Overview of African water resources contamination by contaminants of emerging concern

Shehu, Zaccheus; Atwoki, Nyakairu George William; Tebandeke, Emmanuel; Odume, Oghenekaro Nelson

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158303

Cited by 36 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 135 publications

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“…Secondly, it has accelerated the introduction and transport of legacy contaminants, threatening the existence of humans, the environment and other organisms [5]. Common examples of anthropogenic environmental contaminants include active pharmaceutical ingredients, heavy metals (HMs), macro-, micro-and nanoplastics, endocrine disrupting chemicals, current use pesticides, preservatives and personal care products [6][7][8]. Within this frame of reference, HMs have been the most ubiquitous in the environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physicochemical Quality and Health Risks Associated with Use of Water from Nyamwamba River, Kasese, Western Uganda

Masereka

Byamugisha

Adaku

2022

AJACR

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Aim: In Kasese district of Western Uganda, farmers cultivating near Nyamwamba River (NR) experience crop wilting whenever the river banks burst. Increased cases of cancer and ulcers in the district is anecdotally blamed on ingestion of contaminated water from water resources polluted by tailings from Kilembe copper mines. Sand miners attested that mining in NR caused body irritations and itching while drinking water from the same river results in abdominal complications in infants. The aim of this study was to assess the seasonal variations in the physicochemical parameters and heavy metals (HMs) content of water from NR, and the associated health risks. Place and Duration of Study: The experiments were done at the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda from 2018 to 2019. Methodology: This study employed quantitative research design. Water was sampled from down, middle and upstream of NR and Mubuku River, Western Uganda during the dry and wet seasons. The samples were analyzed for physicochemical parameters (pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids, total suspended soils) and HMs: chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), arsenic (As) and copper (Cu) by atomic absorption spectrometry. The estimated daily intake (EDI), target harzard quotient (THQ) and cancer risks were calculated to explore if there are any carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks that could arise from ingestion and dermal contact with water from NR. Results: Most physicochemical parameters of the water samples only met WHO guidelines for drinking water in the upstream. The mean concentration of Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Cd and As were 0.90-29.66 mg/L, 0.21-10.74 mg/L, 0.40-8.21 mg/L, 1.10-13.47 mg/L, 0.79-13.47 mg/L, 0.05-1.40 mg/L and 0.22-4.34 mg/L, respectively. Wet season recorded higher HMs concentrations when compared to the dry season, with all its samples exceeding the WHO guidelines for drinking water. There was an extremely high concentration of HMs in the upstream samples than expected. Health risk assessment indicated that the EDI through dermal contact ranged from 0.015 to 4.150 mg/kg/day while through ingestion of contaminated water, the values ranged from 0.008 × 10-6 to 38.266 × 10-6 mg/Lday. Some of the EDI doses were higher than corresponding reference doses for ingestion and contact with the HMs in water. THQ and total THQ exceeded 1 while cancer risk values were beyond the US EPA cancer risk borderline. Conclusion: This study revealed that there are serious non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks that could arise from consumption and contact with water from NR. Future studies should examine the relationship between the occurrence of trace metals in food stuffs with cancer, ulcers and other associated diseases in the area.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physicochemical Quality and Health Risks Associated with Use of Water from Nyamwamba River, Kasese, Western Uganda

Masereka

Byamugisha

Adaku

2022

AJACR

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“…In-situ delivery of microplastics colonised by human pathogens could be facilitated by irrigation with wastewater, which is common in LMICs where most vegetables are grown in river-valleys, where in the dry season wastewater constitutes the only available surface water for irrigation ( Qadir et al., 2010 ). More widely, crops are irrigated with surface waters from rivers, streams, and lakes, which are commonly contaminated with treated or untreated wastewater effluent ( Shehu et al., 2022 ). Estimates of global annual inputs of microplastic into the environment includes 10 15 particles entering the aquatic environment in treated effluent, and a further 10 16 particles released in untreated effluent ( Uddin et al., 2020 ).…”

Section: Transfer Of Plastics Into Agricultural Systems: Co-pollutant...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in agriculture – a potential novel mechanism for the delivery of human pathogens onto crops

Quilliam,

Pow,

Shilla

et al. 2023

Front. Plant Sci.

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Mulching with plastic sheeting, the use of plastic carriers in seed coatings, and irrigation with wastewater or contaminated surface water have resulted in plastics, and microplastics, becoming ubiquitous in agricultural soils. Once in the environment, plastic surfaces quickly become colonised by microbial biofilm comprised of a diverse microbial community. This so-called ‘plastisphere’ community can also include human pathogens, particularly if the plastic has been exposed to faecal contamination (e.g., from wastewater or organic manures and livestock faeces). The plastisphere is hypothesised to facilitate the survival and dissemination of pathogens, and therefore plastics in agricultural systems could play a significant role in transferring human pathogens to crops, particularly as microplastics adhering to ready to eat crops are difficult to remove by washing. In this paper we critically discuss the pathways for human pathogens associated with microplastics to interact with crop leaves and roots, and the potential for the transfer, adherence, and uptake of human pathogens from the plastisphere to plants. Globally, the concentration of plastics in agricultural soils are increasing, therefore, quantifying the potential for the plastisphere to transfer human pathogens into the food chain needs to be treated as a priority.

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“…The increase in population in Mbarara city has resulted into poor sanitation practices amidst low toilet coverage and substandard solid waste disposal management [ 12 ]. Leakage into wells or boreholes, rivers and broken water distribution pipes leads to adverse effects like development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, ecotoxicological effects, and several endocrine disorders [ 13 ]. This study studied the physical, chemical and microbiological quality of open dug wells, Rainharvest tanks, boreholes and piped water from six villages in Mbarara city Southwestern Uganda with the aim to (1)Physical chemical and bacteriological parameters of the selected drinking water sources (2)investigate the geochemistry responsible for the drinking water quality and (3) establish the water quality index of the selected drinking water sources to ascertain their suitability for drinking water use.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the quality of drinking water from selected water sources in Mbarara city, South-western Uganda

Abaasa,

Ayesiga,

Lejju

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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This study assessed the physical, chemical, and microbiological quality with emphasis on risk score, source apportionment, geochemistry, feacal coliforms and water quality index of drinking water from selected water sources. A cross-sectional study was conducted in six villages in Mbarara city, south-western Uganda. Each selected source was inspected using a WHO-adopted sanitary inspection questionnaire. Each source’s risk score was calculated. Thirty-seven samples were taken from one borehole, nine open dug wells, four rain harvest tanks, and twenty-three taps. The values for apparent color and phosphate were higher than the permissible level as set by the World Health Organization and Ugandan standards (US EAS 12). The isolated organisms were Klebsiella spp. (8.11%), Citrobacter divergens (62.16%), Citrobacter fluendii (2.7%), E. coli (35.14%), Enterobacter aerogenes (8.11%), Enterobacter agglomerus (5.4%), Proteus spp. (2.7%), Enterobacter cloacae (13.5%), and Proteus mirabilis (2.7%). Twelve water sources (32.4%) had water that was unfit for human consumption that was unfit for human consumption (Grade E), Five sources (13.5%) had water that had a very poor index (Grade D), nine (24.3%) had water of poor index (Grade C), eight (21.6%) had water of good water index (Grade B), and only three (8.1%) had water of excellent water quality index (Grade A). The piper trilinear revealed that the dominant water type of the area were Mgso4 and Caso4 type. Gibbs plot represents precipitation dominance. PCA for source apportionment showed that well, tap and borehole water account for the highest variations in the quality of drinking water. These results suggest that drinking water from sources in Mbarara city is not suitable for direct human consumption without treatment. We recommend necessary improvements in water treatment, distribution, and maintenance of all the available water sources in Mbarara City, South Western Uganda.

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Overview of African water resources contamination by contaminants of emerging concern

Cited by 36 publications

References 135 publications

Physicochemical Quality and Health Risks Associated with Use of Water from Nyamwamba River, Kasese, Western Uganda

Physicochemical Quality and Health Risks Associated with Use of Water from Nyamwamba River, Kasese, Western Uganda

Microplastics in agriculture – a potential novel mechanism for the delivery of human pathogens onto crops

Assessing the quality of drinking water from selected water sources in Mbarara city, South-western Uganda

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