The Impact of Thermal Desorption Unit Associated with Remediation of Hydrocarbon Impacted Soils on Air Quality at Beneku, Ndokwa East, Delta State, Nigeria

摘要

The study is on the use of thermal desorption unit in the remediation of contaminated soils located at Beneku in Ndokwa East local government area of Delta state. This method uses heat to vaporize the contaminants, and as such only works for volatile contaminants. Air quality samples around the thermal desorption Unit (TDU), used for the treatment of hydrocarbon impacted soils were taken at six (6) different sampling points (Stations). The sampling points were 100 m apart beginning from 0 m which was the closest to the TDU. The results showed that the mean values of SO2 were 0.01 ppm for both the dry and wet seasons and it is within the FMEnv limit of 0.01. The mean concentration of NO2 in the dry season was 0.25 μg/m3 and in the wet season it was 0.18 μg/m3, which were above the FMEnv limit of 0.06 μg/m3. It is a strong oxidizing agent that reacts with air/water to form corrosive nitric acid, as well as toxic organic nitrates. The mean concentration of CO2 recorded in the dry season was 11.52 ppm and that for the wet season was 10.53 ppm, which were slightly above the FMEnv limit of 10.00 ppm. The levels of SPM 2.5 recorded in the study show a concentration of 132.07 μg/m3 in the dry season and 95.93 μg/m3 in the wet season while those for SPM 10 had 102.17 μg/m3 in the dry season and 91.33 μg/m3 in the wet season. The level of the VOC recorded across the study area was significantly low (0.11 μg/m3). The mean H2S concentration recorded across the study area was low (0.01 μg/m3). Several health risks have been associated with SPM. Inhaling SPM affects respiratory and cardiovascular systems in both children and adults. Fine SPM (such as PM 2.5 particulate) can penetrate into the lungs and blood streams when inhaled, resulting to respiratory problems, heart attack, lung cancer and even death, while exposure to low levels of H2S can induce headaches as well as breathing difficulties in some asthmatic patients.