Water samples, sediments, tilapia and cat fishes from each of Epe and Badagry lagoons in Lagos State, Nigeria were analyzed quantitatively for the presence of zinc, nickel and iron using Perking Elmer atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The sediment contains higher concentration of Fe with a value of 13.30 µg/g against 8.400 µg/g in fishes and 7.30 mg/L in water. Studies on the different parts of the fish revealed higher concentrations of 4.00 µg/g Ni on the head of tilapia fish followed by 2.40 µg/g Ni in the intestine of cat fish. The highest concentration of 1.95 µg/g Zn was detected on the head of the cat fish while the lowest concentration with a value of 0.16 µg/g was recorded in tilapia head. The concentration of Zn in the water is within the limits permitted by the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) of 1.0 mg/L Zn set for water. None of the trace metals investigated was above the maximum permissible level set by world health organization ( WHO).

a b s t r a c tPhthalate esters have been known as potent endocrine disruptors and carcinogens; and their removal from water have been of considerable concern recently. In the present study, ␥-cyclodextrin polyurethane polymer (GPP), ␥-cyclodextrin/starch polyurethane copolymer (GSP), and starch polyurethane polymer (SPP) have been synthesized and characterized. Their adsorption efficiencies for the removal of dimethyl phthalate (DMP) and diethyl phthalate (DEP) from aqueous solutions were investigated. The characterization results showed the success of the synthesis. The isotherms were L-type, and both the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm gave good fittings to the adsorption data. Adsorption mechanisms suggested that these adsorbents spontaneously adsorb phthalate molecules driven mainly by enthalpy change, and the adsorption process was attributed to multiple adsorbent-adsorbate interactions such as hydrogen bonding, -stacking, and pore filling. The results showed that starch and ␥-cyclodextrin polyurethane polymer adsorbents have excellent potential as adsorbent materials for the removal of phthalates from the contaminated water.

National estimates of the health and economic burdens of exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) in India reveal substantial impacts. This information, often lacking at the local level, can justify and drive mitigation interventions. Here, we assess the health and economic gains resulting from attainment of WHO guidelines for PM 2.5 concentrations -including interim target 2 (IT-2), interim target 3 (IT-3), and the WHO air quality guideline (AQG) -in Nagpur district to inform policy decision making for mitigation. We conducted a detailed assessment of concentrations of PM 2.5 in 9 areas, covering urban, peri-urban and rural environments, from February 2013 to June 2014. We used a combination of hazard and survival analyses based on the life table method to calculate attributed annual number of premature deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for five health outcomes linked to PM 2.5 exposure: acute lower respiratory infection for children b 5 years, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke and lung cancer in adults ≥25 years. We used GBD 2013 data on deaths and DALYs for these diseases. We calculated averted deaths, DALYs and economic loss resulting from planned reductions in average PM 2.5 concentration from current level to IT-2, IT-3 and AQG by the years 2023, 2033 and 2043, respectively. The economic cost for premature mortality was estimated as the product of attributed deaths and value of statistical life for India, while morbidity was assumed to be 10% of the mortality cost. The annual average PM 2.5 concentration in Nagpur district is 34 ± 17 μg m −3 and results in 3.3 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.6, 4.2) thousand premature deaths and 91 (95% CI: 68, 116) thousand DALYs in 2013 with economic loss of USD 2.2 (95% CI: 1.7, 2.8) billion in that year. It is estimated that interventions that achieve IT-2, IT-3 and AQG by 2023, 2033 and 2043 and 36%, of the attributed health and economic loss in those years, translating into an impressively large health and economic gain. To achieve this, we recommend an exposure-integrated source reduction approach.

Leachates from Aperin dumpsite and control site in Ibadan city, were analysed for physicochemical properties and heavy metals levels. These parameters were compared with control samples and established international standards (FEPA) and (WHO). The dumpsite leachates contained very high concentration of TDS (2436±1035 mg/L) and significant concentrations of COD (395±135 mg/L), BOD (170±33 mg/L), Alkalinity (1157±995 mg/L), Cl-(943±175 mg/L), NO3-(0.66±0.22 mg/L) PO4-(1.98±0.89 mg/L). High concentrations of Iron, Manganese, Copper, Zinc, Nickel, Cadmium and Lead were also observed. All, the parameters were above control and exceeded FEPA and WHO guidelines. The study revealed that this dumpsite is a major polluting source in the surrounding environment. This underlines the need for appropriate government agency Oyo State, Nigeria to initiate an active remediation process such as phytoremediation in combination with physicochemical methods to recover the dumpsite from contaminants and reduce the level of pollution in the surrounding environment.

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Global burden of disease estimates reveal that people in Nigeria are living shorter lifespan than the regional or global average life expectancy. Ambient air pollution is a top risk factor responsible for the reduced longevity. But, the magnitude of the loss or the gains in longevity accruing from the pollution reductions, which are capable of driving mitigation interventions in Nigeria, remain unknown. Thus, we estimate the loss, and the gains in longevity resulting from ambient PM pollution reductions at the local sub-national level using life table approach. Surface average PM concentration datasets covering Nigeria with spatial resolution of ∼1 km were obtained from the global gridded concentration fields, and combined with ∼1 km gridded population of the world (GPWv4), and global administrative unit layers (GAUL) for territorial boundaries classification. We estimate the loss or gains in longevity using population-weighted average pollution level and baseline mortality data for cardiopulmonary disease and lung cancer in adults ≥25 years and for respiratory infection in children under 5. As at 2015, there are six "highly polluted", thirty "polluted" and one "moderately polluted" States in Nigeria. People residing in these States lose ∼3.8-4.0, 3.0-3.6 and 2.7 years of life expectancy, respectively, due to the pollution exposure. But, assuming interventions achieve global air quality guideline of 10 μg/m, longevity would increase by 2.6-2.9, 1.9-2.5 and 1.6 years for people in the State-categories, respectively. The longevity gains are indeed high, but to achieve them, mitigation interventions should target emission sources having the highest population exposures.

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The radionuclide contents in waste products and physico-chemical characterization of effluent samples from some selected industries in the city of Lagos were carried out. The radioactivity concentration levels due to 40 228 Th it ranged between 14 ± 2 Bq kg -1 and 73 ± 10 Bq kg -1 . No artificial radioactive elements were detected in any of the samples. The average outdoor effective dose rate due to gamma exposure from these waste materials in the city was calculated as 0.12 mSv y -1 . This is far less than 1 mSv y -1 recommended limit for the member of the public by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). The pH of the effluent samples was slightly alkaline, while the electrical conductivity ranged between 275 and 455 µS cm -1 and total suspended solids ranged from 104 to 5616 mg l -1 . All these ranges and those of biochemical and chemical oxygen demand values were all higher than the prescribed limits. Presence of heavy metals in the effluent samples was however lower than prescribed with the exception of iron. Keywords