Petroleum Products Spillage and Its Effect on Soil at Mbalim Gwer East Benue State Nigeria

Abstract

Soil samples were studied  to provide information  on the level of damage ( if any) done as  petroleum products were spilled  from  vandalized pipelines 10 years after . Petroleum products are volatile and  evaporate in a short  time, it is very difficult to determine their presence on soil after some time , instead the soil  was analyzed in order to determine the quantity of essential elements still present in the  soil after the spill Therefore five (5) locations ( around  Mbalim- at the immediate point of spill, one kilometer north,  one kilometer South, one kilometer East and one kilometer West)  were chosen. Basic elements of soil fertility -   pH of the Soil ,   phosphorus ,   Nitrogen ,  Potassium , Organic Carbon and Manganese were determined   The soil samples were  heavy , hardly absorbed  water, displayed acidity of 6.26 , 3.8% nitrogen , 6.6%phosphorus ,5.2% potassium and the texture loamy and sandy. Agricultural use of this land was considered a hard task except the process of remediation is applied. Aeration of the  soil at the contaminated site was already sufficient , thermal remediation to raise subsurface temperatures  to volatize chemical contaminants out of the soil was equally going on as the site was exposed to enough sunlight. Bioremediation including landfarming, biostimulation and bioaugmentating soil biota is recommended. In areas of intensive farming like Benue State  where crops are harvested at least once a year and no animals browse the fields, human intervention in the form of  traditional  fertilizer, animal manure or muck, made from the straw bedding of cattle that has fermented  for a period is also recommended.

Keywords Vandalization ,  Petroleum products, Spillage , Soil , Bioremediation