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Heavy Metal Pollution in the Birim River of Ghana

Received: 11 February 2016     Accepted: 23 February 2016     Published: 20 April 2016
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Abstract

The Birim River, one of the main tributaries of the Pra River is among the important freshwater bodies in Ghana which serves as a rich source for gold and diamond production in the country. Artisanal mining activities along river bodies promote continual introduction of wide range of contaminants (heavy metals) into these water bodies, and their toxicity poses great threat to the ecology as well as the environment. This study assesses the level of heavy metals (Cr, Fe, Ni, Zn, As, Cd, Hg and Pb) in the Birim River of Ghana. The concentrations of the heavy metals were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS). Heavy metals concentration were analysed in the dissolved, suspended mineral fractions, and sediment phases of the River. The result obtained showed that the Birim River is heavily polluted with heavy metals. Samples [Apapam (KB2), Ahwenease (KB3), Adadeatem (KB4), Adukrom (KB5), Akim (KA2), Abodom (KA3), Kade (KA4), Anweaso (KA10) and Kusi (KA11)] with high heavy metals concentrations are located in areas where small scale mining is dominant, indicating that the major contamination source in the water body is resulting from small scale mining activities. Heavy metals concentration measured as dissolved were lower than WHO standards with the exception of Fe. There are high accumulations of heavy metals in the suspended mineral fractions of the river. The sediments were also greatly polluted with heavy metal sinks.

Published in International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 4, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.11
Page(s) 65-74
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Dissolved, Suspended Mineral Fraction, Pollution Load, Contaminants, Precipitate

References
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  • APA Style

    Bright Oppong Afum, Clement Kwasi Owusu. (2016). Heavy Metal Pollution in the Birim River of Ghana. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 4(3), 65-74. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.11

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    ACS Style

    Bright Oppong Afum; Clement Kwasi Owusu. Heavy Metal Pollution in the Birim River of Ghana. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal. 2016, 4(3), 65-74. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.11

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    AMA Style

    Bright Oppong Afum, Clement Kwasi Owusu. Heavy Metal Pollution in the Birim River of Ghana. Int J Environ Monit Anal. 2016;4(3):65-74. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.11,
      author = {Bright Oppong Afum and Clement Kwasi Owusu},
      title = {Heavy Metal Pollution in the Birim River of Ghana},
      journal = {International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis},
      volume = {4},
      number = {3},
      pages = {65-74},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijema.20160403.11},
      abstract = {The Birim River, one of the main tributaries of the Pra River is among the important freshwater bodies in Ghana which serves as a rich source for gold and diamond production in the country. Artisanal mining activities along river bodies promote continual introduction of wide range of contaminants (heavy metals) into these water bodies, and their toxicity poses great threat to the ecology as well as the environment. This study assesses the level of heavy metals (Cr, Fe, Ni, Zn, As, Cd, Hg and Pb) in the Birim River of Ghana. The concentrations of the heavy metals were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS). Heavy metals concentration were analysed in the dissolved, suspended mineral fractions, and sediment phases of the River. The result obtained showed that the Birim River is heavily polluted with heavy metals. Samples [Apapam (KB2), Ahwenease (KB3), Adadeatem (KB4), Adukrom (KB5), Akim (KA2), Abodom (KA3), Kade (KA4), Anweaso (KA10) and Kusi (KA11)] with high heavy metals concentrations are located in areas where small scale mining is dominant, indicating that the major contamination source in the water body is resulting from small scale mining activities. Heavy metals concentration measured as dissolved were lower than WHO standards with the exception of Fe. There are high accumulations of heavy metals in the suspended mineral fractions of the river. The sediments were also greatly polluted with heavy metal sinks.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Heavy Metal Pollution in the Birim River of Ghana
    AU  - Bright Oppong Afum
    AU  - Clement Kwasi Owusu
    Y1  - 2016/04/20
    PY  - 2016
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.11
    T2  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
    JF  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
    JO  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
    SP  - 65
    EP  - 74
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-7667
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.11
    AB  - The Birim River, one of the main tributaries of the Pra River is among the important freshwater bodies in Ghana which serves as a rich source for gold and diamond production in the country. Artisanal mining activities along river bodies promote continual introduction of wide range of contaminants (heavy metals) into these water bodies, and their toxicity poses great threat to the ecology as well as the environment. This study assesses the level of heavy metals (Cr, Fe, Ni, Zn, As, Cd, Hg and Pb) in the Birim River of Ghana. The concentrations of the heavy metals were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) and Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS). Heavy metals concentration were analysed in the dissolved, suspended mineral fractions, and sediment phases of the River. The result obtained showed that the Birim River is heavily polluted with heavy metals. Samples [Apapam (KB2), Ahwenease (KB3), Adadeatem (KB4), Adukrom (KB5), Akim (KA2), Abodom (KA3), Kade (KA4), Anweaso (KA10) and Kusi (KA11)] with high heavy metals concentrations are located in areas where small scale mining is dominant, indicating that the major contamination source in the water body is resulting from small scale mining activities. Heavy metals concentration measured as dissolved were lower than WHO standards with the exception of Fe. There are high accumulations of heavy metals in the suspended mineral fractions of the river. The sediments were also greatly polluted with heavy metal sinks.
    VL  - 4
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Mining Engineering Department, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana

  • Minerals Engineering Department, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana

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