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Oil Contamination In Ogoniland, Niger Delta, Olof Lindén, Jonas Pålsson May 2016

Oil Contamination In Ogoniland, Niger Delta, Olof Lindén, Jonas Pålsson

Jonas Pålsson

The study shows extensive oil contamination of rivers, creeks, and ground waters in Ogoniland, Nigeria. The levels found in the more contaminated sites are high enough to cause severe impacts on the ecosystem and human health: extractable petroleum hydrocarbons (EPHs) (>10-C40) in surface waters up to 7420 μg L−1, drinking water wells show up to 42 200 μg L−1, and benzene up to 9000 μg L−1, more than 900 times the WHO guidelines. EPH concentrations in sediments were up to 17 900 mg kg−1. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons concentrations reached 8.0 mg kg−1, in the most contaminated sites. The contamination …


Oil Contamination In The Niger Delta, Jonas Pålsson, Olof Lindén May 2016

Oil Contamination In The Niger Delta, Jonas Pålsson, Olof Lindén

Jonas Pålsson

Oil spills in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria has occurred frequently since oil extraction started in the 1950's. The oil spills originates from facilities and pipelines, leaks from ageing and abandoned infrastructure and from spills during transport and artisanal refining of stolen oil under primitive conditions. It is estimated that spills in Nigeria amount to 100 000 to 200 000 tons per year and have been doing so for almost 60 years. While a number of reports have been written about the Niger Delta and the civil unrest in this area during the last decades, very few scientific reports …