Levels of arsenic, mercury, cadmium, copper, lead, zinc and manganese in serum and whole blood of resident adults from mining and non-mining communities in Ghana.

Human beings working or living near an industrial site where toxic chemicals such as As, Hg, Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, Zn and or their compounds are used or indiscriminately discharged into the environment, are constantly exposed to such chemicals via ingestion (drinking or eating), dermal contact or inhalation (breathing). However, in developing countries such as Ghana, limited data on levels of the aforementioned chemicals in whole blood and serum of human beings as a result of exposure to the aforementioned chemicals from mining communities and non-mining communities is preventing effective policy formulation to protect human health. Hence, this study was undertaken to measure the levels of the aforementioned toxic chemicals in whole blood and serum of 300 resident adults from mining (Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality Assembly (TNMA) and Prestea Huni Valley District (PHVD)) and non-mining (Cape Coast Metropolis) communities in Ghana, using neutron activation analysis (NAA). Blood samples were taken from 200 resident adults (105 males and 95 females) from mining and 100 resident adults (60 males and 40 males) from non-mining communities in the study area following the completion of an informed consent and the issuance of ethical clearance by the Ghana Health Service Ethical Committee. The mean concentrations for As, Hg, Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb and Zn in whole blood of residents from mining communities were as follows: 38 ± 320 µg/L, 63 ± 0.23 µg/L, 303 ± 117 µg/L, 3300 ± 953, 195 ± 90 µg/L, 28 ± 14 µg/L and 1405 ± 458 µg/L, respectively; while the levels of measured toxic chemicals in the serum of resident adults from mining communities were as follows: 65 ± 14 µg/L, 358 ± 22 µg/l, 134 ± 12 µg/L, 3590 ± 254 µg/L, 401 ± 113 µg/L, 58 ± 5.8 µg/L and 49 ± 31 µg/L, respectively, for As, Hg, Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb and Zn and were found to have exceeded the permissible WHO guideline values.

Human Health Risk Assessment of Artisanal Miners Exposed to Toxic Chemicals in Water and Sediments in the Prestea Huni Valley District of Ghana.

A human health risk assessment of artisanal miners exposed to toxic metals in water bodies and sediments in the PresteaHuni Valley District of Ghana was carried out in this study, in line with US EPA risk assessment guidelines. A total of 70 water and 30 sediment samples were collected from surface water bodies in areas impacted by the operations of artisanal small-scale gold mines in the study area and analyzed for physico-chemical parameters such as pH, TDS, conductivity, turbidity as well as metals and metalloids such as As, Cd, Hg and Pb at CSIR-Water Research Institute using standard methods for the examination of wastewater as outlined by American Water Works Association (AWWA). The mean concentrations of As, Cd, Hg and Pb in water samples ranged from 15 µg/L to 325 µg/L (As), 0.17 µg/L to 340 µg/L (Cd), 0.17 µg/L to 122 µg/L (Pb) and 132 µg/L to 866 µg/L (Hg), respectively. These measured concentrations of arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) were used as input parameters to calculate the cancer and non-cancer health risks from exposure to these metals in surface water bodies and sediments based on an occupational exposure scenario using central tendency exposure (CTE) and reasonable maximum exposure (RME) parameters. The results of the non-cancer human health risk assessment for small-scale miners working around river Anikoko expressed in terms of hazard quotients based on CTE parameters are as follows: 0.04 (Cd), 1.45 (Pb), 4.60 (Hg) and 1.98 (As); while cancer health risk faced by ASGM miners in Dumase exposed to As in River Mansi via oral ingestion of water is 3.1 × 10(-3). The hazard quotient results obtained from this study in most cases were above the HQ guidance value of 1.0, furthermore the cancer health risk results were found to be higher than the USEPA guidance value of 1 × 10(-4) to 1 × 10(-6). These findings call for case-control epidemiological studies to establish the relationship between exposure to the aforementioned toxic chemicals and diseases associated with them as identified in other studies conducted in different countries as basis for developing policy interventions to address the issue of ASGM mine workers safety in Ghana.

Assessing the Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts of Artisanal Gold Mining on the Livelihoods of Communities in the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality in Ghana.

Gold mining has played an important role in Ghana's economy, however the negative environmental and socio-economic effects on the host communities associated with gold mining have overshadowed these economic gains. It is within this context that this paper assessed in an integrated manner the environmental and socio-economic impacts of artisanal gold mining in the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality from a natural and social science perspective. The natural science group collected 200 random samples on bi-weekly basis between January to October 2013 from water bodies in the study area for analysis in line with methods outlined by the American Water Works Association, while the social science team interviewed 250 residents randomly selected for interviews on socio-economic issues associated with mining. Data from the socio-economic survey was analyzed using logistic regression with SPSS version 17. The results of the natural science investigation revealed that the levels of heavy metals in water samples from the study area in most cases exceeded GS 175-1/WHO permissible guideline values, which are in tandem with the results of inhabitants' perceptions of water quality survey (as 83% of the respondents are of the view that water bodies in the study area are polluted). This calls for cost-benefits analysis of mining before new mining leases are granted by the relevant authorities.

Studies on organochlorine pesticide residue in fishes from the Densu river basin, Ghana.

The study was carried out to determine the levels of organochlorine pesticide residue in five fish species Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus, Hepsetus odoe, Tilapia zilli, Heterotis niloticus and Oreochromis niloticus from the Densu river basin (Weija) in Ghana. The fishes sampled from the Weija fish landing site were selected on the basis of their importance to local human fish consumption. The detectable organochlorine pesticides were γ-Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), δ-Hexachlorocyclohexane, aldrin and dieldrin. Others investigated were alpha endosulfan, endosulfan sulfate, p,p'-DDT and its metabolite p,p'-DDE, endrin and its metabolite endrin aldehyde and endrin ketone. The total contamination levels of the individual fishes varied in the decreasing order of 9.19 ng g(-1) (O. niloticus), 4.16 ng g(-1) (T. zilli), 3.69 ng g(-1) (C. nigrodigitatus), 3.68 ng g(-1) (H. odoe) and 3.09 ng g(-1) (H. niloticus). The highest organochlorine pesticide residue recorded in the study was alpha-endosulfan while dieldrin was the least pesticide observed. Analysis of variance indicated significant statistical differences for most organochlorine pesticide residues in the samples. The levels of organochlorine pesticides found in fish samples in the study were below maximum residue limit for food safety stipulated by EU, US FDA, FAO, Italy and Australia and thus safe for human consumption.

Levels and seasonal variations of organochlorine pesticides in urban and rural background air of southern Ghana.

Urban, suburban and rural background air samples were collected in southern Ghana in 2008 employing polyurethane foam disc passive air samplers (PAS). PAS were analysed for organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), namely hexachlorocyclohexanes (α-, ß-, γ- and δ-hexachlorocyclohexane), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane including metabolites (o,p'- and p,p'-DDT, DDE and DDD), hexachlorobenzene, pentachlorobenzene, aldrin, dieldrin, endrins (endrin, endrin aldehyde and endrin ketone), isodrin, heptachlors (heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide A and heptachlor epoxide B), chlordanes (α-, ß-chlordane, oxychlordane and trans-nonachlor), endosulfans (α- and ß-endosulfan and endosulfan sulphate), methoxychlor and mirex using a gas chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer. The levels of OCPs ranged for the individual pesticides from below limit of quantification to 750 pg m(-3) (for α-endosulfan), and current agricultural application seemed to be the main primary source of most abundant pesticides. Re-volatilization of previously used pesticides from contaminated soils could not be ruled out either as potential secondary source of contamination, especially in warm and dry seasons and periods of intensive agricultural activities. Higher atmospheric concentrations were observed in November and December during the dry season compared to lower concentrations observed in June, July and August when the country experiences heavy rains. The highest seasonal variation was observed for currently used pesticides as α-endosulfan. A p,p'-DDT/p,p'-DDE ratio suggested recent inputs of fresh technical DDT.

Determination of levels of polychlorinated biphenyl in transformers oil from some selected transformers in parts of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.

Although polychlorinated biphenyls have never been manufactured in Ghana, it has been used extensively as dielectric fluid in electric transformers and capacitors. However, very little is known of its health and environmental impacts by both managers of these transformers and capacitors and also the general public. This work therefore seeks to explore INAA as a possible alternative to screening transformer oils for PCBs by determining the total chlorine content. The total chlorine content of transformer oil samples from Ghana that tested positive and some randomly selected samples that tested negative from screening using CLOR-N-OIL test kits, have had their total chlorine estimated. INAA using the Research Reactor located at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission was used to estimate the total chlorine content of the oil samples. Neutron Activation and gamma ray spectroscopy using HPGe detector coupled to MAESTRO 32 software was used to determine the total chlorine content by integrating the peak area of the spectrum into a simplified program that was developed from the activation equation. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis was able to validate the result obtained from the test kits screening with accuracy 7.5%. The minimum total chlorine content of the positive samples determined by NAA was 71.34 µg g⁻¹.