Seismic Explosive Energy Sources and the Possible Impact on Groundwater Quality in the Niger Delta Area of Nigeria

Abstract

The possible impact of the use of seismic explosive energy sources on groundwater quality in the Niger Delta Area of Nigeria was investigated. A 3-Dimensional seismic survey was carried in OML X in the Niger Delta area using dynamite as the energy source. A total of 116,349.2 kg of dynamite was detonated in 60,398 source points in an area of 771.26 square kilometres, an equivalent of explosive densification of 150.85 kg/km2. Each shot point was loaded with a charge of 2kg of dynamite and a piece of electrical detonator. The possible impact of these dynamite shots on the groundwater was monitored using 7 boreholes evenly distributed in the area. The average coefficient of permeability of the soil of the area collected from the depths of 25m and 50m were 0.019cm/s and 0.55cm/s respectively. Water samples from the boreholes were analysed using standard methods. Control samples were taken from the borehole stations a day before detonation of dynamite. Another sampling was carried out 10 days after dynamites detonation. During the study there was regular rainfall and 10 days was considered sufficient for any pollutant resulting from the detonation of the explosives to travelled to the commonly exploited aquifers in the area considering the permeability of the soil. A comparison of the analyses results showed that the detonation of dynamite did not have any noticeable impact on the groundwater quality of the area.

Keywords: seismic, explosive, groundwater contamination, Niger Delta