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Comparative Assessment of Heavy Metals in Drinking Water Sources in Two Small-Scale Mining Communities in Northern Ghana

The study assessed levels of heavy metals in drinking water sources in two small-scale mining communities (Nangodi and Tinga) in northern Ghana. Seventy-two (72) water samples were collected from boreholes, hand dug wells, dug-out, and a stream in the two mining communities. The levels of mercury (H...

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Autores principales: Cobbina, Samuel J., Duwiejuah, Abudu B., Quansah, Reginald, Obiri, Samuel, Bakobie, Noel
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4586632/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26343702
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120910620
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author Cobbina, Samuel J.
Duwiejuah, Abudu B.
Quansah, Reginald
Obiri, Samuel
Bakobie, Noel
author_facet Cobbina, Samuel J.
Duwiejuah, Abudu B.
Quansah, Reginald
Obiri, Samuel
Bakobie, Noel
author_sort Cobbina, Samuel J.
collection PubMed
description The study assessed levels of heavy metals in drinking water sources in two small-scale mining communities (Nangodi and Tinga) in northern Ghana. Seventy-two (72) water samples were collected from boreholes, hand dug wells, dug-out, and a stream in the two mining communities. The levels of mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and cadmium (Cd) were determined using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). Mean levels (mg/l) of heavy metals in water samples from Nangodi and Tinga communities were 0.038 and 0.064 (Hg), 0.031 and 0.002 (As), 0.250 and 0.031 (Pb), 0.034 and 0.002 (Zn), and 0.534 and 0.023 (Cd), respectively, for each community. Generally, levels of Hg, As, Pb, Zn, and Cd in water from Nangodi exceeded the World Health Organisation (WHO) stipulated limits of 0.010 for Hg, As, and Pb, 3.0 for Zn and 0.003 for Cd for drinking water, and levels of Hg, Pb, and Cd recorded in Tinga, exceeded the stipulated WHO limits. Ingestion of water, containing elevated levels of Hg, As, and Cd by residents in these mining communities may pose significant health risks. Continuous monitoring of the quality of drinking water sources in these two communities is recommended.
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spelling pubmed-45866322015-10-06 Comparative Assessment of Heavy Metals in Drinking Water Sources in Two Small-Scale Mining Communities in Northern Ghana Cobbina, Samuel J. Duwiejuah, Abudu B. Quansah, Reginald Obiri, Samuel Bakobie, Noel Int J Environ Res Public Health Article The study assessed levels of heavy metals in drinking water sources in two small-scale mining communities (Nangodi and Tinga) in northern Ghana. Seventy-two (72) water samples were collected from boreholes, hand dug wells, dug-out, and a stream in the two mining communities. The levels of mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), and cadmium (Cd) were determined using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). Mean levels (mg/l) of heavy metals in water samples from Nangodi and Tinga communities were 0.038 and 0.064 (Hg), 0.031 and 0.002 (As), 0.250 and 0.031 (Pb), 0.034 and 0.002 (Zn), and 0.534 and 0.023 (Cd), respectively, for each community. Generally, levels of Hg, As, Pb, Zn, and Cd in water from Nangodi exceeded the World Health Organisation (WHO) stipulated limits of 0.010 for Hg, As, and Pb, 3.0 for Zn and 0.003 for Cd for drinking water, and levels of Hg, Pb, and Cd recorded in Tinga, exceeded the stipulated WHO limits. Ingestion of water, containing elevated levels of Hg, As, and Cd by residents in these mining communities may pose significant health risks. Continuous monitoring of the quality of drinking water sources in these two communities is recommended. MDPI 2015-08-28 2015-09 /pmc/articles/PMC4586632/ /pubmed/26343702 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120910620 Text en © 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Cobbina, Samuel J.
Duwiejuah, Abudu B.
Quansah, Reginald
Obiri, Samuel
Bakobie, Noel
Comparative Assessment of Heavy Metals in Drinking Water Sources in Two Small-Scale Mining Communities in Northern Ghana
title Comparative Assessment of Heavy Metals in Drinking Water Sources in Two Small-Scale Mining Communities in Northern Ghana
title_full Comparative Assessment of Heavy Metals in Drinking Water Sources in Two Small-Scale Mining Communities in Northern Ghana
title_fullStr Comparative Assessment of Heavy Metals in Drinking Water Sources in Two Small-Scale Mining Communities in Northern Ghana
title_full_unstemmed Comparative Assessment of Heavy Metals in Drinking Water Sources in Two Small-Scale Mining Communities in Northern Ghana
title_short Comparative Assessment of Heavy Metals in Drinking Water Sources in Two Small-Scale Mining Communities in Northern Ghana
title_sort comparative assessment of heavy metals in drinking water sources in two small-scale mining communities in northern ghana
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4586632/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26343702
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120910620
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