DETERMINATION THE CONCENTRATION LEVELS OF TOTAL PETROLEUM HYDROCARBONS (TPH) IN SOILS FOUND IN AUTOMOBILE SHOP
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Petroleum hydrocarbons are used generally in our environment as fuel and chemical compounds. The uncontrolled release of petroleum hydrocarbons negatively impacts many of our soi1 and water resources. The contamination can result from leaking Underground Storage Tanks (UST), petroleum refineries and bulk storage facilities, broken oil pipelines, spills of petroleum products in chemical plants and transportation processes as well as commercial and industrial uses(automobile workshops)under which this research work falls into. The risks of explosion and fire are also serious threats to the environment.
Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) concentration is a global parameter including many derived petroleum products, commonly applied to establish target soil cleanup levels implemented by several regulatory agencies (Presidency Ministry, 2005; VROM, 2012; Weisman, 1998). The Standard ISO 16703 (ISO,2004) is an internationally accepted method to obtain TPHconcentrations from C10 to C40, although there are other standards currently in use (Rosano-Hernández et al., 2012).
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reported that due to the uncontrolled release of petroleum hydrocarbons into the environment, there has been a considerable amount of contamination in soil and groundwater. As reported by Gruiz and Kriston (1995) an amount of 6,000,000 tons of petroleum waste enters the environment each year causing serious environmental problems.
Even if the problems associated with fuel storage and distribution are solved, contamination incidental to the production and commercial usage would continue to threaten groundwater supplies. Many manufacturing processes necessarily produce water and sludge that are contaminated with hydrocarbons.
High concentration levels of hydrocarbons present in contaminated sites could pose a health risk to humans, plants, and animal lives. In recent years, the release of hazardous and toxic substances into the soil, water, sediment, and air in Niger Delta, Nigeria has been a widespread problem. The economy of Nigeria, the most populous, black African country is largely dependent on crude oil tapped from the Niger Delta region. Niger Delta has a population of about 30 million and an estimated 2.8 million barrels of crude oil per day come from this region.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
In evaluating the relevance of pollution cleanup standards, there are many things that must be considered. Risk factors such as fate, transport, and toxicity of constituents, and monetary factors such as expected cost of remediation are but just a few of the considerations that must be addressed in such an endeavor. This hypothesis evaluates, from a risk and cost perspective, the use of TPH as a cleanup standard for remediation of petroleum contaminated soils and compares the use of a standard to a compound-specific standard. This thesis also analyzes sampling and analysis data contained in the Installation Restoration Program Information Management System(IRPIMS) database to evaluate the use of the compounds upon which current state standards are based.
1.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of this study covers the sampling exercise, field study, laboratory analysis of samples obtained, and interpretation of laboratory data using statistical, graphical illustration. The field study was carried out in Warri Metropolis (Warri, Effurun, Ughelli, and Udu), Delta State. Soil samples were collected at different points in the workshops (main workshop and 10metres away from the main workshop).
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
The aim of this study is to determine the concentration levels of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in soils found in automobile shops (Keke, car, bikes, and truck workshops).
Objectives:
The objective of this work is to ascertain the level of TPHin analyzed samples. To determine the concentration of TPHin the selected locations of Warri Metropolis (Warri, Effurun, Ughelli, and Udu). To evaluate the impact of TPH on soil consequently, the risk posed to public health as a result of the identified pollution.
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