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Occurrence, source and risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Ogun River and Lagos Lagoon, Southwest, Nigeria

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Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are organic pollutants that have raised great concern worldwide because of their ubiquity and persistence in both marine and terrestrial environments. Ogun River and Lagos Lagoon are potential hotspots of PAHs contamination because they receive organic pollutants from various anthropogenic sources within and outside the surrounding cities. This study investigated the occurrence, sources and risk assessment of PAHs in Ogun River and Lagos Lagoon. One hundred and twenty samples from forty locations were collected and analyzed for sixteen PAHs. The target compounds were analyzed using Gas Chromatograph–Mass Spectrometer (GC–MS). The total PAHs (∑16PAHs) concentration ranged from 5308–7081 ng/L with an average of 6327 ng/L for Ogun River and 4786–6647 ng/L with an average of 5479 ng/L for Lagos lagoon. Results obtained from the source diagnostic ratios and factor analysis suggested inputs from natural processes like the combustion of biomass and coal as well as anthropogenic sources for both Ogun River and Lagos Lagoon. The PAHs risk assessment indicated that the water could pose serious threat to human health but the carcinogenic risk assessment indicated negligible health hazard.

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Acknowledgements

The research was financially supported by Tertiary Education Trust fund, TETFUND, Nigeria and State Key Laboratory of Pollution and Resource Re-Use, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing provided facilities for the analysis of samples. The authors would also like to thank Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos, who granted study leave to the first author to travel to China for the analysis.

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Environmental Management & Toxicology, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria

      M. A. Ogunbisi, O. O. Olujimi & T. A. Arowolo

    2. State Key Laboratory of Pollution and Resource Re-Use, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China

      M. A. Ogunbisi & Q. Xian

    3. Department of Chemical Sciences, Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria

      M. A. Ogunbisi

    4. Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria

      O. S. Sojinu

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    1. M. A. Ogunbisi
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    MAO Methodology; Investigation; original draft; Data curation; Formal analysis; Software; Funding acquisition. OO Conceptualization; Methodology; Data curation; Formal Analysis; Funding acquisition; review and editing; Validation. SS Data curation; Formal analysis; Validation; review and editing. QX Methodology; Software; Funding acquisition; review and editing; Validation. TAA Conceptualization, Project administration; Methodology; Supervision; Funding acquisition; review and editing; Validation.

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    Ogunbisi, M.A., Olujimi, O.O., Sojinu, O.S. et al. Occurrence, source and risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Ogun River and Lagos Lagoon, Southwest, Nigeria. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 20, 4391–4404 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-022-04237-1

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