Journal: Environmental Contaminants Reviews (ECR)
Author: Abubakar, A.U., Saeed, M.D, Habib, D.W

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Doi:10.26480/ecr.01.2024.18.22

ABSTRACT

Boreholes have traditionally been one of the sustainable water sources for domestic use. However, in Kano state, Nigeria, some of these boreholes have been drilled close to soak ways or pit latrines without considering the possibility of water contamination. This research was carried out to assess some heavy metals in borehole water samples drilled near public conveniences in Kano, Nigeria. To achieve this, 31 samples were randomly collected from different sampling sites and analyzed for heavy metal content. Heavy metals were analyzed using an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (Agilent 200 series Model No. 240 FS) and their concentrations were found to be in the range; For Fe (0.028±0.004-2.001±0.001 mg/L), Zn (0.019±0.002-0.138±0.015 mg/L), Pb (0.004± 0.000-0.057±0.002 mg/L), Cd (0.001±0.000-0.013±0.001 mg/L), while, most of the sampling sites had Fe levels to be within the WHO permissible limit with the exception of two sampling sites that exceed the WHO permissible limit, Zn was found to be within the maximum Permissible limit set by WHO ( 2020). Similarly, Cd and Pb were found to exceed the maximum permissible limit set by the WHO (2020) at most of the sampling sites analyzed. Analysis of variance showed a significant difference (P <0.05) for all of the metals analyzed. It can be concluded that most of the analyzed borehole water is not safe for drinking and other purposes because its metal concentration exceeded the maximum permissible limit set by WHO. As a result, people should be aware of the dangers associated with the presence of these heavy metals in borehole water.

KEYWORDS
Boreholes, Kano, Cadmium, Lead, Zinc and Iron