MICROBIOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF EFFLUENT FROM SOKOTO MEAT MARKET ABATTOIR

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to analyze and determined the microbiological and physiochemical parameters of effluent water samples obtained from different points of collection at point R in Sokoto abattoir, Nigeria and its impact on the microbial population of the receiving soil and river were studied. A total of four samples were analyzed for total heterotrophic bacterial count, fungal count, and coliform count. The media used were nutrient agar, Sabroud’s dextrose agar, eosin methylene blue (EMB) agar and MacConkey broth. The pour plate technique was used for the inoculation of samples. Physicochemical and microbial properties analyzed using standard laboratory procedures were temperature (0C in kelvin), pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), phosphate (PO3-4), and nitrate (NO-3). Temperature ranged from 27-31.00C, pH was between 5.5-6.1, DO ranged from 7.4-10.5 mg/l, BOD ranged from 17.2-19.1 mg/l, COD ranged from 1.0-2.8 mg/l, phosphate ranged from 0.15-0.21 mg/l and nitrate ranged from 15.4-18.0. Microbial analysis results indicated that abattoir effluent contained a variety of microorganisms which include Aeromonas hydrophilia, Bacillus sp, Enterobacter aerogens, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Proteus sp, Staphylococcus sp, Aspergillus sp, Mucor racemosus, Vibrio sp, Shigella sp, Salmonella sp, and Pseudomona sp,   

These results showed that a high microbial load in the Abattoir wastes poses environmental and health hazards to local residents who use the water for agricultural purpose, hence there is need for environmental agencies and governments to take appropriate preventive measures to avert potential problems and to treat waste water before discharging it to the ecosystem.