Characterization of Soil Toxicity in Kinkazi, Kitombe and Thiende Villages Affected by Oil Activities in Muanda and Potential Risk of Chemical Poisoning

Aims: Discharges from oil exploitation contain very toxic and persistent organic and inorganic environmental pollutants. The present study aims to characterize the ecotoxicity of the soils of these three villages subjected to oil exploitation activities.

Study Design: This research consists of four parts, an introduction with literature review, a description of the study environment, the methods used and finally the results obtained.

Place and Duration of Study: In order to assess the impacts due to oil exploitation activities on the soil, a study was carried out on six soil samples taken from the villages Kinkazi, Kitombe and Thiende during the month of November 2022 in the territory of Muanda, Kongo Central, D.R. Congo.

Methodology: The soil samples were prepared in the laboratory according to standard procedures and a series of ecotoxicological tests were carried out with the analysis of some physico-chemical parameters using a Multiparameter. The data collected was processed and analysed with Excel 2010 software.

Results: The soils of the Kinkazi, Kitombe and Thiende villages, like dumping grounds for pollutants from oil activities, are and represent a risk of chemical poisoning for the population. The inhibitory dose (ID50) varies from 26.25 to 36 g/g indicating the toxicity of these soils to Hibiscus asper seeds and the germination index obtained gives an average of around 58.7%.

Conclusion: The ecotoxicological impact of oil activities on the soil represents a risk of chemical poisoning for the local population of Muanda given that these polluted soils are primarily used for agriculture and the species Hibiscus asper is one of the most popular species for crops market gardeners in the region.