Effects of an oil spill on soil physico-chemical properties of a spill site in a Typic Paleudult of midwestern Nigeria

Physico-chemical analysis of soil samples at an oil spill sitein a Typic Paleudult of midwestern Nigeria showed that thetotal hydrocarbon content of top soil layers ranged from 0.6to 12.6 ppm in the heavy impact zone and the oil hadpenetrated to a depth of 9.2 m. Hydrocarbon concentration inthe medium impact zone ranged from 0.36 ppm while hydrocarbonswere not detected in 80% of samples from the unimpactedreference zone. Measurement of heavy metal concentrations inthe soil revealed a significant build-up (p< 0.05) of lead,iron and zinc in the heavy impact zone. Other parametersincluding electrical conductivity, exchangeable cations,available phosphorus and total nitrogen in impacted soils werecomparatively low while the total organic carbon was high,compared with the reference site. Textural class of soil fromthe different depths showed a predominantly brown sand at thetopsoil, loamy sand and grey fine sand at medium depths andred sandy clay at greater depths.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]