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Municipal landfill leachates are a source of toxic heavy metals that have been shown to have a detrimental effect on human health and the environment. This study aimed to assess heavy metal contamination in leachates, surface water, and sediments from non-sanitary landfills in Uyo, Nigeria, and to identify potential health and environmental effects of leachate contamination. Over the wet and dry seasons, surface water and sediment samples were collected from an impacted freshwater ecosystem, and leachates samples from six monitoring wells. Elemental analyses of samples were conducted following standard analytical procedures and methods. The results indicated that leachate, surface water, and sediment samples all had elevated levels of heavy metals, implying a significant impact from landfills. Pollution indices such as the potential ecological risk index (PERI), pollution load index (PLI), degree of contamination (Cd), modified degree of contamination (mCd), enrichment factor (EF), geoaccumulation index (Igeo), and Nemerov pollution index (NPI) were used to assess the ecological impacts of landfill leachates. The following values were derived: PERI (29.09), PLI (1.96E-07), Cd (0.13), mCd (0.16), EF (0.97–1.79E-03), Igeo (0), and NPI (0.74). Pollution indicators suggested that the sediment samples were low to moderately polluted by chemical contaminants from the non-sanitary landfills, and may pose negative risks due to bioaccumulation. Human health risks were also assessed using standard risk models. For adults, children, and kids, the incremental lifetime cancer rate (ILCR) values were within the acceptable range of 1.00E-06–1.00E-04. The lifetime carcinogenicity risks associated with oral ingestion exposure to heavy metals were 9.09E-05, 1.21E-05, and 3.60 E-05 for kids, adults, and children, respectively. The mean cumulative risk values for dermal exposures were 3.24E-07, 1.89E-06, and 1.17E-05 for adults, children, and kids, respectively. These findings emphasized the risks of human and biota exposure to contaminants from landfills.

Introduction: Presence of enteric pathogens in humans has been described as one of the most common challenges of developing countries. Materials and Methods: Stool samples were collected from 540 randomly selected workers in the hospitality industry in Etim-Ekpo and were subjected to microscopic and bacteriological examination to detect asymptomatic carriers of enteric pathogens. A structured questionnaire was used to collect additional data from the subjects. Each of these subjects aged between 18 and 56 years, gave informed oral consent before samples were collected. Results: The results show presence of the following enteric bacterial pathogens: Salmonella sp, Shigella sp, Escherichia coli, Citrobacter sp and Campylobacter sp. Intestinal parasites detected were ova of Ascaris lumbricoides, Hookworm, Taenia sp and Trichuris trichuria, cysts of Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia. The distribution of the enteric pathogens was

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Commercial activities in urban cities in the world have contributed to the development of the society and at the same time impact negatively on the environment. This study investigated the influence of some commercial centres namely: Akpanadem Market, Uyo Plaza, Itam Market and Itam Abattoir in Uyo Metropolis to ascertain their air quality based on the activities carried out at each location. The levels of NO2, SO2, H2S, CO, Cl2, NH3, HCN, CH2O, TVOCs, PM2.5, and PM10 were monitored at the studied locations using standard instruments. Results obtained revealed that the mean concentrations of all the air pollutants determined except SO2 were above their recommended limits by Federal Environmental and Protection Agency (FEPA). It was also observed that, activities at Itam abattoir released the highest levels of these air pollutants. The dumping of organic wastes in markets, cigarette smoking, emissions from generators and vehicles, use of condemned tyres and petroleum products were the major sources of these pollutants at the studied locations. The multivariate analysis revealed the anthropogenic source as the major route for the release of these pollutants into the air environment. Air quality index analysis showed that if human beings are exposed to the levels of these air pollutants at all the locations for a long time, they can affect both the sensitive to non-sensitive groups adversely. The results of this study should be used for the proper planning and management of these commercial centres by the concerned agencies.

The study was conducted to assess the reproductive biology and condition index of Pseudotolithus typus in Qua Iboe Estuary using standard methods. A total of 580 fish specimen were sampled over a period of 8 months (January – August, 2018). Condition index was generally low with the highest value of 1.03 recorded in the month of April. The overall mean condition index significantly deviated (p<0.05) from the expected value of 1.0. Male-female ratio of the species showed female dominance. Significant variation (p<0.05) were observed in condition and gonadosomatic indices with peak values in the months of March and July for females. Male fish showed no seasonality in gonadosomatic index. The average fecundity ranged from 2140 eggs to 8560 eggs with mean value of 4891±641 eggs. Positive correlation was observed between fecundity and total length, body weight, standard length and gonad weight of the fish. Thus, it could be concluded that P. typus is a dual seasonal spawner having spawning periods early in the year (March) and in the peak of wet season (July). Keywords: Pseudotolithus typus, condition index, gonadosomatic index, fecundity, estuary.