Assessment of Heavy Metals Content of Hand Dug Wells in Shasha Market, South Western, Nigeria

Abstract

The presence of heavy metals in potable water can cause serious health issues when consumed by humans. Hence, the objective of this paper is to assess the of heavy metals content of hand dug wells in Shasha market, Akure, South Western Nigeria were analyzed. The presence of five (5) heavy metals namely Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Cadmium (Cd) and Chromium (Cr) in the water samples were analyzed in the laboratory.  Atomic Absorption Spectrometry was used in the heavy metal analysis. The Zn, Fe and Mn contents of the water samples fell within WHO standard for potable water. However, the study revealed Cd contamination in 100% of the water samples analyzed with a range of 0.005 mg/L to 0.013 mg/L as against the WHO maximum permissible limit of 0.003 mg/L for potable water. The results revealed that the concentrations of Cr in all the samples analyzed ranged between 0.021 and 0.10 mg/L with only 20% of the well water samples analyzed having values above the WHO Cr maximum permissible limit of 0.05 mg/L for potable water. Even though the Zn, Fe and Mn contents of the water samples fell within WHO standard for potable water, adequate treatment is required for all the well water samples before human consumption.