జర్నల్ ఆఫ్ ఎర్త్ సైన్స్ & క్లైమాటిక్ చేంజ్

నైరూప్య

Assessment of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Soil from Selected Auto Workshop Areas of Rawalpindi & Islamabad

Saba Shafqat, Dr. Said Akbar Khan, Sehrish Shafqat

Soil of automobile workshop areas was contributing towards environmental deterioration. Present study was conducted to analyze petroleum hydrocarbons in soil of some selected auto workshop areas of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Soil samples were collected from seventeen different workshop areas of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Analysis of soil samples was done by means of gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and results were interpreted by area normalization method. Results of the study indicated the presence of saturated hydrocarbons, unsaturated hydrocarbons, cyclic & aromatic hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Average percentage concentration of saturated hydrocarbons, cyclic & aromatic hydrocarbons, unsaturated hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil was found to be 37 %, 31%, 20 % and 12 % respectively. Results of the study recommend great caution in handling and disposal of petroleum hydrocarbons at workplace due to probable toxicity of many of the detected substances. Regular monitoring of these petroleum contaminated soil by Pak-EPA was found to be inevitable.