TheDangerousCouple:IllegalMiningandWaterPollution—A...

Research ArticleThe Dangerous Couple Illegal Mining and Water PollutionmdashACase Study in Fena River in the Ashanti Region of Ghana

Albert Ebo Duncan

Department of Water and Sanitation School of Physical Sciences College of Agriculture and Natural SciencesUniversity of Cape Coast Cape Coast Ghana

Correspondence should be addressed to Albert Ebo Duncan aduncanuccedugh

Received 23 March 2020 Accepted 16 July 2020 Published 31 July 2020

Academic Editor Rita Rosa Pla

Copyright copy 2020Albert EboDuncanis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution Licensewhich permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properly cited

e threat posed by illegal mining to the quality of water resources in Ghana has become amajor public concern due to the closingdown of some water treatment plants in the countryis study aimed to investigate heavymetal pollution in Fena River due to theillegal mining activities e study was based on 72 samples from six sampling points for a period of 12 months (Januar-yndashDecember) Six heavy metals such as lead (Pb) cadmium (Cd) copper (Cu) mercury (Hg) iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) in waterwere investigated from Fena River in the Amansie Central District in the Ashanti Region of Ghanae ranges of the heavy metalsin water were BDLndash1041 001ndash0703 BDLndash024 017ndash1643 046ndash102 and BDL for Pb Cd Cu Fe Zn and Hg ree metalsexceeded the safe drinking water guidelines making water generally unsafe for drinking and domestic purposes According toNemerowrsquos pollution index results three metals namely Cd Pb and Fe were the principal metal pollutants in the study areawhereas Hg Cu and Zn were found not to contribute to the pollution effect However of the polluting metals only Cd polluted allthe six sampling sites whereas Pb polluted five out of the six sampling sites e most striking of the results is the absence ofmercury in all the sites studied e findings from the water quality index confirm that only two of the sites recorded marginalwater quality whereas the remaining four sites recorded poor water quality e high levels of heavy metals polluting water andthe deteriorating water quality are due to the illegal mining activities occurring within and around Fena River

1 Introduction

Mining is the extraction (removal) of minerals and metalsfrom the Earth eg manganese gold copper tin etc Fordecades the extraction and subsequent processing of goldhave provided thousands of indigenous people with em-ployment and many continents with a wealth of economicdevelopment [1] Notwithstanding this there are also manyenvironmental problems and challenges associated withmining which stem from the contamination of as well ascompetition for surface and groundwater [2] Water con-tamination frommining activities results from the dischargeof effluents which contain toxic chemicals such as cyanideand other organic chemicals used in the processing ofmineral ores ese chemicals together may result in effluentwith high acid levels which can either seep into undergroundwater or flow into the environment (surface water bodies)

posing danger to the nearby communityrsquos especially thosewhich depend on such water bodies for drinking and otherdomestic purposes Another concern has to do with theleaching of heavy metal oxides (including lead and zincoxides) which sometimes find their way into the environ-ment and more specifically seep into surface and under-ground water bodies posing danger to aquatic life as well ascommunities which depend on such resources [3]

Sometimes one is tempted to believe that the mineralendowment of most African countries is more of a cursethan a blessing as the above mining problems are a case inpoint in most African countries where these minerals areextracted Africa harbors the worldrsquos largest mineral reservesof platinum gold diamonds chromite manganese andvanadium [4] Unfortunately Africa retains the environ-mental burden of mining whose effects also reduce whateverit receives from the benefits of its minerals [5] While the

HindawiJournal of ChemistryVolume 2020 Article ID 2378560 9 pageshttpsdoiorg10115520202378560

resource productivity in European Union countries is in-creasing many mineral-rich countries in Africa are stillstruggling to cope with the environmental impacts of risingextraction rates huge amounts of waste wastewater anddissipative losses Legacy of mining in Africa is generally thatof large unfilled holes and abandoned artisanal mining sitesOne major challenge which has arisen in most Africancountries is the challenge of uncontrolled small-scale andillegal mining activities Small-scale mining is currently seenglobally as a source of a determinant for environmentaldegradation and resource depletion in areas where suchprecious minerals are mined [3] e situation is even morealarming when the camera is shifted to illegal miningpopularly known as ldquogalamseyrdquo in Ghana More people areengaging in this illegal mining that is mining without anypermit or license from the regulatory bodies such as theMinerals Commission of Ghana

Classically the country Ghana located in West Africa isequitably endowed with rich mineral resources thus for-merly called Gold Coast It is the second-largest gold pro-ducer on the continent after South Africa Mining (large-scale and artisanal small-scale) accounts for about 91 ofGhanarsquos gross domestic products (GDP) and serves as asource of employment for about 260662 citizens in theformal sector [6] According to Aryee et al [3] an estimated80000 locals including women are currently involved insmall-scale mining (legal and illegal) of gold in Ghana It istherefore not surprising that Ghana also has the largestartisanal and small-scale mining in Africa (1100000) withestimated dependents of 4400000 [2] Small-scale miners inthe past were described as ldquopoor peoplerdquo individuals orsmall groups who depend upon mining for a living who userudimentary tools and techniques (eg picks chisels sluicesand pans) to exploit mineral deposits is definition doesnot hold any longer in Ghana and specifically in Fenasowhere this research was conducted In Fenaso small-scaleand illegal mining are controlled by the rich who employ theuse of sophisticated equipment resulting in modifying thelandscapes and potentially having a long-term impact oncommunities and the natural resources due to their physicaldegrading nature as well as the use of chemicals and otherharmful substances [5] For the past thirty years Fenasotown has seen increasingly rapid advances in illegal miningpopularly known as ldquogalamseyrdquo with very sophisticated andcomplex equipment

is has created many challenges in Fena River e firstchallenge is the diversion of the river path andmining on theriver bed resulting in a high level of siltation that threatensthe drying up of the river e second problem is the in-troduction of high levels of suspended solids that are po-tential carriers of heavy metals into the river e high levelof suspended solids has also resulted in the high cost oftreatment in some water treatment plants and their eventualclosure as well e third problem is that the gravels mudand rocks displaced during river dredging for the mineralhave disrupted the natural flow of the river e fourthproblem is that the fishermen in the area complain of notenjoying a good harvest as in the past e sustainability ofthe river flow cannot be guaranteed but that is not the focus

of this study ese challenges pose a serious threat to publichealth in Fenaso and its environs especially for those whostill depend on the river for domestic activities such ascooking during water stress conditions However the metallevels in the river have not been measured e main aim ofthis investigation is to assess the pollution potential of someselected heavy metal levels and their threat to public healthin the study area

2 Materials and Methods

21e Study Area and Sampling e study was carried outin the Amansie Central District in the Ashanti region eAmansie Central District is located in the southern part ofthe Ashanti Region with a total land area of about 710 squarekilometers It shares common boundaries with Amansie Eastto the northeast Amansie West to the west Obuasi Mu-nicipal Assembly to the southeast Adansi North to the eastAdansi South to the south and Upper Denkyira to the southe district can be found within latitude 6000degN and 6030degNand longitude 1000degW and 2000degW e district is locatedwithin the forest dissected plateau region with an averageheight between 150 meters and 300 meters above sea levelTopographically the area is relatively flat with occasionalundulating upland of 240 meters to 300 meters above sea levelaround Numereso Apitisu Tweapease and Abuakwa edistrict experiences bimodal rainfall distribution with themajor season falling betweenMarch and July whilst the minorseason is between September and Novemberis is separatedby short cool dry season in August and a relatively long dryseason fromNovember toMarch However the above weathercondition is hard experience considering the current change inthe climate e annual amount of rainfall ranges between1500mm and 1800mm with a mean relative humidity ofabout 70 percent It has a fairly high and uniform temperatureranging between 20 degrees Celsius and 32 degrees Celsiuswith mean at 28 degrees Celsius e district has five mainsoils namely Bekwai-Oda Mim-Oda Asikuma-Atewa-AnsumOda Kumasi-AsuansiNsuta-Offin and Birim-Awa-hamChichi were compound associations and three geologicalformations ese formations are the Birimian Tarkwaianand granite rocks which are rich in mineral deposits edistrict is drained by rivers such as the Fena Oda Ochi andOffin e current population of the district is estimated at110026 based on the 2010 population and housing censusAbout 80 of the people in the district are into agriculture andabout 11 are in the services Quite a sizeable number of theyouth are also engaged in illegal mining (galamsey) activitiesmostly along the banks or inside Fena River Amansie CentralDistrict is one of the 27 administrative districts in the AshantiRegion [7] Figure 1 presents the study area map

All glassware and amber bottles for cadmium copperiron lead zinc and mercury analysis were soaked in adetergent solution overnight after which they were washedand then rinsed with distilled water and soaked in 10HNO3 solution overnight ey were then rinsed again withdouble distilled water and dried For the mercury analysisthe glassware after being soaked in the HNO3 solutionovernight was then rinsed with a 05 KMNO4 solution

2 Journal of Chemistry

ey were finally rinsed first with tap water and then withdistilled water and dried From a total of 6 sampling points72 water samples were collected in laboratory cleaned andrinsed 15-liter polyethylene bottles Water samples werecollected from January to December 2019 Samples wereacidified with 024M nitric acid (analytical grade) and keptat 4degC in the dark before analysis

Water samples were collected from the river at thefollowing selected points Fenaso number 1 Fenaso number2 sampling point ldquoArdquo sampling point ldquoBrdquo sampling pointldquoCrdquo and Fenaso number 3 Sampling point ldquoArdquo was the onlysampling area where there was virtually no illegal miningactivity taking place e sampling of water was done bydipping a 15 L plastic bottle below the water surface of theriver at each of the designated sampling pointse samplingwas in one-month intervals

22 Water Quality Parameter All the physicochemical pa-rameters were measured in the field e pH meter withmodel no PHSB-320 BOQU was used to determine thetemperature and hydrogen ion concentration (pH) of thewater samples e pen-type conductivity meter and

portable 2100Q turbidity meter were used to measureconductivity and turbidity respectively

23 Chemical and Sample Digestion Analytical-grade re-agents and deionized water were used in all the analyses ewater samples were acidified to pHlt 2 after they were filteredusing a 045 μm cellulose membrane filter before beingtransported to the laboratory for analysis 5mL HNO3 wasadded to a boiling tube containing 50mL of the acid preservedsample Using a graphite block digester the sample washeated at 130degC until the volume reduced to about 25ndash20mLNitric acid was added to the sample whilst heating until thesolution became light-colored or clear e digested solutionwas cooled and made to the desired volume using deionizedwater and filtering through Whatman no 41 filter paper

24 Analytical Technique andAccuracyCheck e followingheavy metals namely cadmium (Cd) copper (Cu) lead(Pb) mercury (Hg) zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) were measuredusing dual atomizer and hydride generator atomic ab-sorption spectrophotometer (model ASC-7000 no A309654

Kwametanokrom

Oseikrom Roroso No 1

Amansie centralB

A

FenasoNo 1

FenasoNo 2 Agyeikrom

Odamekrom

Adansi south

CFenaso

new town

FenasoNo 3

Antoborne

1deg48prime0PrimeW 1deg46prime30PrimeW1deg49prime30PrimeW

6deg6prime

0PrimeN

6deg7prime

30Prime

N6deg

9prime0Prime

N

6deg9prime

0PrimeN

6deg7prime

30Prime

N6deg

6prime0Prime

N

1deg49prime30PrimeW 1deg48prime0PrimeW 1deg46prime30PrimeW

0 04 08 16 24 32km

Sample pointCommunityRoad

RiverDistrict boundary

N

S

EW

N

SEW

Figure 1 Map of the sampling points in Fena River in Amansie Central District

Journal of Chemistry 3

Shimadzu Japan) In order to avoid contamination andensure accuracy reagents of analytical grade from MESEquipment Ghana and ultrapure metal-free deionized waterwere used for all analyses All glass and plastic wares werecleaned and the instruments were precalibrated beforemeasurement All the results were expressed in mgL MatrixSpike recovery was in the range of 85ndash100

25 Assessment of Heavy Metals in Water To establish thepollution contribution of the heavy metals two indices theCanadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME)Water Quality Index (WQI) and Nemerowrsquos Pollution Index(NPI) were applied e detailed explanation of the indicesis provided in the paragraphs that follow

26 Water Quality Index (WQI) e CCME WQI uses thescope frequency and amplitude in assessing the qualityof a water source e scope measures the number ofvariables that fall outside the water quality standardswhereas the frequency measures the number of times aparticular parameter falls outside the standard eamplitude is the difference in concentration between themeasured sample and its objective (standard) Mathe-matically the three factors can be put together to assessthe ambient water quality However it must be noted thatthere should be at least a minimum of four sampling timeswith at least four variables before one can obtain arepresentative result but there is no limitation to themaximum number of samples to use for analysis F1(scope) represents the ldquofailed variablesrdquo that is thepercentage of variables that do not meet their objectives atleast once during the period under consideration relativeto the total number of variables measured and is math-ematically expressed as

F1 number of failed variablestotal number of variables

times 100 (1)

F2 (frequency) is the percentage of individual tests thatdo not meet objectives (ldquofailed testsrdquo) It is mathematicallyexpressed as

F2 number of failed teststotal number of tests

times 100 (2)

F3 (amplitude) is the difference in the concentrationbetween the failed test and their objectives Calculation of F3involves three steps e first is to estimate the number oftimes the individual concentrations are greater than (or lessthan when the objective is a minimum) the objectives(excursion) is is mathematically expressed as

excursion failed test value

objectiveminus 1 (3)

For the cases in which the test value must not fall belowthe objectives such as that of pH the excursion is calculatedas

excursion objective

failed test valueminus 1 (4)

e ratio of the sum of excursions to the total test isreferred to as the normalized test of excursion or nse

nse 1113936

ni1 excursion

number of tests (5)

By an asymptotic function that scales the normalizedsum of the excursions from the objectives (nse) F3 is thencalculated to yield a range between 0 and 100

F3 nse

001 nse + 001 (6)

After calculating for the three Frsquos CCME WQI can becalculated as

CCMEWQI 100 minus

F12 + F22 + F32

radic

1732 (7)

e detailed explanation of the calculated WQI values ispresented in Table 1

27 Nemerowrsquos Pollution Index (NPI) NPI is an index thatmeasures the extent of pollution caused by individual pa-rameters In this regard the measured concentration of theparameter is compared to its standard value as indicated inequation (8) e calculated value from equation (8) rep-resents the pollution caused by a particular parameter

NPI Ci

Li

(8)

where Ci is the observed concentration of the ith parameterLi is the permissible limit of the ith parameter A calculatedNPI of less than or equal to 1 indicates the absence ofpollution and any value above 1 indicates pollution ehigher or bigger the value the more significant the pollutioneffect

3 Statistical Analysis

Excel was used to calculate themean and standard deviations ofthe heavy metal concentration in the water samples It was alsoused to estimate the WQI and NPI

4 Results and Discussion

41WaterQualityParameters e results of themean valuesof the physicochemical parameters and the minimum andmaximum values of the sampling areas are presented inTable 2 Maintaining water of good quality is very crucial forthe proper functioning of the environment as well as im-proving and increasing access to a safe water supply to reducethe 4 billion of the world population who suffer from diarrheaevery year due to unsafe water use [8] Water for the envi-ronment to function properly is no longer an issue of debatehowever the debate rather has to do with how to maintainwater of good quality to help sustain effective and efficientfunctioning of the environment pH of water is a very im-portant parameter with a strong influence on the survival ofaquatic organisms High or low pH can cause the death ofaquatic organisms pH also influences the solubility of certaintoxic compounds such as heavy metals in a river [9]


e majority of aquatic creatures prefer a pH range of65ndash90 even though some can live outside that pH range[10] e acidity of the surrounding environment can alsoaffect pH of water All the sites studied at one time recordedpH values below the World Health Organization (WHO)permissible limits (Table 2) Only two out of the six sites(point A and Fen 1) studied recorded pH values within the

WHO permissible values during the sampling period (Ta-ble 2) e consistent low pH values recorded within thestudy area are displayed in the mean pH range 53ndash638measured in all the sites which fell below the WHO per-missible limits of 65ndash9e measured pH range in the studyarea is not suitable for aquatic organisms [11] Furthermorelow pH has the potential to dissolve heavy metals into water

Table 1 CCME water quality index

Rank Category Explanation

95ndash100 Excellent Water quality is protected with a virtual absence of threat or impairment conditions are very close to natural or pristinelevels

80ndash94 Good Water quality is protected with only a minor degree of threat or impairment conditions rarely depart from natural ordesirable levels

65ndash79 Fair Water quality is usually protected but occasionally threatened or impaired conditions sometimes depart from naturalor desirable levels

45ndash64 Marginal Water quality is frequently threatened or impaired conditions often depart from natural or desirable levels0ndash44 Poor Water quality is almost always threatened or impaired conditions usually depart from natural or desirable levels

Table 2 Water quality parameter of Fena River

ParameterFen 1 Fen 2

WHO standardMean and std Max Min Mean and std Max Min

pH 617plusmn 027 663 582 581plusmn 041 633 521 65ndash9Temp 2358plusmn 017 2385 2331 2345plusmn 017 2373 2308 25ndash30degCTurb 18225plusmn 2049 213 148 19433plusmn 1634 231 169 75NTUTSS 241567plusmn 4401 3314 2560 297167plusmn 3354 2830 500mgLTDS 316533plusmn 20783 3314 2560 318050plusmn 14211 3334 2730 500mgLConductivity 123675plusmn 5938 1311 1103 1268plusmn 1944 1300 1238 1000mgLPb 0192plusmn 023 081 BDL 072plusmn 029 104 023 001mgLCd 014plusmn 019 07 BDL 002plusmn 001 004 001 0003mgLCu 009plusmn 003 014 003 009plusmn 006 024 001 2mgLFe 1294plusmn 157 1643 1103 1301plusmn 071 1409 1163 2mgLZn 081plusmn 014 091 046 084plusmn 009 102 071 5mgL

Point A Point BpH 638plusmn 019 67 612 544plusmn 023 588 511 65ndash9Temp 2411plusmn 022 245 2387 2367plusmn 008 2376 2347 25ndash30degCTurb 13308plusmn 1993 160 103 37242plusmn 5971 445 262 75degNTUTSS 11642plusmn 936 2125 1002 65958plusmn 6758 3411 3011 500mgLTDS 151167plusmn 38242 2132 985 316025plusmn 11921 3411 3011 500mgLConductivity 14458plusmn 1937 184 122 2525plusmn 2357 283 206 1000mgLPb BDL BDL BDL 005plusmn 002 010 002 001mgLCd 001plusmn 000 001 001 007plusmn 007 021 001 0003mgLCu 004plusmn 004 012 001 003plusmn 001 005 001 2degmgLFe 481plusmn 025 521 448 645plusmn 077 734 503 2degmgLZn 062plusmn 007 075 052 111plusmn 036 176 056 5degmgL

Point C Fen 3pH 530plusmn 017 565 509 607plusmn 021 643 576 65ndash9Temp 2369plusmn 016 2394 2338 2361plusmn 019 2384 2327 25ndash30degCTurb 16233plusmn 1911 181 122 30958plusmn 4449 364 180 75NTUTSS 132plusmn 4222 3312 3006 193058plusmn 52136 2925 1022 500mgLTDS 313025plusmn 7952 3312 3006 328408plusmn 23402 3701 3011 500mgLConductivity 1965plusmn 976 211 182 33375plusmn 2770 373 297 1000mgLPb BDL BDL BDL 011plusmn 002 013 008 001mgLCd 012plusmn 003 017 008 005plusmn 001 006 004 0003mgLCu BDL 001 BDL 006plusmn 002 011 004 2mgLFe 038plusmn 012 057 017 113plusmn 041 1207 1098 2mgLZn 086plusmn 011 105 067 062plusmn 011 082 046 5mgLFen 1 Fenaso number 1 Fen 2 Fenaso number 2 Fen 3 Fenaso number 3 TDS total dissolved solids TSS total suspended solidsTemp temperature Turb turbidity and BDL below detection limit (0001 ppm)


this is a public health concern as some farmers still use waterfor irrigation and domestic purposes

According to Carr and Neary [12] the temperature isvery important in the aquatic environment because it speedsup the rate at which chemical reactions such as (a) pho-tosynthesis occur (b) how pollutants parasites and otherpathogens interact with aquatic residents and (c) influenceof the solubility of dissolved oxygen in water e minimumand maximum temperatures measured within the period ofstudy were stable (Table 2) however it was below the ac-ceptable limit of 25ndash30degC [12] e low and stable tem-peratures measured in the study area are not conducive forthe growth and survival of living organisms in the study areathis may be a contributing factor to the extinction of somefishes in the area claimed by the fishermen Besides thetemperature there might be other contributing factors to thegradual disappearance of fishes in the area

Even though all streams carry some level of SSs [13] whenthe levels increase beyond the carrying capacity of the riverthey alter the chemical biological and physical properties ofthe river [14] e cause of a high level of suspended solids inriversmay be due to quarries ormines or discharge of washingsfrom a sandpit [9 15] According to Ireland [15] (1) thesuspended solids may consist of algal growths an indication ofsevere eutrophic conditions (2) SSs reduce the light pene-tration in surface waters and interfere with the life of aquaticspecies such as fishes and plants e SSs may have a highcomposition of organic matter that can aid their decompo-sition and depletion of oxygen in a river and result in fish kill[13] Finally SSs have the potential of settling on the river bedto create septic conditions and produce offensive conditionse highest and lowest SSs were recorded in Fen 2 and pointArespectively (Table 2) is high concentration of SS in thestudy area is due to illegal mining occurring in and around theriver since no major industry or irrigation agriculture is oc-curring in the area e high level of SS has the potential tocreate septic conditions and result in fish kill or fishes mi-grating to other parts of the river for survival an explanation tofishermen in the area experiencing low fish catch

e minimum and maximum turbidity within thestudy area were in the range of 103 to 445 NTU Point Arecorded the lowest mean value with point B recording thehighest value (Table 2) e low turbidity in point Aconfirms the absence of the illegal mining activities in thatsite Notwithstanding this all the sites including point Arecorded turbidity above the permissible level (Table 2)e observed turbidity in site A is usually transportedfrom Fen 1 and Fen 2 since they are at the upstream and inthe case of point B it may be due to the upstream effecttogether with what is happening within that site e highturbidity in the studied river has the potential to limit thedissolved oxygen in the river Hence as turbidity in-creases aquatic organisms compete for the limited oxygenwith available organics in water [16] is can also con-tribute to fishes migrating to more comfortable areas ordying due to limited oxygen

ere are four categories into which total dissolved solids(TDS) in water could be classified e type ldquoIrdquo that isTDSlt 1000mgL is for freshwater type ldquoIIrdquo is brackish

water with TDS between 1000 and 10000mgL type ldquoIIIrdquo issaline water with TDS from 10000 till 100000mgL andtype IV is brine water with TDSgt 100000mgL [17] esampling points Fen 3 and point ldquoArdquo recorded the highestand lowest value of TDS in the area however they wereabove theWHO standard (Table 2) Only the sampling pointldquoArdquo measured freshwater (type ldquoIrdquo) TDS value eremaining sites recorded brackish water TDS e brackishwater condition in the river could be part of the cause of thefishes migrating to where freshwater conditions pertain

Electrical conductivity is the measure of the extent towhich water conducts electricity and is directly proportionalto the ionic content of water A sharp change in the con-ductivity of a river is an indication of possible pollution [12]Mostly the electrical conductivity of freshwater is in therange of 10ndash1000 μScm [18] e values of conductivityranged from 182 to 1311 during the period of study (Table 2)All the sites recorded permissible conductivity except Fen 1and Fen 2 e observed conductivity in Fen 1 and Fen 2 hasthe potential to create toxic conditions in the river and createunstable conditions for living organisms [12]

42Metal Concentration inWater e results obtained fromthe analysis of the heavy metals are shown in Table 2 econcentration of the different metals varied from site to sitee concentration of the metals Cu and Zn were below theWHO permissible limit within the study period in the studyarea Mercury concentration in the entire study area within thestudy period is zeroemetal concentration (mgLminus1) in waterwas as follows CdgtPbgtFegtZngtCugtHge highest meanconcentration of Pbmeasured in the river was 072mgLminus1eminimum and maximum values of Pb measured within thestudy area are 0 and 104mgLminus1 respectively e minimumvalue was recorded in points ldquoArdquo and ldquoCrdquo whereas themaximum value was recorded in ldquoFen 2rdquo e mean con-centration of the Pb in Fen 1 and Fen 2 is relatively higher thanall the sites due to the intensity of the mining in those sites(Table 2) e mean and the maximum values are all far abovethe WHO permissible levels for drinking water e highestmean Cd concentration in the river was recorded in Fen 1upstream (Table 2)emaximum andminimum values of Cdwere all recorded in Fen 1 (Table 2) e mean Cd is far abovethe WHO standard (Table 2) and renders water unsafe fordrinking e highest and lowest mean concentration of Fewere recorded in Fen 2 and point C respectively (Table 2)ehigh level of Fe recorded in Fen 2 may be associated with theincrease in the illegal mining activities which took place in andaround the river at the timee 13mgLminus1 concentration of theldquoFerdquo is of concern as it has the potential to cause problems inwater treatment plants

43 Assessment of Pollution Potentials e calculatedNemerow pollution index (NPI) and water quality index(WQI) of physicochemical parameters studied in the riverare presented in Table 3 e NPI values ranged from 740 to012 for the physical parameters and 27033 to 0 for the heavymetals e zero measured is an indication that not all themetals polluted the area under study (NPIlt 1) Of the metals


Table 3 Nemerowrsquos pollution index and water quality index

Month Pb Cd Fe Cu Zn pH Temp Turb TSS Cond TDSNemerowrsquos pollution index (NPI) for Fen 1Jan 331 11033 757 006 018 108 118 260 599 120 603Feb 155 5166 822 006 017 106 117 251 607 110 642Mar 0 0 666 001 009 108 119 268 610 130 512April 123 41 676 003 016 098 119 284 585 121 663May 811 27033 602 004 017 112 118 237 427 130 634June 341 11366 650 004 017 106 119 280 408 131 642July 12 4 660 004 012 100 117 224 436 120 661Aug 21 7 607 004 017 098 120 212 423 120 658Sept 11 366 552 007 018 107 118 197 414 128 641Oct 22 733 601 003 016 111 120 251 402 124 640Nov 312 10400 561 006 018 107 119 233 462 126 640Dec 165 55 609 007 018 106 118 219 424 122 662WQI 2370Nemerowrsquos pollution index (NPI) for Fen 2Jan 8760 533 705 001 018 103 119 268 585 125 603Feb 10330 1033 582 006 020 120 118 281 610 130 642Mar 10210 4 604 007 020 106 121 308 610 128 566April 8660 733 672 006 015 106 118 252 585 127 662May 5610 367 657 004 016 120 119 276 587 125 624June 4320 4 661 012 016 119 121 259 588 124 642July 8120 7 671 006 016 125 119 251 590 126 636Aug 5110 1067 652 003 016 105 120 249 607 129 642Sept 3210 7 658 001 014 103 119 225 589 127 662Oct 2310 433 663 002 017 119 119 256 586 125 671Nov 9320 1067 605 003 018 110 119 245 6 127 641Dec 10410 1367 677 004 016 115 119 239 595 128 642WQI 2033Nemerowrsquos pollution index (NPI) for point AJan 52 333 224 0 011 097 117 189 024 014 425Feb 41 333 245 001 01 104 114 213 021 014 368Mar 103 333 24 001 011 103 117 137 023 012 304April 62 333 256 001 015 102 115 208 026 015 205May 51 333 239 001 013 104 115 195 025 017 200June 32 333 224 006 013 103 117 197 021 014 282July 31 333 228 002 011 099 117 191 023 016 343Aug 21 333 261 002 011 100 117 141 021 018 420Sept 22 367 244 001 015 097 115 140 025 013 374Oct 36 333 256 001 013 104 117 179 022 015 259Nov 56 367 237 002 013 106 117 163 025 012 265Dec 42 433 231 006 013 105 117 176 022 013 241WQI 5505Nemerowrsquos pollution index (NPI) for point BJan 52 1067 341 001 021 12 118 513 12 021 602Feb 41 67 317 001 025 117 118 349 146 023 650Mar 103 3433 361 001 02 124 119 573 117 023 682April 62 34 294 002 02 117 118 593 155 024 624May 51 6833 306 002 021 122 118 577 14 027 622June 32 1067 252 002 025 117 119 428 135 026 611July 31 1033 258 001 035 124 118 577 125 025 602Aug 21 7 343 001 035 119 118 549 109 028 633Sept 22 4 336 001 016 113 118 460 125 027 66Oct 36 12 344 002 018 111 118 485 131 028 644Nov 56 1867 353 002 019 125 118 443 133 024 622Dec 42 14 367 003 011 127 118 409 147 025 631WQI 3081Nemerowrsquos pollution index (NPI) for point CJan 0 4033 008 0 021 122 118 24 035 021 622Feb 0 4333 027 0 020 122 119 216 019 018 61


studied Hg Cu and Zn did not show any pollution effects inthe area under study during the study period Cd was theonly metal that polluted all the areas under study andrecorded the highest pollution effect of 27333 in Fen1(Table 3) e metal Pb was present in all the sites exceptpointCe highest pollution effect of Pb (104) was recordedin Fen 2 e higher values of Cd and Pb recorded in Fen 1are due to the high level of illegal mining occurring in andaround that stretch of the river e metal Fe although alsocontributed to the pollution of the river its pollution effectwas a little less than 10 times its permissible value unlike thatof Cd and Pb where the values were as high as 270 and 104times their permissible values is situation is veryalarming e NPI gives a clear picture of the most pollutingmetal among the metals to help in the process of planningand developing any remediation action or measure to reducetheir introduction into the river e values of the WQI forall the sites fell within the poorndashmarginal category (Table 1)e sites Fen 1 2 and 3 as well as point ldquoBrdquo all fell withinthe poor water quality categoryis means that within suchareas the water quality is almost always threatened orimpaired which means the conditions usually depart fromnatural or desirable levels (Tables 1 and 3) e marginalcategory recorded by sampling points A and C even thoughin comparison to the four sites looks better is still not goodfor domestic use e quality category of marginal impliesthat the water quality is frequently threatened or impairedconditions often depart from natural or desirable levels eresults of WQI imply that water is generally not good forhuman consumption considering the potential threat it

poses to public health Water if has to be used for domesticactivities must go through some form of treatment to im-prove its quality

5 Conclusion

e results identified CdgtPbgtFe as the mean polluting orderof the individual metals in the study sites (Table 3) econcentrations of the polluting metals were far higher than thepermissible limit which is an indication that Fena River ispolluted by three of the studied metals Cd is the only metalamong the three pollutingmetals identified to have polluted allthe six sites Cd also showed the highest pollution index at Fen1 Metal pollution concentrations at the sites have beeninfluenced by the intensity of illegal mining going on or thatwent on earlier before or during the sampling period ewater quality index confirms that the quality of water ismarginal for two sites and poor for the remaining four sitese poor andmarginal quality of the river poses a threat to thehealth of the riparian communities which still depend onwaterfor domestic activities such as cooking and feeding on fishesharvested from the river It is recommended that intensiveeducation of the riparian communities be done to stop theircontinual dependence on the river for domestic use [19ndash27]

Data Availability

e primary data used to support the findings of this studyare available from the corresponding author upon request

Table 3 Continued

Month Pb Cd Fe Cu Zn pH Temp Turb TSS Cond TDSMar 0 3067 027 0 018 127 117 227 024 020 632April 0 4333 029 0 015 128 118 224 046 020 601May 0 47 018 0 015 126 12 241 037 019 642June 0 57 018 001 017 119 118 171 021 019 621July 0 3667 021 0 016 127 118 163 020 021 63Aug 0 3167 015 0 013 117 118 24 029 021 624Sept 0 26 017 001 016 115 118 227 022 020 613Oct 0 2533 018 0 019 124 118 219 021 018 633Nov 0 4033 012 0 017 122 117 224 020 019 62Dec 0 44 017 0 019 123 118 207 023 019 662WQI 5681Nemerowrsquos pollution index (NPI) for Fen 3Jan 129 2067 553 003 012 107 119 485 405 032 602Feb 124 1367 604 005 010 106 118 419 418 031 704Mar 131 14 556 003 009 112 118 240 585 032 623April 122 1167 549 002 010 113 119 467 330 037 680May 102 18 550 003 015 105 120 420 402 034 740June 81 1967 602 003 013 106 117 408 408 031 664July 88 1533 551 004 011 107 118 419 426 037 641Aug 82 2067 587 003 012 105 117 435 482 032 660Sept 121 21 562 003 016 101 118 415 426 030 624Oct 12 18 553 003 012 103 119 420 230 035 723Nov 11 21 553 003 012 111 118 413 316 037 602Dec 121 1433 558 003 015 110 120 413 204 031 618WQI 2657All values in italic show absence of pollution Jan January Feb February MarMarch AugAugust Sept September OctOctober Nov=November and DecDecember


Conflicts of Interest

e author declares that there are no conflicts of interestregarding the publication of this paper

Acknowledgments

e author would like to thank the technicians and staff ofthe Technology Village of the University of Cape Coast(UCC) for providing laboratory space facilities and assis-tance to support the study

References

[1] P Chuhan-Pole A Dabalen A Kotsadam A Sanoh andA Tolonen e Local Socioeconomic Effects of Gold MiningEvidence from Ghana e World Bank Washington DCUSA 2015

[2] G Hilson ldquoe environmental impact of small-scale goldmining in Ghana identifying problems and possible solu-tionsrdquo e Geographical Journal vol 168 no 1 pp 57ndash722002

[3] B N A Aryee B K Ntibery and E Atorkui ldquoTrends in thesmall-scale mining of precious minerals in Ghana a per-spective on its environmental impactrdquo Journal of CleanerProduction vol 11 no 2 pp 131ndash140 2003

[4] African Union Africa Mining Vision African Union AddisAbaba Ethiopia 2009

[5] M Kuhndt F Tessema and M Herrndorf ldquoGlobal valuechain governance for resource efficiency building sustainableconsumption and production bridges across the global sus-tainability dividesrdquo Environmental Research Engineering ampManagement vol 45 no 3 2008

[6] M Jerven and M E Duncan ldquoRevising gdp estimates in sub-saharan Africa lessons from Ghanardquo African StatisticalJournal vol 15 pp 13ndash24 2012

[7] Water Resources Commission Pra Basin IWRM Plan WaterResources Commission Accra Ghana 2012

[8] T Yashoda T B Reddy and C V Ramana ldquoPre-and post-monsoon variation in physicochemical characteristics ingroundwater quality of mindi industrial area visakhapatnamIndiardquo International Journal of Environmental Sciences vol 4no 5 pp 746ndash753 2014

[9] A E Duncan N De Vries and K B Nyarko ldquoAssessment ofheavy metal pollution in the main pra river and its tributariesin the pra basin of Ghanardquo Environmental NanotechnologyMonitoring amp Management vol 10 pp 264ndash271 2018

[10] J P Baker D P Bernard S W Christensen et al BiologicalEffects of Changes in Surface Water Acid-Base Chemistry (NoORNLM-1086) Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak RidgeTN USA 1990

[11] J S Alabaster and R Lloyd Water Quality Criteria forFreshwater Fish European Inland Fisheries Advisory Com-mission Report (FAO) FAO Rome Italy 1980

[12] G M Carr and J P Neary Water Quality for Ecosystem andHuman Health UNEP Nairobi Kenya 2008

[13] P A Ryan ldquoEnvironmental effects of sediment on NewZealand streams a reviewrdquo New Zealand Journal of Marineand Freshwater Research vol 25 no 2 pp 207ndash221 1991

[14] G S Bilotta and R E Brazier ldquoUnderstanding the influence ofsuspended solids on water quality and aquatic biotardquo WaterResearch vol 42 no 12 pp 2849ndash2861 2008

[15] E P A Ireland Parameters of Water Quality-Interpretationand Standards Environmental Research Unit Lansing MIUSA 2001

[16] J D Allan ldquoStream ecology structure and function of run-ning watersrdquo Journal of the Marine Biological Association ofthe United Kingdom vol 30 pp 233ndash263 1995

[17] D K Todd and L W Mays Groundwater Hydrology JohnWiley amp Sons Hoboken New Jersey USA 2005

[18] D ChapmanWater Quality Assessment A Guide to the Use ofBiota Sediments and Water in Environmental MonitoringCambridge University Press Cambridge UK 1992

[19] S M Banchirigah ldquoChallenges with eradicating illegal miningin Ghana a perspective from the grassrootsrdquo Resources Policyvol 33 no 1 pp 29ndash38 2008

[20] C G Cude ldquoOregon water quality index a tool for evaluatingwater quality management effectivenessrdquo Journal of theAmerican Water Resources Association vol 37 no 1pp 125ndash137 2001

[21] E J Dawson and M G Macklin ldquoSpeciation of heavy metalson suspended sediment under high flow conditions in theriver aire West yorkshire UKrdquo Hydrological Processesvol 12 no 9 pp 1483ndash1494 1998

[22] R K Gangwar J Singh A P Singh and D P Singh ldquoAs-sessment of water quality index a case study of river ram-ganga at bareilly UP Indiardquo International Journal of Scientificamp Engineering Research-IJSER vol 4 no 9 pp 2325ndash23292013

[23] P M Haygarth G S Bilotta R Bol et al ldquoProcesses affectingtransfer of sediment and colloids with associated phosphorusfrom intensively farmed grasslands an overview of key is-suesrdquo Hydrological Processes vol 20 no 20 pp 4407ndash44132006

[24] A I Macleod S N Majid Z H Ahmed and N Y HamaldquoApplication of water quality index (wqi) as a possible in-dicator for agriculture purpose and assessing the ability of theself-purification process by qalyasan stream in sulaimani cityIraqi kurdistan region (IKR)rdquo International Journal of PlantAnimal and Environmental Sciences vol 5 no 1 pp 162ndash1732015

[25] B Kronvang A Laubel S E Larsen and N Friberg ldquoPes-ticides and heavy metals in danish streambed sedimentrdquo eInteractions Between Sediments and Water vol 494 no 1ndash3pp 93ndash101 2003

[26] A F Rusydi ldquoCorrelation between conductivity and totaldissolved solids in various types of water a reviewrdquo inProceedings of the IOP Conference Series Earth and Envi-ronmental Science IOP Publishing Banda Aceh IndonesiaSeptember 2018

[27] World Health Organisation and United Nations ChildrensFund WHO Geneva Switzerland 2000


resource productivity in European Union countries is in-creasing many mineral-rich countries in Africa are stillstruggling to cope with the environmental impacts of risingextraction rates huge amounts of waste wastewater anddissipative losses Legacy of mining in Africa is generally thatof large unfilled holes and abandoned artisanal mining sitesOne major challenge which has arisen in most Africancountries is the challenge of uncontrolled small-scale andillegal mining activities Small-scale mining is currently seenglobally as a source of a determinant for environmentaldegradation and resource depletion in areas where suchprecious minerals are mined [3] e situation is even morealarming when the camera is shifted to illegal miningpopularly known as ldquogalamseyrdquo in Ghana More people areengaging in this illegal mining that is mining without anypermit or license from the regulatory bodies such as theMinerals Commission of Ghana

Classically the country Ghana located in West Africa isequitably endowed with rich mineral resources thus for-merly called Gold Coast It is the second-largest gold pro-ducer on the continent after South Africa Mining (large-scale and artisanal small-scale) accounts for about 91 ofGhanarsquos gross domestic products (GDP) and serves as asource of employment for about 260662 citizens in theformal sector [6] According to Aryee et al [3] an estimated80000 locals including women are currently involved insmall-scale mining (legal and illegal) of gold in Ghana It istherefore not surprising that Ghana also has the largestartisanal and small-scale mining in Africa (1100000) withestimated dependents of 4400000 [2] Small-scale miners inthe past were described as ldquopoor peoplerdquo individuals orsmall groups who depend upon mining for a living who userudimentary tools and techniques (eg picks chisels sluicesand pans) to exploit mineral deposits is definition doesnot hold any longer in Ghana and specifically in Fenasowhere this research was conducted In Fenaso small-scaleand illegal mining are controlled by the rich who employ theuse of sophisticated equipment resulting in modifying thelandscapes and potentially having a long-term impact oncommunities and the natural resources due to their physicaldegrading nature as well as the use of chemicals and otherharmful substances [5] For the past thirty years Fenasotown has seen increasingly rapid advances in illegal miningpopularly known as ldquogalamseyrdquo with very sophisticated andcomplex equipment

is has created many challenges in Fena River e firstchallenge is the diversion of the river path andmining on theriver bed resulting in a high level of siltation that threatensthe drying up of the river e second problem is the in-troduction of high levels of suspended solids that are po-tential carriers of heavy metals into the river e high levelof suspended solids has also resulted in the high cost oftreatment in some water treatment plants and their eventualclosure as well e third problem is that the gravels mudand rocks displaced during river dredging for the mineralhave disrupted the natural flow of the river e fourthproblem is that the fishermen in the area complain of notenjoying a good harvest as in the past e sustainability ofthe river flow cannot be guaranteed but that is not the focus

of this study ese challenges pose a serious threat to publichealth in Fenaso and its environs especially for those whostill depend on the river for domestic activities such ascooking during water stress conditions However the metallevels in the river have not been measured e main aim ofthis investigation is to assess the pollution potential of someselected heavy metal levels and their threat to public healthin the study area

2 Materials and Methods

21e Study Area and Sampling e study was carried outin the Amansie Central District in the Ashanti region eAmansie Central District is located in the southern part ofthe Ashanti Region with a total land area of about 710 squarekilometers It shares common boundaries with Amansie Eastto the northeast Amansie West to the west Obuasi Mu-nicipal Assembly to the southeast Adansi North to the eastAdansi South to the south and Upper Denkyira to the southe district can be found within latitude 6000degN and 6030degNand longitude 1000degW and 2000degW e district is locatedwithin the forest dissected plateau region with an averageheight between 150 meters and 300 meters above sea levelTopographically the area is relatively flat with occasionalundulating upland of 240 meters to 300 meters above sea levelaround Numereso Apitisu Tweapease and Abuakwa edistrict experiences bimodal rainfall distribution with themajor season falling betweenMarch and July whilst the minorseason is between September and Novemberis is separatedby short cool dry season in August and a relatively long dryseason fromNovember toMarch However the above weathercondition is hard experience considering the current change inthe climate e annual amount of rainfall ranges between1500mm and 1800mm with a mean relative humidity ofabout 70 percent It has a fairly high and uniform temperatureranging between 20 degrees Celsius and 32 degrees Celsiuswith mean at 28 degrees Celsius e district has five mainsoils namely Bekwai-Oda Mim-Oda Asikuma-Atewa-AnsumOda Kumasi-AsuansiNsuta-Offin and Birim-Awa-hamChichi were compound associations and three geologicalformations ese formations are the Birimian Tarkwaianand granite rocks which are rich in mineral deposits edistrict is drained by rivers such as the Fena Oda Ochi andOffin e current population of the district is estimated at110026 based on the 2010 population and housing censusAbout 80 of the people in the district are into agriculture andabout 11 are in the services Quite a sizeable number of theyouth are also engaged in illegal mining (galamsey) activitiesmostly along the banks or inside Fena River Amansie CentralDistrict is one of the 27 administrative districts in the AshantiRegion [7] Figure 1 presents the study area map

All glassware and amber bottles for cadmium copperiron lead zinc and mercury analysis were soaked in adetergent solution overnight after which they were washedand then rinsed with distilled water and soaked in 10HNO3 solution overnight ey were then rinsed again withdouble distilled water and dried For the mercury analysisthe glassware after being soaked in the HNO3 solutionovernight was then rinsed with a 05 KMNO4 solution








Kwametanokrom


Amansie centralB

A

FenasoNo 1


Odamekrom

Adansi south

CFenaso

new town

FenasoNo 3

Antoborne


6deg6prime

0PrimeN

6deg7prime

30Prime

N6deg

9prime0Prime

N

6deg9prime

0PrimeN

6deg7prime

30Prime

N6deg

6prime0Prime

N


0 04 08 16 24 32km



N

S

EW

N

SEW







times 100 (1)



times 100 (2)





excursion objective



nse 1113936

ni1 excursion

number of tests (5)


F3 nse

001 nse + 001 (6)


CCMEWQI 100 minus

F12 + F22 + F32

radic

1732 (7)



NPI Ci

Li

(8)





































5 Conclusion


Data Availability


Table 3 Continued





Acknowledgments


References



































Kwametanokrom


Amansie centralB

A

FenasoNo 1


Odamekrom

Adansi south

CFenaso

new town

FenasoNo 3

Antoborne


6deg6prime

0PrimeN

6deg7prime

30Prime

N6deg

9prime0Prime

N

6deg9prime

0PrimeN

6deg7prime

30Prime

N6deg

6prime0Prime

N


0 04 08 16 24 32km



N

S

EW

N

SEW







times 100 (1)



times 100 (2)





excursion objective



nse 1113936

ni1 excursion

number of tests (5)


F3 nse

001 nse + 001 (6)


CCMEWQI 100 minus

F12 + F22 + F32

radic

1732 (7)



NPI Ci

Li

(8)





































5 Conclusion


Data Availability


Table 3 Continued





Acknowledgments


References

































times 100 (1)



times 100 (2)





excursion objective



nse 1113936

ni1 excursion

number of tests (5)


F3 nse

001 nse + 001 (6)


CCMEWQI 100 minus

F12 + F22 + F32

radic

1732 (7)



NPI Ci

Li

(8)





































5 Conclusion


Data Availability


Table 3 Continued





Acknowledgments


References



























































5 Conclusion


Data Availability


Table 3 Continued





Acknowledgments


References































Acknowledgments


References





























TheDangerousCouple:IllegalMiningandWaterPollution—A...

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Transcript of TheDangerousCouple:IllegalMiningandWaterPollution—A...