A Study of Heavy Metal Pollution in Lake Victoria Sediments by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence

Abstract

Sources of heavy metal pollution of Lake Victoria is of interest due to its economic and domestic implication in East Africa. Sediments from the shore of Lake Victoria and from some streams flowing into the lake have been analyzed for their heavy metal content using Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) analysis. The samples were collected from seventeen different locations around the Municipality of Mwanza divided into three zones according to their activities. The results show that sediments from Mwanza North, which is least in anthropogenic activities, contains Cr and Co in addition to metals of terrestrial origin (K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Rb, Sr, Y, and Zr), samples from Mwanza Central, which is the town center, contains high concentrations of V, Cu, Zn and Pb, and samples collected from Mwanza South, which is the industrial area, contains the highest concentrations of V, Cu, Zn, As and Pb. It is concluded that the industrial and sewage wastes discharged into the lake are the main sources of the heavy metal contamination of Lake Victoria. Further studies will be required to assess detriments of these pollutants to human and aquatic life before policy for the factories responsible is put in place.

Use of the fish endoparasite Ligula intestinalis (L., 1758) in an intermediate cyprinid host ( Rastreneobola argentea ) for biomonitoring heavy metal contamination in Lake Victoria, Kenya

“…Lake Victoria, which is the second largest freshwater lake in the world and the largest lake in the tropics, continues to receive increasing loads of heavy metals, including lead, cadmium, chromium and copper (Wandiga 1981; Wandiga et al. 1983; Onyari & Wandiga 1989; Makundi 2001; Jason et al. 2002; Kishe & Machiwa 2003; Mwamburi 2003; Birungi et al.…”

“…Pollution from elevated levels of heavy metals is a very important environmental problem in many developed and developing countries (Zoller 1994;Huang et al 2007;Sánchez-Chardi & Nadal 2007;Hang et al 2009;Sánchez-Chardi & Ló pez-Fuster 2009;Bose-O'Reilly et al 2010;Zheng et al 2010). Lake Victoria, which is the second largest freshwater lake in the world and the largest lake in the tropics, continues to receive increasing loads of heavy metals, including lead, cadmium, chromium and copper (Wandiga 1981;Wandiga et al 1983;Onyari & Wandiga 1989;Makundi 2001;Jason et al 2002;Kishe & Machiwa 2003;Mwamburi 2003;Birungi et al 2007), attributed to various human activities within its drainage basin. Inadequate environmental legislation and ⁄ or enforcement contribute to this problem.…”

Food web structure and mercury transfer in two contrasting Ugandan highland crater lakes (East Africa)

“…, 2001). In East Africa, wetlands can have a high storage capacity for heavy metals (Kiremire, 1998; Makundi, 2001). Temperate wetlands and reservoirs are well known for being excellent sites of mercury methylation, thereby acting as mechanisms for increasing bioavailable MeHg for uptake by aquatic biota (Hecky et al.…”

Distribution and environmental risk evaluation of heavy metal in core sediments from Lake Çıldır (NE Turkey)

“…The deposition of metals in the form of atmospheric particles may be either anthropogenically induced due to fossil fuels and mining activities (Hu et al 2011) or of volcanic origin with regard to gases dispersed during eruptions (Siegel and Siegel 1987;Symonds et al 1987). Algae accumulate heavy metals from water and sediments, which produces an adverse effect on both algae communities and aquatic life (Makundi 2001). Contaminants absorbed by the algae are also transported into sediments (Özkan 2012).…”