Oil Pollutiona and Its Impact on Water Quality in Ibeno Community

Abstract

A comparative study on the impact of oil pollution on water quality in both the oil and non - oil bearing communities of Ibeno and Mbo respectively was conducted. The mean concentration of Pb, (0.20 mg/l) Cd (0.1 mg/l), Cr (0.10 mg/l) and Ni (<0.10 mg/l) were above the WHO recommended limits of 0.05 mg/l, (Pb) 0.005 mg/l (Cd), 0.05 mg/l (Cr) and 0.02 mg/l (Ni) for drinking and domestic water quality. The physicochemical properties in both oil (incident zone and non-oil (control zone) trialed below standards. The mean Ph (5.41) for incident zone and Ph (4.73) for control zone were below the recommended range of 6.5-8.5. BOD varied between 0.5 to 20 mg/l in the incident zone and 0.50 mg/l in the control zone. The Do ranged from 2.7 mg/l to 11.6 mg/l in the incident zone and a mean concentration of 6.4mg/l in the control zone whereas WHO (1993) recommended level is 5 mg/l. Turbidity was higher in all samples above WHO recommended level of 5NTU. The mean values for hydrocarbons (range between <0.003-0.004 mg/l for BTEX were generally below some local and international standards (0.01 mg/l for benzene, 0.7 mg/l for toluene). The regulatory limits (0.0002 mg/l) are stipulated by Department of Petroleum Resources DPR.