Occurrence, potential risks and sources of BTEX in sediment of the Okpare creek, Niger Delta Nigeria
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Description
Benzene Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene (BTEX) often enter the aquatic ecosystem due to accidental oil spills, leakage and improper oil-related waste disposals. Toxicity studies in the aquatic ecosystem have shown that BTEX have adverse effects on aquatic biota and humans. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the concentrations, potential risks and sources of BTEX in sediments of the Okpare creek in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. The ƩBTEX concentrations in the sediment ranged from 1.14 to 4.96 mg/kg. On average, toluene was predominant in the sediment. The upstream section of the Okpare creek had higher average concentrations of ∑BTEX than the mid- and downstream sections. The concentration of BTEX in the sediment were above the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) target values. The values of the hazard index due to human exposure to the BTEX in the sediments were < 1 which indicated the absence of non-carcinogenic risk from BTEX exposure in the sediments. Moreover, the total cancer risk values were less than 1 × 10-6 also suggesting that there is the absence of carcinogenic risk to humans exposed to the BTEX in the sediments from the Okpare creek. The source identification indicated that the sources of BTEX in the creek were stationary sources like paints, solvents, gasoline and diesel spillage. Keywords: BTEX; ecosystem; non-carcinogenic; Niger Delta