Evaluation of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Soils of Basrah City.

Abstract

Basrah city suffers from pollution with petroleum hydrocarbons which are toxic to human and to the environment. In the current study the concentrations of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) were estimated in soils of Basrah city. The study area was included thirty stations distributed in eight locations (five residential areas, four oil areas, four agricultural areas, five roads, four petrol stations, two power plants, two public parks and four areas near private electrical generators) during dry and wet periods (from July 2019 to March 2020). The mean concentrations of TPHs during the study period in all locations were ranged from 8.00 µg/g dw (dry weight) in agricultural areas to 265.11 µg/g dw in roads. The mean concentrations of TPHs in the dry period were ranged from 6.13 to 189.92 µg/g dw, while in the wet period were ranged from 9.87 to 340.29 µg/g dw. It was concluded that oil refineries are the main cause, in addition to other sources of hydrocarbons in soil pollution with petroleum hydrocarbons in Basrah city.