EFFECT OF DISINFECTANTS ON AEROBIC SEWAGE DEGRADATION USING DETTOL AND IZAL AS CASE STUDY

Disinfection is considered to be the primary mechanism for the inactivation/destruction of pathogenic organisms to prevent the spread of diseases and of which some of the organisms maybe needed for degradation as occurring in septic tank. This work investigated the effects of disinfectants on aerobic sewage degradation using Dettol and Izal as case study. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Fecal coliform were used to determine the effectiveness of the two disinfectants. Sewage for analysis were collected from the University of Nigeria Nsukka treatment plant for laboratory analysis. Five 4 Litres containing sewage having different dose in ml of the two disinfectants (Dettol and Izal) of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 with one control were established.Samples for analysis were obtained for 4 weeks for each disinfectants having interval of 3 days. Short and Long term effects of the disinfectants were studied and the results were analyzed using Turkey-Kramer multiple comparison test. The pattern of changes reflecting the effect of the respective disinfectants on faecal colony of coliform shows the pattern for Izal is similar to that of Dettol, regression coefficient were the same. Maximum effects were observed at concentrations 1.5 ml for either Izal and Dettol. Resistance of colony to higher concentration of disinfectant was observed with the respective disinfectants on prolonged study. Addition of 1ml can be seen as the critical dosage. The low COD values observed at 0.5 ml or 1 ml suggest the presence of high faecal colony, likely due to tolerance or inhibitory effects. Low BOD values were observed with addition of 1 ml confirms that the dosage is the critical dosage since it suggest that lower biomass requiring oxygen for oxidation was present in the sample at this dosage. This is also reflected in the COD assessment. From comparism of the disinfectants effect shows usage of Izal recorded higher disinfectant effect compared to Dettol

Assessment of Urban Drainage and Sanitation Challenges in Nigeria

One of the observable impacts of rapidly growing urbanization and economic development in emerging cities of developing nations is witnessed in drainage problems connected to poor sanitation. The objectives of this research are to examine the causes and extent of damage on drainage and poor sanitation systems in urban areas, highlight measures to improve health and living conditions of the residents, and propose measures to improve the economic functioning of the cities. Six (6) Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria were selected. The descriptive cross-sectional study identified 50 respondents from each LGA through careful selection. Data were collected through validated questionnaire, thorough observations and interviews with residents. The result of the investigation shows that ineffective drainage systems are basically associated with poor maintenance, indiscriminate dumping of refuse in drains, erection of building on drainage channels and alignments that inhibit the flow of water which leads to critical environmental hazards. The study suggests new approach that could be used to achieve sustainable and effective sanitation which would support government’s effort in upgrading urban services by preparing plans and feasibility studies, improving drainage maintenance procedures and effectively manage human waste dispo

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HOSPITAL WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CALABAR METROPOLIS AND DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

Healthcare Waste (HCW) constitutes a special category of waste because they contain potentially harmful materials. The problem of how to manage HCW has become one of critical concerns in developing countries. A cross sectional descriptive study of Medical Waste Management (MWM) practice and their implication to health and environment was carried out between August and September 2012 in Calabar metropolis, Cross River State, Nigeria with the aim of assessing the current practices and commitment to sustainable HCW management in three (1 tertiary, 1 General and 1 Private) hospitals ranging in capacity from 30 to 500 beds. The study approach involved the estimation of the quantity of HCW generated, evaluation of the waste segregation practices and determination of the knowledge of healthcare workers regarding HCW management. Daily waste inventory of each ward was carried out. An evaluation of the status of the waste management practice in the health facility was carried out using the following criteria: waste management (responsibility, segregation, storage and packaging); waste transport; waste recycling and reuse; waste treatment and final disposal. The result obtained from the study showed wastes generation at the rate of 1.31, 1.16 and 0.78 kg/day/patient for large, medium and small sized hospitals, respectively. Comparing the results gotten from the tertiary hospital and results gotten from developed countries, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used which showed a less non-significant value. Out of the 189 people that participated in the survey of medical waste management, 19% of the people were highly concerned. 38% of the people were slightly concerned and 33% of them were neutral in their approach. The remaining people were not at all concerned with the MWM. Profession and age seemed to have an effect on the resul

Student Emersion In Engineering and Geosciences Research: One-Way Of Strengthening The Disciplines

As studies show, the population of the science and engineering (S&E) community is aging, it is becoming important to get the young S&E students ‘hooked’ early in research. We can achieve this by building research projects into some upper level courses in addition to independent studies or research. Since there are environmental problems and issues that need to be addressed, involving undergraduates early becomes necessary, as they will continue with research that will help address environmental problems/issues. Several courses where research has been integrated as part of the requirement include, but are not limited to these: engineering geology, water resources management, environmental engineering, environmental geology, and hydrogeology. In many of these courses, the research component may account for 30 to 60% of the course grade. Large projects are broken into bite size for students to complete within a semester. Other students have either extended the research project or gone to graduate school to conduct similar research projects. Several research projects from some of these courses have resulted in regional, national and international presentations and publications. The vast majority of the more than 50 students that participated in the research projects found the experience pleasant. Selected students research projects will be presented

Estimation of longitudinal dispersion co-efficient: A review

Accurate determination of longitudinal dispersion coefficient in rivers or streams is necessary for pollution control and management. This can be achieved through tracer studies and has proven to be a reliable method for measuring pollution spread. However, tracer studies practise which is expensive, time gulping and requiring large labour input have been substituted with empirical approaches thereby reducing the applicability of the dispersion coefficient models generated. This study reviews the various models derived as well as methods associated in the collection of tracer concentration data (measurement) existing in the literature. A sustainable approach to this study was identified and research needs were also listed

Parametric evaluation of the Euler–Lagrangian approach for tracer studies

The determination of dispersion number or its coefficient is pertinent to the control of pollution. This study evaluated the importance of the parameters measured from a river in South West Nigeria, during tracer studies using the Euler–Lagrangian approach. Several measurements which included tracer concentration, width, velocity, sampling time, and sampling point interval were obtained between January and April of 2017, cutting across the raining and dry seasons for model development and sensitivity analysis. The result revealed that a 1% increase in the dispersion coefficient will result from a 2.487% increase in velocity (t = 2.671, p = 0.020) and 8.914% increase in the channel width (t = 6.124, p = 0.000), which were statistically significant at 5% and 1%, respectively. This finding is well supported by previous studies which made use of the variable distance and constant time method. Furthermore, sampling time (t = 5.087, p = 0.000), sampling point interval (t = 6.124, p = 0.000), and tracer concentration (t = 2.453, p = 0.030) were new variables identified and all were statistically significant and had a direct relationship with dispersion coefficient. It is recommended that the Euler–Lagrangian approach should be adopted in other rivers to verify these claims, as it could be seen as a sustainable method for conducting tracer studie

STATISTICAL EVALUATION OF HYDRO-METEOROLOGICAL DATA: A CASE STUDY OF ISHIAGU IN SOUTH-EAST ZONE NIGERIA

For any Engineering project to be efficient, it must be based on consistent and reliable data with good analysis. Reliability, especially for hydro-meteorological data depends on the method of collection, analysis and storage. Ishiagu weather data has been collected since the inception of the school of agriculture in the town in 1997 to date. Statistical analysis of the randomly varying data to check for their consistency and reliability is necessary before use. In this regard, the monthly data set is analysed for annual mean, trends and seasonal distribution pattern. A significant finding of this analysis is that the monthly rainfall has bimodal distribution with peaks in July and September. For the temperature of the area, it showed a sinusoidal pattern due to the seasons and this also reflects on the relative humidity of the area. A regression analysis of the three data of rainfall, temperature and relative humidity indicates a coefficient of correlation of r = 0.3, t = -0.40 and rh = -0.67. Because of the low state of the coefficient of correlation of the three parameters it may be necessary to recheck with either power, exponential or polynomial functions. From the determination of frequency of extreme events using Gumbel distribution, the highest annual rainfall value is determined to have a return period of less than 20years and the 17years records also was adjudged adequate

Fluoride contamination in groundwater sources in Southwestern Nigeria: Assessment using multivariate statistical approach and human health risk

The present study investigated the ionic and fluoride concentrations in tap water and its associated health risk to local dwellers of Ogun State (Abeokuta south), Nigeria. 63 samples were collected from twenty-one different locations. Results obtained revealed the mean concentration of fluoride (F–) as 1.23 mg/L. Other water quality parameters such as total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), F–, Fe2+, and SO4 2– surpassed the WHO guidance for drinking water. Strong positive correlation was observed between F– and TDS; F– and pH; TDS and EC; TDS and Mg2+; TDS and SO4 2–; TDS and HCO3 –; EC and HCO3 –; EC and SO4 2–; Na+ and Cl–; SO4 2– and Cl–. In addition, Empirical Bayesian Kriging (EBK) model was employed to spatially distribute the concentration of the analyzed elements within the study region. The chronic daily dose (CDD) and hazard quotient (HQ) were also used to evaluate the health risk associated with F–, considering dermal and ingestion as pathways. The results revealed that the associated HQ for infants between the age range of 6–12months within about 91% of the study region surpassed the accepted HQ limit. However, the HQ for age categories 11–16years;>65years; 18–21years; 21years; 16–18years within 95.2%, 90.5%, 80.95% and 100% of the study location were less than 1. Conclusively, the HQ values obtained in this study should serve as a baseline information for water management authorities, policymakers and the society at large towards addressing these pollution issues

Influence Of Escarpment On Rainfall Pattern: A Case Study Of Udi-South Eastern Nigeria

The presence of escarpment plays an important role in the distribution of rainfall. Its role was studied and was put together in this paper. Various parameter were studied and they included: amount of rainfall, elevation, latitude and the distance from the sea. In this research, frequency analysis was performed on the parameters and the log-pearson type III was considered the most suitable distribution method. Also, principal component analysis was used to determine that two components best estimates the variables with close correlation to be rainfall, elevation, latitude and distance from the sea as component 1 and distance to nearest neighbour and longitude as component 2. With regional coefficient of variation of 22%, the area has low variability indicative of high rainfall values with good consistency. Annual average rainfall of South Eastern Nigeria is at 1744mm with bi-modal double peaks in July and September as in most parts of Southern Nigeria. From the determination of the difference in mean, it is again obvious that areas close to Udi escarpment have mean below or slightly above mean, hence affecting rainfall