Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Volume 7, Issue 3, Pages 561-570Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/BF03326165
Keywords
Agbabu; Anthropogenic; Gas chromatography; Pyrolytic; Season
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls were investigated in sediment of bitumen deposit impacted area of Agbabu, Nigeria, to determine the present level of contamination with these toxic compounds prior to exploitation. Samples were collected during the dry season (March) and the wet season (August) of year 2008. Analysis was carried out with gas chromatography using mass spectrometry detector for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and flame ionization detector for polychlorinated biphenyls. In the dry season sum of concentration of PAHs ranged from zero to 0.12 +/- 0.06 ppm, while in the wet season the minimum was 0.18 +/- 0.07 ppm and the maximum was 1.04 +/- 0.16 ppm. Most of these values were higher than sum of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons concentrations of 1 - 10 mu g/kg indicating that they were likely to come from anthropogenic sources. Average concentrations of PAHs such as naphthalene and benzo (a) pyrene obtained in sediment in the wet season in some of the stations were higher than recommended limits. The linear regression analysis between sum of concentrations and percentage organic carbon showed no significant correlation in sediment in the dry season (r(2) = 0.0025) and in the wet season (r(2) = 0.1345). The predominance of 4-6 ringed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the ratios between pairs of individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons showed that they are likely to have come from pyrolytic sources. No polychlorinated biphenyl congener was detected in the samples.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available