Variations in the Chemical Properties and Heavy Metal Concentrations of Transformer Oil Polluted Soil Inoculated with two Lower Fungi

The chemical properties of the soil and heavy metals (6) in transformer oil polluted soil inoculated with two lower fungi Aspergillus niger (U3) and Aspergillus sp (I5) for the period of 0-10 weeks was investigated in this study. Soil was collected from three sites from a depth of 0-15 cm and heavy metals analysis was conducted using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). The heavy metal concentrations in the soil collected from Ibadan inoculated with the two fungi vary ranging from 306.82-383.31 mg·kg^-1 (Fe), 7.53-11.02 mg·kg^-1 (Mn), 7.71-19.01 mg·kg^-1 (Cu), 9.84-11.49 mg·kg^-1 (Zn), 7.77-10.56 mg·kg^-1 (Mg) and 8.3211.78 mg·kg^-1 (Pb) while soil from Warri had Fe concentration of 76.06-153.10 mg·kg^-1, Zn 0.16-0.78 mg·kg^-1, Mg 0.32-3.91 mg·kg^-1, Pb 0.09-0.35 mg·kg^-1 and soil collected from Ughelli had Fe concentration of 91.71-145.98 mg·kg^-1 and 0.30-2.85 mg·kg^-1. The soil from the study sites were observed to be rich in Fe and Cu but had low level of lead which is vital as the presence of high level of lead in the soil could be harmful to living organisms.