PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF SOME TRACE METALS CONTAMINATION INDEXES IN GROUNDWATER OF JEBBA-KARA ENVIRONS, NIGERIA
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Date
2015
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Faculty of Science, Adamawa State University, Nigeria
Abstract
Hydrochemical assessment of groundwater contamination in Jebba-Kara environs
with respect to some trace elements distribution profiles in the area has been
established. The aim is to assess possible environmental impacts of various
anthropogenic activities and the weathering of surrounding rock types on the
groundwater metal distributions in the area. Inductively Couples Plasma/Mass
Spectrometry (ICP/MS) technique was used for the analysis of the trace elements in
the sampled water. Hydrochemical analysis results show that the average
concentrations of the trace elements analyzed fall below standards except average
value of Ba (0.33 ppm) that is above the prescribed limits, making the water unfit
for domestic consumptions. Also, elevated values of Al (0.87 ppm) and Fe (0.77
ppm) in some of the Hand-dug wells were observed. The Contamination Factor
among the trace elements ranged from low Contamination Factor to moderate
Contamination Factor depicting both anthropogenic and geogenic influences on the
metals profile in the groundwater. The Degree of Contamination ranged from 0.68
to 7.96 depicting low degree of metal contamination. Computed average Geo-accumulation Index (I-geo) revealed practically no contamination. However, some
of the computed I-geo in the Hand-dug wells water samples show some levels of
contamination with respect to Al, Ba, Fe, Cu and Sr. The average Enrichment
Factor (EF) computed for the trace elements ranged from deficiency enrichment to
considerable enrichment of the metals in the water samples. Majority of the trace
elements significantly correlated with one another connoting same source of metal
contribution (anthropogenic or/and geogenic origins).
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Keywords
hand-dug wells, trace elements, contamination factor, geo-accumulation index, enrichment factor