Gas Flaring and Rainwater Composition - A Negative Synergy: A Case Study of Utorogu Community in Niger-Delta, Nigeria
Journal Title: Journal of Environmental and Social Sciences - Year 2016, Vol 3, Issue 2
Abstract
The environment of the Niger Delta has been degraded through oil exploration activities. The soil, ground and surface water have remained the deposit sites for the crude oil/natural gas processing wastes. Although some studies exist on the pollution status of the region, the situation of a number of communities has not been investigated. This study therefore, examined the impacts of gaseous emissions from the flaring of gases at the gas plant located within Utorogu community through rainwater samples collected from the community. The rainwater samples were collected at 500 m, 1000 m and 5000 m away from the flare site of the gas plant (downwind) and analyzed for physico-chemical properties and heavy metals. For a control study, rainwater samples were collected from Okere-a community outside the same local government area with Utorogu. All the parameters were determined in triplicates using standard analytical methods; and the data generated analyzed using correlation test. The rainwater chemistry varied little with time and distance. The findings suggest that rainwater within the Utorogu community are well within acidic pH range (pH < 6.50), contain acidic radicals like PO43-, SO42-, NO2- and HCO3-; and are very rich in both micronutrient elements and heavy metals; while that of the control area are less acidic and less rich in heavy metals. Thus, if flaring of gas by the crude oil processing plant is not checked, there is a tendency of increasing acidic and metal polluted rainwater within this community. The reduction of gaseous emissions whitim this community would significantly decrease or slow down the acidification of water bodies and reduce stress to forests. In addition, the lifespan of building materials and structures of cultural importance would be lengthened. Also, the reductions in emissions would help to protect public health. The present study examines a three year profile (1998-2000) of gas flaring activities in Utorogu oil producing community; and its outcome would provide information on the potential environmental impacts of gas flaring within the given oil producing community.
Authors and Affiliations
Benjamin Chibuzo
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP305527
- DOI -
- Views 125
- Downloads 0
Slums in India: Results from Census, 2011
An increasing pace of urbanization in India after economic liberalization has pulled the migration from villages to towns/cities of India. These migrated people get some lucrative employment but face the problem of shelt...
Religion/Spirituality and Mental Health of Students
This paper is intended to find out the role of religion/spirituality in mental health of students. It is a reviews based study. The outcomes of reviews suggest that the religion/spirituality may enrich the mental health...
Algal Biomass as Feedstock for Biomethane Production: an Introduction
More than half of the world’s population live in rural areas, out of which around 90% (over 2 billion) is from developing countries [1]. Energy and clean water are the two major concerns in the daily life of rural people...
Clean Technology and its Efficacy: Strategies of Environmental Management
Industrial pollution control has been a major concern for various business units in the global arena including India. There are many initiatives on safeguarding the lives of future generation by carrying out commercial a...
Gas Flaring and Rainwater Composition - A Negative Synergy: A Case Study of Utorogu Community in Niger-Delta, Nigeria
The environment of the Niger Delta has been degraded through oil exploration activities. The soil, ground and surface water have remained the deposit sites for the crude oil/natural gas processing wastes. Although some s...