ABSTRACT:In this study, the concentrations of selected heavy meyals and physico-chemical characteristics of effluents from a beverage company in Rivers State, Nigeria and those of the receiving Woji River were evaluated to ascertain the efficiency of the company's waste treatment processes. The results showed that the contents of Mg in downstream water samples differed significantly (p< 0.05) from those of upstream and effluent samples with a value of 80.8mg/l. However, the concentration of Na + in the upstream samples far exceeded those of other samples with a mean value of 791mg/l. The concentrations of Cd, Pb and Cr fell below detection limit of 0.001mg/l for all samples. Also, the levels of Fe, Zn, and Mn were low with Fe having the highest concentration of 2.10mg/l (downstream and treated effluent samples, respectively). The pH of the samples were generally alkaline, except the upstream samples that gave a pH value of 6.89. The dissolved Oxygen contents of all the samples fell below FEPA limit of 10mg/l. However, the highest chemical oxygen demand concentration of 93.7mg/l was obtained in the untreated effluent sample. The mean ammonia concentration of the untreated sample was much higher than those of the treated with a value of 50.0mg/l. Also, total dissolved solid content of the untreated sample fell far above those of the treated sample. In general, whereas the concentrations of nutrient metals were higher in the treated samples, the contents of the physico-chemical parameters in the treated samples fell far below those of the untreated samples. These findings suggest that the treatment system adopted by the beverage company is efficient for effluent treatment as the values fell within the natural background levels. @JASEM
Owing to the inevitability of man's dependence on water, directly or indirectly and the sensitive nature of the largest Africa's river delta, groundwater samples were collected from three functional boreholes in Gokana, Ogale and Trans-Amadi communities in Rivers State of Nigeria to appraise the suitability of the water samples for end-users.The hydrochemistry, physical property and expressed microbial load, using conventional field and laboratory techniques were assayed. The results gave significant variations in most water characteristics attributable to Petroleum production, Artisanal refining, Illegal tapping, and Industrial activities among others. Physicochemical properties like TSS, DO, NH 3 , Acidity, Colour, and pH levels exceeded set limits (Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR and Nigerian Standards for Drinking Water Quality, NSDWQ) for all locations and was comparable to the UNEP's recent report findings on Ogoniland and environment. Also, at p ≤ 0.05, elevated levels of Benzene, a carcinogen was observed for Ogale water samples. Although the expressed microbial load did not comply with standards for all locations, there was no statistically significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) among the three different locations. These are suggestive of groundwater pollution as well as interrelationship with social and health implications.
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