Abstract:Crude oil contaminated sludge and water samples from four coastal communities (Ibeno, Onna, EsitEket and Eket) in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria were analyzed to investigate the bacterial load and physicochemical parameters using standard pour plate method and standard analytical methods respectively. The pH values of both (sludge and water) samples as determined ranged from 5.14 -5.22 and 4.23 -6.15 respectively which indicated that the samples are acidic in nature. Other physicochemical parameters determined were: temperature, electrical conductivity, moisture content, organic matter, total alkalinity, TDS, TSS, total hardness, DO, BOD, sulphate, chloride, oil and grease. The bacteriological analysis of the water and sludge samples showed mean total bacterial count of 3.57x10 4 and 1.77x10 3 cfu/ml respectively. The mean coliform counts of water and sludge samples were 1.5x10 2 and 8.4x10 1 cfu/100ml respectively. The result of these analyses showed that most of these parameters did not meet the WHO recommended standards. Hence, the environment should beremediated with immediate effect to avoid further disaster.

The concentrations of some heavy metals (Chromium, Cadmium, Lead, Nickel, Copper, Cobalt, Manganese, Iron and Zinc) in petroleum sludge impacted soils were determined to evaluate their contamination levels using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The petroleum sludge samples were collected from the discharge pit of Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company (WRPC) while the soil samples were collected from five selected oil-impacted communities (Ubeji -500 m, Ekpan -1.5 km, Aja-Etan -2.5 km, Ifie-Kporo -3.0 km, Ijala-Ikenren -3.8 km from Warri refinery and were coded A, B, C, D and E respectively). A control sample was also collected 8.5 km away from the refinery. The results obtained revealed that with the exception of Fe, the sludge samples contained the highest concentrations (in mg/kg dry weight) of Chromium (2462.6±0.5), Lead (406.7±0.2), Copper (201.3±0.0), Manganese (8335.1±0.9) and Zinc (1009.2±0.3) while Iron was highest (10313.5±2.3) in site A. All the metals were higher in the studied sites than the control sites and a stepwise decrease in metal contents were observed from A to E. Some geochemical