Heavy metals risk assessment of commercial boreholes water within Wukari Town of Taraba State Nigeria
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, Federal University Wukari, Nigeria.
Research Article
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2022, 14(02), 672–679
Article DOI: 10.30574/wjarr.2022.14.2.0518
Publication history:
Received on 25 April 2022; revised on 27 May 2022; accepted on 29 May 2022
Abstract:
Background: Water is an essential and the most important element of life with several biochemical relevancies in the body. It is an important solvent for most macro molecules in the body and is regarded as a universal solvent. The increase in the contamination of water with different sources such as pesticides, oil spillages, industrial wastes, and other pollutants has become an alarming issue in the environment. This study determined the concentration of some heavy metals (Mn, Cr, Cd, Pb and Fe) in water samples from Avyi, Puje and Hospital in Wukari local government area (LGA) of Taraba state.
Methods: Five samples were collected from each point and assayed for heavy metals using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS).
Result: The results obtained showed that Mn and Cr were higher in concentrations in the samples from the three locations with values ranging from 0.01 to 0.2 ppm. However, these values were below the permissible risk limit of W.H.O. Lead was the least in risk estimation calculation with values ranging from 0.003 to 0.009 HQ while cadmium was the highest in risk estimation with values ranging from 0.02 to 0.03 HQ which is closer to the limit of 1 that indicates toxicity. The result of cancer estimation showed that Cr has a high risk of carcinogenesis with value of 1.2x10-6 in hospital water, 4.8x10-7 in Puje and 6.3x10-7 in Avyi all with values higher than the other heavy metals.
Conclusion: This research is of public importance as individuals who consume water from these locations of Wukari LGA are at the risk of heavy metal toxicity such as renal, neural and respiratory disorders among others.
Keywords:
Heavy Metal; Risk Assessment; Cancer; Toxicity
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