season. Four metals (Cd, Pb, Cu and Fe) in stream waters and sediments were found to be higher than allowed limits both by the World Health Organisation (WHO, 2004) and the Nigerian standard for drinking water quality (NSDWQ, 2007) in some villages for both seasons, attesting to pollution of the environment resulting from the mining operations and this call for concern.Key words: Heavy metal, surface water, sediments, atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), gold mining

Determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in blood plasma of neurology patients

The etiology of many neurological cases cannot be easily delineated, making the investigation, and treatment to be challenging.This study aimsto screen the blood of neurology patients presenting for the first time in the hospital for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) using Flame Ionization Detector –Gas Chromatography. Fourteen PAHs were detected in the samples. The results showed that flourene and phenanthrene were common to all the patients in the range (1.37to8.08 and 1.66 to8.34 ng/mL respectively), but were not detected in the control samples. Pyrene, fluoranthene and acenaphthene were present in 80, 75 and 70% in the blood plasmaof the patients at the range of 2.96 to236.86 ng/mL, 1.96 to 11.55ng/mL and 1.08 to 1.81 ng/mL respectively. These were not found in the control samples. The body burden of these congeners wasmuch higher in neurology patients than controlsand literature values of similar study. The concentrations detected were statistically significant, and could be possible causative agents. This can also become one of the investigative tools for these disease