The Panyam volcanic province is a plateau covering a superficial area of about 1200 km 2 , dotted by a number of dormant volcanoes forming prominent landmarks above the host continental gneiss-migmatite-granite rocks and stretching for about 12 km. The volcanism is basaltic, characterized by alkaline-calc-alkaline compositions. Large population of people live and depend on the volcanic environment for potable water and agriculture, most of whom display various forms of health problems ranging from dental caries, goitre, podoconiosis, etc. This study therefore seeks to evaluate the concentration levels of potentially harmful elements (PHEs) in the various components of the volcanic environment and their relationship with the inherent human health problems in the area. Volcanic soils and underground waters (springs/boreholes waters) were collected from within the volcanic province for the analysis of major cations and anions. Samples of the volcanic soils were analyzed for the following heavy elements; Be, Co, Cr, Cu, As, Cd, Pb, Sb, Se, V, and Zn. The significantly lower La/Ce ratios (0.30-0.57) in the volcanic soils attest to the moderate to slightly severe intensity of weathering the parent basaltic rock was subjected to. The waters are predominantly (80 %) of Ca-Mg-HCO 3 type with the remaining 20 % of Na-K-HCO 3 type suggesting a control by water-rock alteration process from the host granitic basement and the overlying basaltic rocks. The fluoride content in all the water sources is positively correlated with the contents of Mg 2? , Na ? , and K ? suggesting a similar source and geochemical process. Tooth decay, a common tooth disease conditions in the volcanic province, could be linked to the low F content in the waters.

Groundwater quality is an important thing to be determined; because it is commonly used as a source of clean water for domestic, agricultural and industry purposes. Fifty three groundwater samples (seventeen from wells, five from springs and thirty one from boreholes) were sampled for this research work. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrophotometer (ICP-MS) was used to analyze for the major cations while titration was used for SO4 and HCO3. Cl was analyzed using the Ion Chromatographic Method (IC). From the results obtained, Total dissolved solids (TDS), Electrical conductivity (EC), and Strontium (Sr) classified the groundwater in the study area into three as fresh, brackish and saline water. The concentrations of major ions in all the fresh water and some of the brackish water in the study area met the World Health Organization (WHO) Standard for drinking water while the concentrations of the major ions in the saline water are above the WHO permissible values for drinking water. This indicates that the saline water from the study area are not good for domestic, agriculture and industrial uses. Four types of water are obtained from the groundwater based on Total Hardness (TH) as: 75 mg/l as soft; 75–150 mg/l as moderately hard; 150–300 mg/l as hard; and >300 mg/l as very hard. Both extreme degrees of very soft (<75 mg/l) and very hard (>300 mg/l) are considered as undesirable features in water. About 90% of the groundwater in the study area are suitable for domestic, livestock and irrigation purposes but only about 51% of the groundwater samples can be used by industries without being treated.

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Many cases of road failures have been reported by experts in Nigeria from North to South, East to West. Most of these roads are in a deplorable condition and professionals have attributed it to a number of causes. This study reviewed causes of failure of roads in Nigeria and categorized them into lack of careful and diligent geotechnical studies, inadequate knowledge of geology of the area, and other conditions. Roads that have failed due to lack of proper geotechnical studies include; Awotan-Akufo, Sagamu-Papalanto highway, Onitsha-Enugu Expressway and Akoko highway. Geotechnical studies provide information on the physical and mechanical properties of soil or rock around or brought to the construction site. Some roads have failed as a result of improper consideration of geology for instance the Shagamu -Benin expressway, Lagos- Ibadan expressway, Ibadan -Ife, Osogbo -Iwo expressway, Abakaliki area and Port Harcourt -Enugu expressway. Roads are founded on geologic earth materials and are greatly controlled by geology; hence, geology is very important in road construction. Other conditions such as old age, inadequate maintenance, poor design and construction, lack of drainage, use of poor and substandard materials, and heavy traffic have also led to road failures. Despite the absence of definite statistics, most experts agree that the rate of roads failure have increased in recent years in Nigeria. There is strong evidence to suggest that while geotechnical processes are becoming better controlled and more reliable, failures of small, medium and big scale geotechnical works such as roads continue to arise with embarrassing frequency in the country.