Organic and Heavy Metal Assessment of Groundwater Sources Around Nigeria National Petroleum Cooperation Oil Depot Aba, South-Eastern Nigeria

Abstract

Organic and heavy metal assessment of groundwater sources around Nigeria National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC) oil depot Aba, South-Eastern Nigeria has been done to assess  the concentration and  spatial distribution of pollutants in the available water sources, since groundwater is the principal source of drinking water in the study area. Fifty eight (58) water samples were collected within the study area, and were subjected to chemical analyses. The result of the analyses revealed that Arsenic conc. (mg/l) ranged between 0-1.35, Copper concentration (mg/l) ranged between 0 - 0.95. Iron concentration (mg/l) ranged between 0-0.09, Mercury concentration (mg/l) ranged between 0-0.014 while Lead concentration (mg/l) ranged between 0-0.4,  Benzene concentration (mg/l) ranged between 0-0.5 Ethlybenzene concentration (mg/l) ranged between 0-1.3, Toluene concentration (mg/l) ranged between 0-0.66, Xylene concentration (mg/l) ranged between 0-0.32. This study therefore, recommends among others that Since the study indicated that the sources of organic and inorganic pollutants were not restricted to NNPC depot alone, routine monitoring of abandoned underground petroleum tanks, and other petroleum related anthropogenic activities in the area is strongly advocated.

Keywords: BTEX, Heavy Metal, NNPC Oil depot, Aba, Groundwater