Research Article
Heavy Metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Water and Biota from a Drilling Waste Polluted Freshwater Swamp in the Mgbede Oil Fields of South-South Nigeria
| Ezekwe Ifeanyichukwu Clinton1*, Odu Nma Ngozi2 and Onyedikam Lilian Ifeoma1 | ||
| 1Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria | ||
| 2Department of Microbiology, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria | ||
| Corresponding Author : | Ezekwe Ifeanyichukwu Clinton Department of Geography and Environmental Management University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria Tel: +2348033388237 E-mail: clidnelson@gmail.com, Clinton.ezekwe.uniport.edu.ng |
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| Received July 28, 2014; Accepted October 17, 2014; Published October 20,2014 | ||
| Citation: Ezekwe IC, Odu NN, Onyedikam LI (2014) Heavy Metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Water and Biota from a Drilling Waste Polluted Freshwater Swamp in the Mgbede Oil Fields of South-South Nigeria. J Bioremed Biodeg 5:258. doi:10.4172/2155-6199.1000258 | ||
| Copyright: © 2014 Ezekwe IC, et al. This is an open-a ccess article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. | ||
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Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals (Ni, Mn, Zn, Pb, and Cd) in biota and water and Physico-chemical parameters [pH, temperature, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD), alkalinity, sulphate, electrical conductivity, turbidity, salinity, chloride, phosphate, nitrate, sulphate, calcium, magnesium and water hardness] in water were measured in an oil drilling waste polluted freshwater swamp in the Mgbede Oil Fields of South-south Nigeria. Results showed that most of the parameters in the water column were within safe limits for biota except chromium, zinc, DO and PO43- that had concentrations that can trigger eutrophication and where acute and chronic impacts on biota could occur. All other contaminants had concentrations that could engender health problems. Cadmium concentrations ranged between 1.0-8.64; chromium (2.17-34.22), lead (1.29-9.07), nickel (2.53-12.7), zinc( 0.88-44.44), while PAH concentration was 0.0055 ppm in water and ranged between Pb>Ni>Cr>Zn) followed by the water lettuce (Ni>Cr>Cd>Zn>Pb), snail shell (Zn>Cd>Pb>Cr>Ni) and water [(Cd,Pb)>Ni>Cr>Zn]. Polycyclic aromatics also occurred at various cancer risk levels (10-5 in epiplatys and 10-6 in water lettuce and water snail). An official ban on the consumption of fish from this swamp and immediate remediation of the swamp are recommended.
