Heavy Metals and PAHs Levels in Aquatic Organisms (Crab, Fish and Crayfish) from Crude Oil Polluted Rivers (Ekpan and Ogunu Rivers), Warri, Delta State, Nigeria
Jonathan C. Ifemeje1 and Edward Chukwuemeke Destiny2
1Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Uli
2Department of Sciences Laboratory Technology, Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-uku
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54117/jpmesc.v1i2.4
Keywords: Aquatic foods, heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pahs), crude oil polluted rivers
Abstract
The purpose of this work was to determine the level of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aquatic organisms from crude oil-polluted rivers in Warri, Delta State (Ekpan and Ogunu communities) and non-oil exploration site (Agbarho). The aquatic animals (crabs, fish, and crayfish) collected were washed, oven-dried separately and homogenized in a blender and stored for analysis. Three replicates of each sample collected were used for analysis. PAHs were determined by Gas Chromatography (GC) with Flame Ionization Detector (FID) while heavy metal contents were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The results revealed that the aquatic organisms from Ogunu and Ekpan had high levels of heavy metals and PAHs. The heavy metal contents such as Cadmium, Zinc, Chromium, Mercury, Copper, and Lead of the samples from Ogunu were found to be higher compared to those of Agbarho and Ekpan at p<0.05. The highest levels of PAHs in crabs were found in samples from Agbarho and Ekpan with little significant difference. In the fish sample, the highest levels of PAHs were found in samples from Ogunu (0.0244 mg/kg) while the least was found in fish samples from Agbarho (0.014 mg/kg). PAHs levels in crayfish samples were higher in samples from Ogunu. The study generally suggests that samples from Ekpan and Ogunu communities are polluted compared to those from Agbarho with certain exceptions. The order of pollution was found to be in the following order Ogunu>Ekpan>Agbarho.