scholarly journals Human Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Kampala (Uganda) Drinking Water

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Bamuwamye ◽  
Patrick Ogwok ◽  
Vivian Tumuhairwe ◽  
Richard Eragu ◽  
Henriettah Nakisozi ◽  
...  

Levels of aluminium, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, mercury, manganese, nickel, lead and zinc in tap water, groundwater-fed protected spring and bottled water were determined. The cancer and non-cancer risks associated with ingestion of heavy metals (HM) were also assessed for both children and adults. Forty seven water samples obtained from five divisions of Kampala city were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Cancer and non-cancer risks were determined using incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) and non-carcinogenic hazard quotient (HQ), respectively. Lead content was higher than permissible limits (PL) according to East African Standard, World Health Organization, European Union and United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Arsenic showed minor exceedances above guideline values in tap water and groundwater-fed protected spring, whereas mercury, manganese and nickel were higher than PL. Levels of aluminium, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, and zinc were below the PL. The lifetime risk of developing cancer through the oral route was greater than the USEPA acceptable level for both children and adults, revealing that exposure to HM in drinking water posed an unacceptable potential cancer risk. Arsenic contributed ca. 90% of the ILCR in tap water and groundwater-fed protected spring. The combined non-cancer risk of the HM expressed as hazard index (HI) was greater than one, with values for children being higher than those for adults. Lead contribution towards HI was in all cases above 90%. These results demonstrate the presence of alarming non-cancer risks for children.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pokkate Wongsasuluk ◽  
Aung Zaw Tun ◽  
Srilert Chotpantarat ◽  
Wattasit Siriwong

AbstractExposure to heavy metals in mining activities is a health issue among miners. This study was carried out at three small-scale gold mining sites situated in Banmauk Township, Myanmar and aims to assess the occupational health risks of small-scale gold miners who are exposed to arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) in the soil through the dermal route. Soil samples were analyzed through atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The concentrations of the heavy metals in soils found As, ranged 1.04 mg/kg to 22.17 mg/kg, 0.13 mg/kg to 3.07 mg/kg for Cd, 0.15 mg/kg to 77.44 mg/kg for Hg, and 7.67 mg/kg to 210.00 mg/kg for Pb. In this study, 79% of the participants did not use any form of personal protective equipment (PPE) while working in gold mining processes. Regarding noncancer risk assessment, the results found all hazard quotient were lower than acceptable level (HQ < 1). In addition, all hazard index (HI) was lover than 1, the highest HI was found as 5.66 × 10−1 in the amalgamation process. On the other hand, the result found cancer risk ranged from 8.02 × 10−8 to 1.75 × 10−6, and the estimated cancer risks for 9 years ranged from 4.78 × 10−7 to 1.04 × 10−5. Therefore, the cancer risks of the miners were greater than the United State Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) acceptable cancer risk level, 1 × 10−6, and the miners may be at risk of developing carcinogenic diseases. The suggestion is to educate miners about the health risks of heavy metals and to encourage the use of proper PPE all the time while working in gold mine.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1073-1084 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nida Gul ◽  
Mohammad Tahir Shah ◽  
Sardar Khan ◽  
Nimat Ullah Khattak ◽  
Said Muhammad

The present study was conducted to investigate the physico-chemical characteristics in drinking water of Mardan District, Pakistan. Furthermore, water quality was evaluated for the risk assessment of arsenic and heavy metals (HMs) and their contamination sources. Representative groundwater samples of shallow and deep sources were collected in the study area. These samples were analyzed for physical parameters, anions, light metals (LMs) and HMs. Results were compared with the drinking water guideline values set by the World Health Organization and the US Environmental Protection Agency. Average concentrations of anions, LMs and HMs were found within the maximum allowable contaminant levels except for bicarbonates, Fe, Cu, and Pb. Results revealed that hazard quotients &gt;1 were observed for shallow groundwater for 10% samples only, suggesting potential health risk from water consumption. Correlation analysis and principal component analysis showed a relationship among various physico-chemical parameters in both shallow and deep groundwater. Statistical analyses suggested the geogenic and anthropogenic sources for possible enhancement of various physico-chemical parameters in the aquifer system of the study area.


Author(s):  
A.I. Yaradua ◽  
A. J. Alhassan ◽  
A. Nasir ◽  
S. S. Matazu ◽  
A. Usman ◽  
...  

Vegetable fields in Katsina State are increasingly being loaded with heavy metals through various pollution sources such as agricultural activities mining and traffic. Onion bulb samples from the three senatorial zones that constitute to make up Katsina state in the North West of Nigeria were collected and the concentrations of seven heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, Fe, Zn, Mn and Ni) in all the samples were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The health risk assessment methods developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) were employed to explore the potential health hazards of heavy metals in the samples on the children and adult population. The highest mean concentration (mg/kg) was observed for Fe, followed by Pb, Zn and Mn. While Cd has the lowest concentration with the heavy metals Cr and Ni being below detection level (BDL). Overall hazard index (Hi) for the heavy metals were within the safety limit. The overall cancer risk to the adults based on pseudo-total metal concentrations exceeded the target value, mainly contributed by Pb.  Mn and Zn were the primary heavy metals posing non-cancer risks while Pb caused the greatest cancer risk. It was concluded that consumption of the onion samples from Katsina State may contribute to the population cancer burden.


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 549-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gamze Kilinc ◽  
Selehattin Yilmaz ◽  
Muhammet Turkoglu ◽  
Huseyin Erdugan

In this study, the concentrations of heavy metals Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, Ni, Fe, Mn and Cr were determined using an inductively coupled plasma and optical emission spectrophotometer (ICP-OES), and water quality parameters pH, temperature, and conductivity were measured using the YSI 556 MPS water probe. The water samples were collected monthly from five different street tap water points sourced from Mt. Agi (Ağı Dağı in Turkish) spring waters between May 2012 and February 2013 in Çan (Canakkale, Turkey). All results were compared with the drinking water standards of the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE 266), World Health Organization, European Union and US Environmental Protection Agency. While concentrations of Cu, Zn, Fe, and Mn were within limit values, Pb, Cd, Ni, and Cr were at undetectable limits. The highest concentrations of Cu, Zn, Fe, and Mn were 0.010 ppm, 0.018 ppm, 0.058 ppm, and 0.014 ppm, respectively. The findings revealed that although there was no public health risk in view of heavy metal concentrations, there was an acidity problem due to lower pH levels correlated with some heavy metals such as Cu (R = 0.419), Fe (R = –0.421) and Mn (R = –0.687).


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (28) ◽  
Author(s):  
Udiba Ugumanim Udiba ◽  
Udeme Uyom Udofia ◽  
Ekom R. Akpan

Background. As water flows through habitats associated with estuaries, such as mud flats, salt marshes, sea grass and mangrove forests, pollutants such as heavy metals are filtered. The fine sediment dominant in intertidal and subtidal estuarine systems is an important sink for these contaminants. Periwinkle, which inhabit estuarine ecosystems, are known to bioaccumulate large quantities of contaminants. Objectives. In view of the widespread consumption of periwinkle in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, this study was designed to assess the concentration and potential human health hazards of heavy metals due to the consumption of this rich, inexpensive and readily available source of protein in Calabar, Nigeria. Methods. Lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and nickel (Ni) content of edible tissues of periwinkles obtained from major markets in Calabar were determined using Shimadzu atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Model AA-6800, Japan) after wet digestion. Results. The ranges of concentration (mg/kg dry weight) were Pb (0.011–0.056), Cd (0.008–0.032), Cr (0.014–0.157) and Ni (0.053–0.261) for Watt Market and Pb (0.009–0.052), Cd (0.011–0.032), Cr (0.012–0.052) and Ni (0.012–0.322) for Mariam Market. Concentrations of all the metals were below Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), FAO/World Health Organization (WHO) and Commission of European Communities maximum permissible limits. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of Pb and Cd were slightly higher compared to the recommended daily intake for the metals. The EDI of all metals under study were lower than the upper tolerable daily intake. The target hazard quotients (THQ) computed to estimate the human health risk posed by each metal were above the safe limits of unity, except for Cr. The hazard index (HI) for a typical adult of 60.7 kg body weight was found to be 9.7 for Watt Market and the relative contributions to the aggregated risk were 24.66%, 54.51%, 0.0001% and 20.70% for Pb, Cd, Cr and Ni, respectively. The HI for Marian Market was 10.7 and the relative contributions to the aggregated risk were 22.31%, 57.55%, 0.06% and 20.09% for Pb, Cd, Cr and Ni, respectively. Conclusions. Consumption of periwinkles purchased from major markets in Calabar poses toxicological risk with respect to Pb, Cd and Ni poisoning. Competing interests. The authors declare no competing financial interests.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-35
Author(s):  
Mohamad Sakizadeh ◽  
◽  
Rouhollah Mirzaei ◽  

Background: In the current study,the hazard quotient, the hazard index (HI) and spatial variations of Fe,Mn,Cu and Cr in drinking water sources of Andimesk-Shush, Khuzestan Province, Southern Iranaquifer were assessed. Methods: We compared theconcentrations of aforementioned heavy metals in wells and springs inAndimeshk and Shush regions. The non-carcinogenic risk assessment of heavy metals was implemented usingUnited States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) index.The spatial maps in the area were developed by geostatistical methods. Results: Mean concentrations of heavy metals in groundwater sources of the study area in decreasing order was as follows: Cu >Mn> Fe> Cr. Except for iron,mean heavy metal concentrations were higher than the standard levels. Manganese concentration in 41.5% of the samples exceeded the permissible limits. Copper was higher than the safety limit in 74% of the samples, and chromium in 54% of the cases. The spatial pattern of heavy metals concentrations indicated higher concentrations in the southern parts of the region. The mean hazard quotients of most samples for the four heavy metals were lower than one, indicating that there was no immediate threat due to the exposure to these heavy metals. The calculated accumulated hazards of these heavy metals produced different results, with hazard indices of higher than one. Conclusion: The accumulated hazard indicesfor the evaluated metals were higher than one, indicating that chronic ingestion of these waters threatens the health of local consumers on the long run.


2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 471-488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simge Varol ◽  
Aysen Davraz

Isparta city center is selected as a work area in this study because the public believes that the tap water is dirty and harmful. In this study, the city's drinking water in the distribution system and other spring waters which are used as drinking water in this region were investigated from the point of water quality and health risk assessment. Water samples were collected from major drinking water springs, tap waters, treatment plants and dam pond in the Isparta province center. Ca-Mg-HCO3, Mg-Ca-HCO3, Ca-Na-HCO3, Ca-HCO3, Ca-HCO3-SO4 and Ca-Mg-HCO3-SO4 are dominant water types. When compared to drinking water guidelines established by World Health Organization and Turkey, much greater attention should be paid to As, Br, Fe, F, NH4, PO4 through varied chemicals above the critical values. The increases of As, Fe, F, NH4 and PO4 are related to water–rock interaction. In tap waters, the increases of As and Fe are due to corrosion of pipes in drinking water distribution systems. The major toxic and carcinogenic chemicals within drinking water are As and Br for both tap water and spring water. Also, F is the non-carcinogenic chemical for only spring waters in the study area.


Author(s):  
Chima Fausta Nnodum ◽  
Kafeelah Abosede Yusuf ◽  
Comfort Adetutu Adeniji

Abstract: Introduction : Heavy metals are known to cause deleterious effects on human health through food chain. Aims: The study is aimed at assessing heavy metal concentrations in the tissues of four highly consumed fish species and to evaluate the potential health risks associated with their consumption. Materials and Methods: The concentrations of Cu, Cd and Pb were analyzed in the tissues of Titus (Scomber Japonicus), Croaker (Pseudolithus Elongatus), Scumbia (Ilisha Africana) and Shrimps (Pipeus Notialis) by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) after digestion of the samples. Results: The results showed that Cd was not detected in the tissues of all fish species. There were variations among Cu and Pb concentrations in the tissues of the fish species. Cu had the highest concentrations (1.00 µg/g) in the tissues of croaker and shrimps respectively while Pb had the lowest concentrations (0.25 µg/g) in the tissues of Scumbia . The levels of all metals in the present study were lower than the limits permitted by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO), European Community Regulation (EU) and European Commission (EC). Assessment of noncarcinogenic health hazard using Target hazard quotient (THQ) and hazard index (HI) indicated no concern from consumption of these fish species. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of the studied metals through fish consumption was below the permissible tolerable daily intake. Conclusion: It can be concluded that there is no potential human health risk from consumption of the selected fish species. Keywords: Heavy metals, Hazard index, Target hazard quotient.


Author(s):  
Minhaz Farid Ahmed ◽  
Mazlin Bin Mokhtar

Although toxic Cd (cadmium) and Cr (chromium) in the aquatic environment are mainly from natural sources, human activities have increased their concentrations. Several studies have reported higher concentrations of Cd and Cr in the aquatic environment of Malaysia; however, the association between metal ingestion via drinking water and human health risk has not been established. This study collected water samples from four stages of the drinking water supply chain at Langat River Basin, Malaysia in 2015 to analyze the samples by inductivity coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Mean concentrations of Cd and Cr and the time-series river data (2004–2014) of these metals were significantly within the safe limit of drinking water quality standard proposed by the Ministry of Health Malaysia and the World Health Organization. Hazard quotient (HQ) and lifetime cancer risk (LCR) values of Cd and Cr in 2015 and 2020 also indicate no significant human health risk of its ingestion via drinking water. Additionally, management of pollution sources in the Langat Basin from 2004 to 2015 decreased Cr concentration in 2020 on the basis of autoregression moving average. Although Cd and Cr concentrations were found to be within the safe limits at Langat Basin, high concentrations of these metals have been found in household tap water, especially due to the contamination in the water distribution pipeline. Therefore, a two-layer water filtration system should be introduced in the basin to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 agenda of a better and more sustainable future for all, especially via SDG 6 of supplying safe drinking water at the household level.


Author(s):  
Awsam Abdulsattar Marzaali ◽  
Mohammed A. Al-Shareefi ◽  
Ali Abid Abojassim

Abstract Radon (222Rn), radium (226Ra) and uranium (238U) concentration in the samples of marshes' water have been measured. The samples were collected from various places at the marshes, in Dhi-Qar governorate. The method that used in the present study is the can technique by Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTDs) with CR-39 detectors. Also, it was determined the average internal effective dose risk (AED), with lifetime cancer risk due to ingestion of 222Rn and 226Ra in drinking water. The average values of 222Rn, 226Ra and uranium 238U concentration in water samples were found to be 288.02 ± 31.21 Bq/m3, 0.45 ± 0.04 Bq/L, and 0.60 ± 0.06 ppm respectively. The average values of AED (in mSv/y unit) caused by ingestion of 222Rn and 226Ra in the samples of the study were found to be 0.019 ± 0.002 and, 0.093 ± 0.01, respectively. The average values of total AED and lifetime cancer risk values were calculated to be 0.11 ± 0.01 mSv/y and (4.34 ± 0.47) × 10−4, respectively. The average concentration values of 222Rn and 226Ra were found to be within the global average limitations (0.4 Bq/L), and (1 Bq/L) that are recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) 1993 and 2011, while the average of 238U concentrations were higher than that of global average limitation (0.566 ppm) that was recommended by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). When some results of AED due to 222Rn and 226Ra concentrations, in the samples under study, were compared with the worldwide median value, that is recommended by WHO (2011); it was found that the lifetime cancer risk in all samples of the present study were higher than the safety limit for the healthy drinking water. Therefore, consuming the water of Marshes in the Dhi-Qar governorate- Iraq, for cooking and drinking (which is contaminated with alpha emitters like; 222Rn, 226Ra, and 238U) may lead to a considerable variation in the internal effective dose. HIGHLIGHT In this manuscript, I have been affording in a truly innovative way the issue to put the basis towards the realization for the first time of a baseline for assessment of the exposure of Iraq's people to lifetime cancer risk and annual effective dose assessment due to alpha emitters concentrations in water of Marshes in Dhi-Qar Governorate, Iraq. The results show that the cancer risk in samples is higher than the world.


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