Vol. 6, Issue 3 (2018)
Total Hydrocarbon Concentrations (THC) in surface water, sediments and biota from Otamiri River, Rivers State, Nigeria
Author(s): Nwineewii Jack Dumka and Azuonwo Kingdom
Abstract: Etche local government is one of the major local areas in rivers state with rich natural resources. The rich environment has attracted some companies in the extractive sector and the indigene believed that their environment particularly the water bodies had been negatively impacted. This study was necessitated to actually verify the claim. Therefore, water, sediments and biota samples were collected from five locations in the rich Otamiri river for total hydrocarbon determination. The collected samples were prepared and analyzed using uv spectrometer. The results of the THC in surface water ranged from 1.51 to 19.38mg/l while the WHO recommended limit is 10mg/l, in sediments it ranged from 16.01 to 136.04mg/kg and the WHO recommended limit is 30mg/kg. The concentrations of THC in biota ranged from 3.29mg/kg to 16.20mg/kg with the WHO recommended limit of 0.001ųg/g. In the surface water, the concentrations of THC obtained were within the limit recommended except for one location, in sediments, the concentrations obtained from two locations were within the WHO recommended limit while the rest three were above the limit and in biota all the locations were more than the WHO recommended limit. The increase in the concentrations recorded for the sediments and biota may be attributed to sedimentation and bioaccumulation respectively over a period of time. It is our utmost view that the consumption of aquatic organisms from the river be discontinued forthwith pending when proper remediation exercise is carried out.
Pages: 2743-2748 | 532 Views 73 Downloads
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How to cite this article:
Nwineewii Jack Dumka, Azuonwo Kingdom. Total Hydrocarbon Concentrations (THC) in surface water, sediments and biota from Otamiri River, Rivers State, Nigeria. Int J Chem Stud 2018;6(3):2743-2748.
