Advance in Environmental Waste Management & Recycling(AEWMR)

Department of Biological, Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana

Publications

• Research Article   
  Heavy Metals Contamination and Ecological Risk Assessment in Illicit Mined Soils at Noyem and Nyafoman in the Birim North District, Ghana
  Author(s): Williams Ampadu Oduro* and Eunice Eduful
  
  Illegal mining / “galamsey” is a major source of soil pollution in Ghana, but ecological risk levels at local sites remain poorly quantified. This study assessed heavy metal contamination in soils from three illicit mining sites at Noyem and Nyafoman in the Birim North District, using pristine soils as controls. A total of 40 samples were collected and analyzed for Cu, Zn, Fe, Hg, and Cd concentrations using atomic absorption spectrometry. Results were summarized in tables and a bar graph, and contamination was evaluated through geoaccumulation index (Igeo), contamination factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI), enrichment factor (EF), and ecological risk index (RI). The mining sites recorded markedly higher concentrations of Zn (40 ppm), Fe (5 ppm), Hg (0.04 ppm), and Cd (0.07 ppm) compared with the control (Zn: 2.4 ppm; Fe: 0.3 ppm; Hg: 0.008 ppm; Cd: 0.0004 pp.. Read More»
  

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