Geotechnical Properties of Waste Engine Oil Contaminated Laterites

Surface disposal of waste engine oil is common in many parts of Nigeria and this result in the attendant contamination of soils. It is therefore important to investigate the effect of this on laterites which are commonly used as bases for road construction. In this work, laboratory tests were performed on four lateritic soils classified as GC and SC in accordance with the Unified Soil Classification system. The contaminated soils were prepared by mixing the dry soil samples with 3%, 6%, 9% and 12% of waste engine oil in terms of weight. The results show a general decrease in optimum moisture content, liquid limits and Permeability. There were also observed increase in shear strength, maximum dry density and CBR for three of the samples. These results are therefore useful in the prediction of the behaviour of these contaminated soils.