Track: Waste Management

Abstract

This study determined the ionizing radiation concentration and heavy metal concentrations of water and soil specimen collected from Otuokpoti oil field, Nigeria, whose area is unfortunately prone to contamination from oil facilities installed in the region. A reconnaissance investigation was first carried out using the remote sensing technique (Data: Landsat 7) where Land/vegetation, urban and water bodies were classified, and relationships were illustrated using a scatter plot of their spectra bands. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the Soil Adjust Vegetation Index (SAVI) were used to access the vegetation health.

The results show that the mangrove vegetation is relatively unhealthy as shown in both NDVI & SAVI, respectively.  Further analysis to assess soil and water quality in the area was carried out. Samples were analysed for radiation level, pH, and heavy metal concentration using Radiation Alert Inspector, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS), and pH meter. A mean pH of 8.64 and 6.4 were obtained for the soil and water samples, respectively. A substantial number of heavy metals such as Lead (Pb), Zinc (Zn), and Iron (Fe) were also recorded in the soil samples which was above the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended level for drinking and domestic water.