Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) on Fresh Water Samples from Egbema in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni L.G.A. in Rivers State.

Ukpe, Aniefiok, Emem¹; *Nwosu, Oluchi Ulunma²; Eze, Chinwe Catherine³; Edafe, Augustine Emokiniovo⁴; Ekotogbo, Ogbite Daniel⁵

^1,5Department of Environmental Management, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria;

²Department of Environmental Management and Toxicology, University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Umuagwo, Imo State, Nigeria;

³Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria;

⁴Department of Science Laboratory Technology, Delta State School of Marine Technology, Burutu, Delta State.

*Corresponding Author

ABSTRACT

This study determined the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH’s) on Fresh Water Samples from Egbema Commnities in OGBA/EGBEMA/NDONI L.G.A of RIVERS STATE.  The fresh water samples for this work were collected in February, 2017 from natural water bodies within Egbema Community in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area (ONELGA) in Rivers State, Nigeria. The concentration of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH’s) and physicochemical parameters were determined. The physicochemical parameters were done to ascertain water quality. The parameters determined did not exceed the permissible limit of the World Health Organization (WHO, 2006) and Nigeria (FMENV, 1992). The Total Dissolved Solid was 98.1±16.88 mg/l, Total Suspended Solid was 68.5±10.29 mg/l, Turbidity was 1.6±0.011 NTU and pH was 7.4±1.05. The mean concentration and standard deviation of PAH’s across the sampled areas showed that Egbema sampled communities had 4.7±0.23 μg/l, with a range of 4.0 – 5.1 μg/l. The mean concentration and standard deviation for the study stood at 3.3±0.18 μg/l with a range of 1.4 – 6.0 μg/l.

Key Words: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, freshwater, physicochemical parameters, water quality