Evaluating the Level of Pollutants from Spent Drilling Fluids in an Oil Field in Niger Delta

The environmental pollution hazards due to the use of drilling fluids in the oil and gas sector were studied. Grab samples of spent drilling fluids (SDF), water and soil were collected from 7 locations in the oil field when the depth of the well was 3,658m, before the 3,962m pay zone. Samples were analyzed to determine the concentrations of contaminants such as Barium (Ba), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium total (Cr), Copper (Cu), Iron III (Fe3+), Lead (Pb), Manganese (Mn), Vanadium (Vn) and Zinc (Zn) in the treated and untreated SDFs, water, soil, ash and sludge samples that might constitute environmental hazards, in accordance with the Department of Petroleum Resources and American Public Health Associations guidelines and methods. The concentrations and the spatial distributions of the pollutants released to the environment were established through modeling with Ogata-Banks model equation and the material balance equations. The results of the test showed that these substances have levels above recommended limits in the environment. These contaminants which are deleterious, toxic and hazardous, have led to large-scale human health problems and environmental degradation in the sensitive wetlands of the Oil Field in the Niger Delta.Keywords: Ogata Banks, material balance, oil field, drilling fluids, heavy metals, modelin

Water Quality and Syndicated Lead Burden of a Community Drinking Water Supply in Nigeria

Inability of the Zaria municipal water works to satisfy the water demands of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) community necessitated the construction and commissioning of the ABU water treatment works in 1981. Against the background that wholesome and potable water had been declared a Human Right by the Human rights Commission of the United Nations in 2002, this study assesses the water quality status of the drinking water produced by the ABU water treatment plant from 2008 – 2010. This assessment focussed on some parameters of general properties and some heavy metals using standard methods of analyses. The average values of these parameters measured at the house level water samples over the study period were, pH 6.7, TDS 66.0, TOC 2.3, NO3 - 1.4, PO43- 0.1, Cl- 0.5, SO4 = 42.0, Zn2+ 0.04, Pb2+ 0.035mgl-1 and conductivity 102.0μScm-1. With these results, ABU drinking water supply complies with the Nigerian (Nigerian Industrial Standards NIS 554, SON 2007), USEPA, World Health Organization - WHO and European Union - EU standards except for its lead content. High lead concentration as recorded in this study is a source of worry in view of the health implication of lead in drinking water and the involvement of the Ahmadu Bello University Health Services in protecting the source water for over a decade through managing quality of drainage water from Samaru Village into the source water being treated.Key words: ABU drinking water, lead concentration, Samaru, standard

Study of Material Flow of End-of-Life Computer Equipment (e-wastes) in Some Major Cities in Nigeria

The fast growing use of Information and Communication Technology has created a new environmental problem, electronic-waste (e-waste).Addressing this concern requires proper management plans and strategy, which in turn requires reliable estimates of e-waste generation in the present as well as future. In this study, a material flow model for the analysis of e-waste generation from computer equipment in Kaduna and Abuja in Nigeria has been developed and compared with that of Lagos which has been studied earlier. Data used to develop the models are the sales data from major distributors of electronics in the study areas, usage time of computer equipment and transfer coefficients of the electronics from one stage to another. The analysis of individual flows of computer from the material flow model showed that the fate of obsolete computer equipment were storage (27-41%), reuse (35-61%) and direct disposal (12-24%). It was also found that after four years of the last inflow considered, averagely 935,686, 399,769 and 101,142 computer equipment would be in storage in Lagos, Kaduna and Abuja respectively; 998,861, 458,202 and 152, 305 computers respectively would be under reuse and 674,492,247,858 and 76,419 computers respectively would be disposed. A sensitivity analysis for an error of 0.1 in each of the transfer coefficients (TC) used in the model showed a variation of ±10% in e-waste generation. The results also indicated that computer equipment would continue to remain in either storage, re-use or gradually disposed off for 10, 8 and 11 years respectively after its inflow into the consumption phase. This delay or staggering in e-waste disposal would reduce the amount of e-waste disposed yearly and thus afford the country the time to make plans to accommodate and manage the e-wastes generated more efficiently. Keywords: e-waste, material flow model, computer equipment, sensitivity analysis, transfer coefficien

Assessment of Noise Generated By Operations within the Gunduwawa Quarry in Kano State, Nigeria

Noise levels in a well known quarry located in Gunduwawa village in Gezawa Local GovernmentArea of Kano State was studied on both working days and non-working days to ascertain theambient noise levels. Specialized Integrating Average Sound Level Meter was used for the mea-surement. The impact of noise through the action of vibration was conducted to ascertain theintegrity of structures 300 m and 600 m respectively away from the quarry site. Results obtainedshowed that the average morning, afternoon and evening noise levels on Sundays, a typical restday were 37.83, 45.5 and 41.5 dB(A) respectively. While the corresponding values for successivesix working days were 96, 101.4 and 83.6 dB(A) respectively. At break time during the workingdays the noise level had an average value of 87.16 dB(A). The structural integrity of buildingsrecorded values ranging from 8 to 36 KPa. The ones with high values were constructed by theconstruction companies with concrete and sandcrete blocks with good foundation. On the otherhand, the local buildings werebuilt with mud and without good foundations. They were found to begenerally weak and had cracked, with vey low lifespan. It was concluded that the villagers livingwithin 600m from the quarry site were exposed to excessive and uninterrupted noise which hasadverse eect on their health conditions.Keywords: buildings, cracks, decibel, environment and nois

Modification of Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from a petroleum refining effluent for increased petroleum product degradation

Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from Kaduna refining and petrochemical company (KRPC) were subjected to ultra-violet (UV)-irradiation for 30 min followed by nitrous acid treatment and re-irradiated with UV light for 30 min using standard methods and their petroleum degradation abilities were compared with parent strains. Prior to modification, B. cereus and P.aeruginosa grew on minimal basal medium containing 1.5 and 1% crude oil, respectively, initially but on re-inoculation, both organisms grew on minimal basal medium containing 5% crude oil. 99.83 (0.17% survival) and 96.91% (3.08% survival) death were recorded on UV-irradiation for 30 min; 38.24 (61.76% survival) and 82.02% (10.98% survival) death were recorded after nitrous acid treatment and 29.01 (70.99% survival) and 95.76% (4.24% survival) death were observed on re-irradiation with UV light for 30 min for B. cereus and P. aeruginosa, respectively. Petroleum product degradation increased from98.92% for parent B. cereus to 99.70% for UV-irradiated nitrous acid treated B. cereus, and from 91.34% for parent P. aeruginosa to 98.09% for UV-irradiated nitrous acid treated P. aeruginosa. However, itdecreased from 98.92 to 97.87% and increased from 91.34 to 97.87% for parents and second stage mutants re-irradiated with UV light of B. cereus and P. aeruginosa, respectively. Higher potential were observed for second stage mutant of B. cereus than P. aeruginosa. Thus, the modification of the organisms with UV-irradiation for 30 min followed by nitrous acid treatment resulted in their increased petroleum product degradation ability and could therefore be used for bioremediation of environmentspolluted with petroleum products of 1 - 5% (v/v)

Study of the bacteriological and physicochemical indicators of pollution of surface waters in Zaria, Nigeria

This study investigates the pollution level of surface waters in Zaria, Nigeria. The bacteriological and physicochemical analyses performed were in accordance with standard procedures. Out of 228 samples from different sites, 128 (56.1%) had counts higher than the standards. Samaru stream was themost polluted. The frequency of contamination of samples with Escherichia coli O157 was only 2.2%. There was a positive correlation between faecal coliform count with most of the physicochemical parameters. The use of the surface waters as raw water for drinking, irrigation of food crops for rawconsumption and for recreational activities may be hazardous. The study therefore, stresses on the need to control the faecal pollution of the bodies of water

Sustainability of water resources development in the Komadugu Yobe River basin of Nigeria

A water audit of the Hadejia river sub-catchment of Komadugu Yobe River basin of Nigeria (KYB) has been carried out in order to elucidate the sustainability of existing water uses. Results show that about 2,619 million cubic meters (MCM) of surface water is available annually upstream of Wudil (HS 1), 658 MCM is available between Wudil and Hadejia (HS 2), while 905 MCM is available between Hadejia and Gashua (HS 3). Analysis of direct ground water recharge revealed that 86 mm, 94 mm and 8 mm of water is recharged to groundwater annually in the three hydrological sections HS 1, HS 2 and HS 3 respectively. It is obvious that the least ground water recharge takes place in the Hadejia - Nguru Wetlands. Presently, no water stress was observed in the sub-catchment; however, a number of water management problems persist all over the sub-catchment. The potential water balance of the area shows that about 75% of the available water between Wudil and Hadejia section (HS 2) would be used up by 2010 going by the current development rate. Projections show that the water use rate will reach 100% by 2018. At this time, water scarcity will commence in this area if urgent steps are not taken to address the situation. Adoptable strategies to avert the crisis were advanced.Keywords: Water, Development, Management, recharge, NigeriaJournal of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology, Volume9,: 5-1

Prevelence of Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia in primary school pupils in five rural villages around Kaduna and Zaria, Nigeria

No Abstract. The Nigerian Journal of Parasitology Vol. 21(1) 2000: 61-6