Author(s)

Utibe Ita Daniel¹, Isaac Azubuike Utuh², Eucharia Oluchi Nwaichi^3*

¹Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
²Centre for Occupational Health, Safety and Environment (COHSE), University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
³Department of Biochemistry, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

A study on the storage and disposal practices of spent oil from Automobile workshops in ObioAkpor Local Government Area of Rivers state was conducted to determine the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil samples. Questionnaire was administered and a total of 150 autotechnicians were sampled. Taro Yamani formula was used to determine the sample size. Soil samples were collected at depths of 0 - 15 cm from 8 randomly selected sites and analyzed for PAH. Control consisted of a similar soil with no history of spent oil-contamination. Results showed that autotechnicians had little or no formal education. Only 51% of respondents had secondary/technical education. 94% of the study population disposed of their generated spent oil in various types of containers before disposal. 94% disposed of their spent oil by selling. 60% of the autotechnicians were not aware that spent oil was hazardous. More so, 76% were not aware that spent oil could be recycled. Analysis of soil samples showed that mean concentration of PAH was lower than the DPR standard in all locations. Control values did not show any consistent pattern when compared with the test values in all locations. Soil contamination by PAH in the study area ranged from minor to severe. The automobile workshops pose potential sources of PAH pollution. The study recommends enactment and enforcement of legislations to control the management of spent oil.

Auto-Technicians, Disposal Practices, Spent Oil, Soil Contamination, PAHs

Daniel, U. , Utuh, I. and Nwaichi, E. (2020) Profile of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soil Environment around Selected Auto-Technicians’ Workshop in ObioAkpor, Rivers State Nigeria. Journal of Environmental Protection, 11, 399-407. doi: 10.4236/jep.2020.115023.