Assessment of hydrocarbon contents of abattoir effluents on groundwater quality in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Rivers State

Abstract

This study centred on assessing hydrocarbon contents of abattoir effluents on groundwater quality in the Port Harcourt metropolis, Rivers State over 12 months. The study adopted an experimental design. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to sample 5 abattoirs namely Eagle Island, Elioz, Woji, Iwofe and Control for the study. Forty-nine (49) water samples (comprising 48 groundwater samples and 1 surface water sample) were collected between May 2020 and April 2021 from five (5) sampling stations. Hydrocarbon parameters such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) and Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon (TPH) were determined through laboratory analysis and compared with the Control. The study revealed that wet season mean PAH values of 0.86+0.12 mg/l, 0.67+0.01 mg/l, 0.66+0.02 mg/l, and 0.64+0.12 mg/l that were recorded at Eliozu, Woji, Iwofe, and Eagle Island abattoirs respectively were all higher than the wet season mean PAH value of 0.40+0.02 mg/l obtained at the Control. Also, the Control had a higher mean PAH value than the experimental group during the dry season. While the highest mean TPH values of (51.97+0.02 mg/l and 51.00+0.18 mg/l), and (42.01+0.19 mg/l and 41.84+0.14 mg/l) recorded at Eliozu and Woji abattoirs respectively during the wet and dry season was higher than the mean TPH value of 31.09+0.13 mg/l and 33.96+0.15 mg/l for wet and dry season respectively obtained at the Control. The study recommended amongst others that governments (federal, state and local governments) should ban the roasting of meat with tyres which increases the possibility of depositing chemicals (like hydrocarbons) containing carcinogens that are destructive to human health.