Heavy Metal Assessment of Borehole Water Use in Oil Refinery Host Communities

The research was carried out to assess heavy metal presence in borehole water used in eleme Port Harcourt Refinery host communities in Rivers State. The physicochemical parameters determined include: Temperature, pH, turbidity, alkalinity, and total dissolved solid (TDS) using conventional equipment and standard laboratory procedures, also the concentration of of Pb, Hg, Fe, CD, SO4, SO3, CO3 and Cl-, were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer(AAS), bacterial analysis were carried out and characterized using standard methods. The results showed that physical parameters such as pH, temperature and turbidity in some communities did not show any reason for concern. The chemical parameters measured are within the World Health Organisation (WHO) and National Standard for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ) standard except for cadmium which show a very high concentration with the range of 0.13-0.48mg/l as compared to approved 0.003mg/lof World Health Organisation and 0.05mg/l of National standard for Drinking Water Quality respectively. Also, the concentration of iron (Fe) was very high in all the communities sampled with the range of 0.19 -0.44mg/l as compared to approved 0.3mg/l of WHO and NSDWQ. The concentration of of Cadmium (Cd)detected was very high compared to the approved standard of World Health Organisation and National Standard for Drinking Water Quality as it ranges from 0.00-0.4750mg/l. The presence of Cadmium may be due to the leaching of petroleum and hydrocarbon compounds in the sampled area. Intervention of Government and Non- governmental Organisation is highly recommended.

Keywords: Borehole, Community, Quality, water