Heavy Metal Pollution in the Birim River of Ghana

Bright Oppong Afum; Clement Kwasi Owusu

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijema.20160403.11

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Heavy Metal Pollution in the Birim River of Ghana

Bright Oppong Afum, Clement Kwasi Owusu

Published in International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 4, Issue 3)

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

Bright Oppong Afum

Mining Engineering Department, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana
Clement Kwasi Owusu

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

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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

Copy | Download

@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}
}

Copy | Download

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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