Soil Properties in the Vicinity of Discharge Spent Motor Oil in Ohiya Automobile Mechanic Village Umuahia, Abia State

Abstract

The environmental problem caused as a result of indiscriminate
discharge of spent motor oil has been proving to be hazardous to
human and other life forms. The study assessed the impact of utilized
motor oil on soil physicochemical component in Ohiya motor
servicing village in Southeastern Nigeria. Auger-boring instrument
was used to collect soil samples at 0-15cm (top soil) and 15-30cm (sub
soil). The top soil samples collected from the five workshops were
homogenized in a bucket and a composite sample was drawn. Same
process was repeated for the sub soil samples collected from the five
workshops and a control sample was collected 2 kilometers away from
the study area. Soil samples were analyzed for heavy metal by means
of Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS), Soil pH, particle size
distribution, cation exchange capacity (CEC), total available
nitrogen, total available phosphorous, exchangeable bases (Mg, Ca,
K, and Na), carbon content and organic matter were also determined.
The result of the study shows that the heavy metals concentrations in
the contaminated sample were high in comparison with the control
sample. The concentration of Pb, Zn, Fe, Cd, and Cu in the
contaminated soil decreases with the soil depth. pH range of the
contaminated soil was between 4.74±0.04 (top soil) and 5.02±0.07
(sub soil) which was lower when compared to the control sample
6.09±0.07 (top soil) and 6.11±0.21 (sub soil). Organic carbon,
organic matter, P, N, Mg, Na, and Ca in the contaminated soils was
high compared to the control. The study concluded that improper
disposal of spent motor oil in the study area influenced the soil
physicochemical properties and elevated the soil heavy metal content
thereby causing heavy metal pollution