Etchie, Ayotunde Titilayo and Adewuyi, Gregory Olufemi and Etchie, Tunde Ogbemi (2012) Source Apportionment of Heavy Metals in Utility Water Sources. Source Apportionment of Heavy Metals in Utility Water Sources, 6 (2). pp. 112-115.
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Abstract
Heavy metals cause cancer and non-cancer health effects in humans when consumed via drinking water. Therefore, the importance of assessing the levels and sources of heavy metals in utility water sources, with a view to proffering mitigation measures, cannot be overemphasized as not all toxic metals can be removed by conventional water treatment processes. A total of 40 composite water samples were randomly collected from utility dams and their feeding rivers from January, 2010 to December, 2011. The concentrations of metals were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry and were found to vary with season. The concentrations of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn (mg L-1) in the water sources ranged from 0.02 to 0.49, 0.01 to 0.17, 0.03 to 0.38, 0.09 to 0.48, 0.17 to 3.25, 0.05 to 0.34, 0.02 to 0.33, 0.13 to 0.61 and 0.09 to 1.07, respectively, in the dry season, and from 0.08 to 0.68, 0.02 to 0.58, 0.13 to 0.87, 0.02 to 0.69, 0.28 to 5.62, 0.31 to 1.28, 0.09 to 1.08, 0.23 to 1.98 and 0.26 to 1.59, respectively, in the wet season, indicating that the concentrations of Cd, Cr, Fe, Ni, and Pb exceed regulatory limits in both seasons. Furthermore, the result of principal component analysis on absolute principal component scores (PCA/APCS) used to apportion sources to the metals in the dams and rivers revealed two major anthropogenic sources accounting for over 90% of the metals. Source 1 represents anthropogenic release from small-scale entrepreneurial enterprises, such as automobile-mechanic, panel beaters, vehicle sprayers and battery recharger workshops generating and spilling wastes such as lubricating oil, grease, petrol, diesel, battery electrolytes, contributing 96.2, 99.2, 95.9, 100, 99.4, 99.9, 100 and 95.2%, of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn, respectively, while source 2 represents the release from agricultural activities, such as from fertilizers and fungicides and contributes 63.2, 100 and 51.6% of Cd, Co and Cr, respectively.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | Q Science > QD Chemistry |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Engineering, Science and Mathematics > School of Chemistry |
| Depositing User: | Dr Ayotunde Etchie |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Mar 2018 11:55 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Mar 2018 11:55 |
| URI: | http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/id/eprint/10429 |
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