Water Quality and Heavy Metals Contamination of Artificial Lakes in Heipang and Rayfield, Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

The goal of this study is to assess the concentrations of selected heavy metals (Pb, Cd, As, Cr, Hg) in the water and fish of the artificial lakes in Heipang (Latitude 9o 41' N and Longitude 8o 51' E) and Rayfield (Latitude 9o 50' N and Longitude 8o 55' E). Two methods namely: Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (EDXRF) were used to determine the level of heavy metals in Tilapia zilli from the lake at Heipang and Clarias gariepinus from the lake at Rayfield. Determination of heavy metals in water was carried using AAS. The result show that Pb, As and Hg were above the limit of Nigerian Standard for drinking water quality. Percentage composition of heavy metals in the fish organs were muscle 40.6 %, intestine 35.4 % and gills 20.0 for Tilapia zilli, while Clarias gariepinus contained muscle 39.8 %, gills 33.5 % and intestine 26.7 %. The study revealed the bioaccumulation factors of 339, 302, 20.0, 2.30 and 0.320 for Cr, Cd, As, Hg and Pb respectively in Clarias gariepinus. While Tilapia zilli had 142, 137, 1.70, 1.03 and 0.690 for Cr, Cd, As, Hg and Pb, respectively. This study concludes that the two lakes were contaminated with Pb.

An Assessment of the Environmental Impact, Risk Challenges and Mitigation Strategies in Ameka Illegal Mine Sites and Environs in Ebonyi State, Southeastern Nigeria

“…Also, blastrelated vibrations have caused structural defects in buildings in the vicinity of the mine sites. The results of this study are consistent with some other reports of high heavy metal concentrations in the vicinity of mine sites [17,20,21]. However, the acidic content of the water samples in this result is higher than that reported by Alo et al [17].…”

Identification and Evaluation of Factors Affecting the Eutrophication of Wuxing Lake

“…For example, the Taihu Lake, the source of tap water in Wuxi City, was plagued by the blue-green alga bloom from May to June 2007. The ensuing shortage of domestic water and drinking water seriously disrupted the daily life of residents, posing a severe danger to the sustainable development of regional economy and society [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8].…”