assessment of the impact of solid waste dumpsites on some surface water systems in the accra metropolitan area, ghana评估固体废物垃圾的影响在一些地表水系统在阿克拉市区,加纳.pdfVIP

Journal of Water Resource and Protection, 2012, 4, 605-615 /10.4236/jwarp.2012.48070 Published Online August 2012 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/jwarp) Assessment of the Impact of Solid Waste Dumpsites on Some Surface Water Systems in the Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana 1 2 3 Vincent Kodzo Nartey , Ebenezer Kofi Hayford , Smile Kwami Ametsi 1Department of Chemistry, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana 2Department of Earth Science, Faculty of Science, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana 3Environmental Science Programme, Faculty of Science, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana Email: vknartey@.gh Received April 25, 2012; revised May 28, 2012; accepted June 7, 2012 ABSTRACT Water samples from four water bodies that flow through some solid waste dump sites in the Accra metropolitan area of Ghana were analysed over a period of six months for Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn and Mn contents; coliform bacteria and helminth eggs. Other water quality parameters such as BOD, DO, suspended solids and turbidity were also assessed. Cd, Pb, Zn, Mn, and Cu were determined using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Faecal coliforms, total coliforms and helminth eggs were determined by the membrane filtration (MF) method. The water samples contain various levels of Cd, Pb and Mn; Zn and Cu levels were low and found to be below the detection levels of the instrument in most cases. Helminth egg counts in water samples were high; an indication that the water bodies were polluted with patho- gens. It has been observed that the major sources of pollutants into the water bodies were organic waste as well as coli- form b