Correlation Analysis of Toxic Metals Distribution and Pollution Indices in Soil, Beans and Maize Samples of Kano State, Nigeria

Correlational study and evaluation of pollution indices of toxic metals distribution in soil and crops of a population are imperative for assessing the risk of chronic diseases associated with these metals. Correlational analysis for the distribution of; lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and mercury (Hg) in soil (S), bean (B) and maize (M) was conducted around Bunkure (BKR), Danbatta (DBT), Gwarzo (GRZ), Ungogo (UGG) and Wudil (WDL) as sampling zones around Kano State, Nigeria. The samples were collected from farm harvests in each of the sampling zones. The metal concentration was determined using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Results in mg/kg across the local governments indicate respective ranges for Hg, Pb, Cd, and Cr of; 0.33 - 3.13, 0.14 - 0.84, 0.02 - 0.05 and 0.01- 0.49 in soil, 0.04-4.23, 0.06-0.23, 0.02-0.04 and 0.00-0.10 in maize and 0.20-4.23, 0.16-0.19, 0.03-0.04 and 0.00-0.03 in beans. Although with the exception of mercury, the ranges of the toxic metals are within the tolerable range set by International Standard Tolerable Limits and European Regulatory Standard. Potential hazard may be speculated because the detected levels are on higher tolerable ranges. A higher level of mercury in almost all the samples indicates potential hazards associated with human activities in those areas. A strong positive correlation between soils samples in respect to the level of some of the toxic metal may suggest a common nature of the soil, while the negative correlation may be due to variation in agrochemicals in-use. For the pollution load index, Wudil had the highest soil pollution load index for Hg (3.13 ± 0.16), Cd (1.6×10-2 ± 0.01) and Cr (4.9×10-3 ± 0.01), while Ungogo had the highest pollution load for Pb. Also, all grains within the study zones exhibited a positive transfer factor, except Cr in Bunkure, Danbatta and Gwarzo. It may be concluded that crops grown in those areas may bioaccumulate some of these toxic metals, thereby incorporating them into the food chain, hence potential health risk.

Índices de calidad de agua del río Cucabaj ubicado en el municipio de Santa Cruz del Guiché, Guiché y la influencia en los costos de tratamientos de potabilización / Water quality index of cucabaj river located in the municipality of Santa Cruz del Quiché, Quiché and influence in treatment costs purification

El río Cucabaj es una de las fuentes principales de agua que abastece junto a los ríos Tabil y Aguacate a 1,352 hogares del área urbana del municipio de Santa Cruz del Quiché. Este rio recorre parte de los municipios de Santa Cruz del Quiché y Chiché. Es tributario del río Durazno y pertenece a esta microcuenca. En el periodo de estudio el caudal osciló entre 0.009-0.1004 m3 /seg. Gran proporción de este caudal se capta y recorre alrededor de 9 km. hacia la planta de tratamiento para su potabilización ubicada en la salida a San Pedro Jocopilas. La presente investigación tiene como objetivo mostrar la variabilidad temporal del recurso hídrico, determinando el índice de calidad del agua e índice de contaminación del río Cucabaj, así como los costos de desinfección utilizando hipoclorito de calcio. El monitoreo del rio fue realizado por un periodo de diez meses, de abril 2012 a enero 2013, según el índice de calidad de agua que muestra en una escala de 0-100 puntos, que suman los resultados de nueve parámetros y clasifica el agua del río Cucabaj en la categoría de media a buena (contaminada a levemente contaminada para uso humano, por lo que antes de su consumo debe de aplicarse tratamientos de potabilización). El mes con mayor caudal fue septiembre con 0.1004 m3/seg, particularidad que influyó considerablemente en presentar el valor más bajo en calidad y uno de los valores más altos en contaminación por materia orgánica. Esta característica se asocia principalmente a la presencia de coliformes totales. En cuanto a los costos de desinfección por hipoclorito de calcio, no se establecieron diferencias significativas en función de la cantidad de caudal.

Cucabaj River is a major source of water supplies along the Aguacate and Tabil Rivers to 1,352 households in the urban area of Santa Cruz del Quiché. This river runs through the municipality of Santa Cruz del Quiché and Chiche communities. It is a tributary of Durazno River and belongs to this watershed. In the study period the rate ranged from 0.009 - 0.1004 m3/s. A large proportion of this flow is captured and about 9 km transported to the treatment plant for purification in located in San Pedro Jocopilas. This investigation aims to show the temporal variability of water resources, determining the rates of water quality and pollution index Cucabaj River, as well as the cost of disinfection by means of calcium hypochlorite. The measurements were performed for a period of ten months, from April 2012 to January 2013. According to the water quality index which is a 100-point scale resulting of a total of nine different measurements, it was determined that the water quality of Cucabaj river is classified as moderate to good (which means that is slightly polluted to polluted for human use, so should receive purification treatment before consumption). The month with highest flow was September with rate 0.1004 m3/s, a feature that greatly influenced present the lowest value in quality and one of the highest values in organic pollution. This feature is mainly associated with the presence of total coliforms. As for costs calcium hypochlorite disinfection, no significant differences in terms of the amount of flow over other months were established.

Assessment of Leachate Pollution Index and Greenhouse Gas Emission at MSW Dumpsites along Ganga River at Varanasi, India.

Recent scientific attention has shown serious concern towards municipal solid wastes (MSW) as a source of greenhouse gases and concentrated leachate. We studied the leachate pollution index (LPI) and emission fluxes of two greenhouse gases (CH4 and CO2) at two municipal solid waste dumpsites situated along the Ganga River at Varanasi (India). The LPI is a quantitative tool by which the leachate pollution data of dumping sites can be reported uniformly. Concentration of nutrient ions (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, NO3 -, Cl-, PO4 3- ) and heavy metals (Cd2+, Fe2+, Cu2+, Pb2+, Ni2+ ,Zn2+, Co2+, Mn2+ ) in leachate varied with season with values being highest in rainy season. Total dissolved solids, conductivity and salinity in leachate showed a similar trend. Leachate pollution index was found to be 87.19 and 82.56 at KZP and BPS sites respectively. The LPI was much higher than the permissible limit at both the sites indicating high contamination potential for surface and ground water and risk to human health. Among all the study metals, Pb was found in abundance at Site 1. The emission flux of CH4 ranged from 10.73 to 96.74 mg m-2 h-1 and that of CO2 from 17.28 to 321.89 mg m-2 h-1. Emission flux of both the greenhouse gases increased with rising moisture and temperature. The rates were higher at young landfill site and between-site differences in the emission of CH4 and CO2 were significant. The study has relevance establishing landfill associated contamination to Ganga River and reducing uncertainties in greenhouse gas emission estimates in India.

Analysis of Relationship between Air Quality and Meteorological Conditions in Sanming City / 环境与健康杂志

Objective To know the relationship between air quality and meteorological conditions in Sanming City,Fujian, China.Methods Based on the fixed point monitoring data of everyday air quality from Sanming Environmental Monitoring Center and the corresponding upper air synoptic chart from 2002 to 2006,the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics,the variation tendency of the ambient air quality and their relations with the meteorological conditions were analyzed by using Excel 2003 software.Results The air pollution in Sanming was serious,the PM10 was concluded as the predominant pollutant.The concentration of SO_2,NO_2 and PM10,which affected the air quality of Sanming,was higher during October—April,and it was lower during May—September.The concentration of the pollutants was higher in the urban areas eompared with the suburbs. Conclusion The air quality in Sanming is related to the variation of the synoptic system.The air quality under the warm shear line system is best and under low system is next-best;the air quality under the warm sector convergence system is worst and under continent high system is next-worst;the low-level wind direction has some effect on the variation of the air quality,the air quality in easterly wind is better than that in westerly wind.