Quality Assessment of Soil and Groundwater near Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company, Northwest Nigeria

Soil and water are precious natural resources on which rely the sustainability of agriculture, industrialization and the civilization of mankind. Unfortunately, they have been subjected to contamination due to anthropogenic activities leading to the release of heavy metals into the environment. The history of petroleum exploration, exploitation, refining and marketing in Nigeria is a long, complex and painful one in terms of soil and groundwater pollution, which has resulted to multiple environmental and health problems. The study reveals that in some locations near the refinery, the soil and the groundwater are slightly polluted with heavy metals in the order of Fe > As > Zn > Cu > Pb > Cr > Cd > Mn, which may be attributed to the natural enrichment of groundwater through weathering of bedrock in the course of groundwater migration and anthropogenic via dumping of untreated effluents from the refinery and petrochemical into the nearby soil and surface water. The use of groundwater from the shallow hand-dug wells by host communities should be discouraged and alternative source of water should be provided by the company or government. Deep sited boreholes should be sunk to replace the existing shallow hand-dug wells in the area. Effluents and waste-water from the refinery and petrochemical should be treated before disposing into the nearby farmlands or surface water.