ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Assessing Heavy Metal Contamination in Oil
and Gas Well Drilling Waste and Soil
in Pakistan
More details
Hide details
1
College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
2
Soil and Environmental Biotechnology Division, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad, Pakistan
Submission date: 2017-09-23
Final revision date: 2018-02-10
Acceptance date: 2018-02-13
Online publication date: 2018-09-10
Publication date: 2018-12-20
Corresponding author
Muhammad Sameem Hussain Qaiser
College of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore-54000, Pakistan., University of the Punjab, 54000 Lahore, Pakistan
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2019;28(2):785-793
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
The contamination of soil and water with heavy metals is one of the major environmental problems
in the world. Oil and gas exploration and production activities contaminate the environment with heavy
metals. In this study, heavy metal concentration was assessed in drilling waste discharges of different oil
and gas wells at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. Moreover, the concentration of heavy metals in the
soil surrounding the drilling waste discharges was determined. The representative samples were collected
from seven oil and gas drilling waste discharges and the surrounding soil. The collected samples were
analyzed for selected heavy metals (Ba, Pb Cr, Cd, Zn, Mn, and Ni) by atomic absorption spectrometric
standard methods. Analysis showed that oil and gas well drilling operation waste is enriched with
determined heavy metals. The high concentration of heavy metals, particularly Ba and Pb, was also found
in the surrounding soil samples. In particular, Ba concentration varied from 1050 to 4168 mg/kg soil.
Statistical correlational analysis depicted a common origin of the heavy metals in the soil of the study area,
potentially the drilling waste discharges from oil and gas wells. The concentration of heavy metals in oil
and gas well drilling waste discharge high, and also affects surrounding soils.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
CITATIONS (22):
1.
Impact of drilling waste pollution on land cover in a high subarctic forest-tundra zone
Anatoly OPEKUNOV, Marina OPEKUNOVA, Stepan KUKUSHKIN, Sergey LISENKOV
Pedosphere
2.
Mineral and Organic Materials as Factors Reducing the Effect of Petrol on Heavy Metal Content in Soil
Mirosław Wyszkowski, Natalia Kordala
Materials
3.
Beneficial Elements for Remediation of Heavy Metals in Polluted Soil
Majid Iqbal, Muhammad Nauman Khan, Alevcan Kaplan, Sana Wahab, Nazima Wahid, Maryam Bibi
4.
Interaction and spatio-taxonomic patterns of the soil microbiome around oil production wells impacted by petroleum hydrocarbons
Pengxue Geng, Anzhou Ma, Xiaoxia Wei, Xianke Chen, Jun Yin, Futang Hu, Xuliang Zhuang, Maoyong Song, Guoqiang Zhuang
Environmental Pollution
5.
Bioaccumulation of trace elements and ecological risks induced by petroleum extraction in Shengli oilfield, China
Hong Yang, Xuexin Gong, Yixin Tan, Siyang Zhang, Mei He, Bo Shao, Lei Tian, Yan Lin
Environmental Geochemistry and Health
6.
Bibliometric Analysis of Current Status on Bioremediation of Petroleum Contaminated Soils during 2000–2019
Yingjin Song, Ruiyi Li, Guanyi Chen, Beibei Yan, Lei Zhong, Yuxin Wang, Yihang Li, Jinlei Li, Yingxiu Zhang
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
7.
Evaluation of heavy metal contamination using cokriging geostatistical method (case study of Abteymour oilfield in southern Iran)
Danial Khodoli Zangeneh, Hakimeh Amanipoor, Sedigheh Battaleb-Looie
Applied Water Science
8.
Trace Element Contents in Petrol-Contaminated Soil Following the Application of Compost and Mineral Materials
Mirosław Wyszkowski, Natalia Kordala
Materials
9.
Adsorption as a Process for Produced Water Treatment: A Review
Roghayeh Yousef, Hazim Qiblawey, Muftah H. El-Naas
Processes
10.
Ecological and human risk assessment of heavy metals at Abu-Qir coastline of Mediterranean Sea in Egypt using GIS
Muhammad A. El-Alfy, Abdelhamid A. Elnaggar
Acta Ecologica Sinica
11.
Application in the optimization of Pb(II) adsorption by chitosan from produced water by using response surface methodology
H. Gul Zaman, L. Baloo, R. Pendyala
International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology
12.
Monsoonal impacts on water quality in the Baitarani River, Odisha: a comprehensive evaluation using water quality indices, multivariate statistics, and machine learning models for sustainable pollution control
Abhijeet Das
Green Technology, Resilience, and Sustainability
13.
Physicochemistry of Iko River Channel in Nigeria and the Related Human Health Problems
Victoria Paul Tombere, Aniefiok Mkpong Okokon Okon, Godwin Asukwo Ebong, Anthony William Akpan
Asian Journal of Biological Sciences
14.
Receptor model-based sources and risks appraisal of potentially toxic elements in an anthropogenically affected bay, Southeastern Mediterranean Sea
Ghada F. El-Said, Gehan M. El Zokm, Abeer A.M. El-Sayed, Khaled S. Sinoussy, Naglaa F. Soliman
Science of The Total Environment
15.
Evaluation of Heavy Metal Contamination and their Distribution in Waters Around Oil and Natural Gas Drilling Sites
Babu Mallesh Dasari, Keshav Krishna Aradhi, Dasaram Banothu
Water, Air, & Soil Pollution
16.
Synergistic Interactions in Enzyme Activities During Vermiremediation of Heavy Metals (HMs) Polluted Soil: Elucidating the Impact of
Eudrilus eugeniae
Glory Borah, Hemen Deka
Soil and Sediment Contamination: An International Journal
17.
Spatial distribution, sources and health risk assessment of heavy metals in topsoil around oil and natural gas drilling sites, Andhra Pradesh, India
Keshav Krishna Aradhi, Babu Mallesh Dasari, Dasaram Banothu, Satyanarayanan Manavalan
Scientific Reports
18.
Vermiremediation of heavy metals (HMs)-contaminated agricultural land: synergistic changes in soil enzyme activities and earthworm’s growth parameters
Glory Borah, Hemen Deka
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
19.
Barium isotopic fractionation during strong weathering of basalt in a tropical climate
Yingzeng Gong, Zhen Zeng, Wenhan Cheng, Ying Lu, Lili Zhang, Huimin Yu, Fang Huang
Environment International
20.
Assessment of groundwater quality, source identification, and health risk around oil and gas drilling sites
Babu Mallesh Dasari, Keshav Krishna Aradhi, Dasaram Banothu, Rama Mohan Kurakalva
Environmental Earth Sciences
21.
Characterizing pollution and identifying heavy metal sources in surface sediments: a PMF-based assessment of environmental risks from produced water discharges during hydraulic fracturing
Babu Mallesh Dasari, Keshav Krishna Aradhi
Environmental Geochemistry and Health
22.
The effect of amendment addition drill cuttings on heavy metals accumulation in soils and plants: Experimental study and artificial network simulation
Justyna Kujawska, Małgorzata Pawłowska
Journal of Hazardous Materials