Ojiodu CC, Okuo, JM and Olumayede EG
Keywords: Pollution, Baseline, gas chromatography, Sampling, anthropogenic.
Abstract: The present study investigated volatile organic compounds pollution based on the principles of dilution, diffusion and dispersion in a rural fishing community of Take, Lagos state Southwestern, Nigeria. The air samples were collected by passive sampler (ORSA 5). The air samplers were exposed to a height of 1.5-2.0 m and sampling was carried out four times a month for a period of 12 months. The adsorbed VOCs were desorbed with carbondisulphide (CS2) and the solution analysed using Gas Chromatography (GC) fitted with Flame Ionization Detector (FID). The results from analysis of the air samples collected showed that twenty (26) VOCs were captured in Take area. The VOCs were classified thus: aromatics 43%, halogenated 28%, esters 4%, ketones 13%, alcohols 6%, ethers 6%. There is a significant difference (Pvalue < 0.05) between the levels of VOCs in Take area. The meteorological parameters showed significant correlations with the ambient concentrations of VOCs. The principal component analysis revealed that the major sources of VOCs in Take areas are mainly Anthropogenic and three (3) factors were identified as sources of VOCs in the studied area with emissions from the waste dump dominating.
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