Assessment of Dissolved Heavy Metal Pollution in Five Provinces of Zambia

Abstract

Zambia’s economy is hinged on mining activities with Cu being the main metal. Zn and Pb were mined at one point in Kabwe town. There are also known deposits of Co and Mn. The study focused on comparing heavy metal pollution from different regions across Zambia with a view of determining the impact of the stage of social development and economic activities on the environment. The water analysed was obtained near dump sites,farmlands, pit latrines, water reservoirs or dams, major rivers and small streams that traverse Lusaka city and towns in the Copperbelt,and water from several public taps. Analysis revealed that Mn was the largest pollution factor study areas; groundwater both near illegal dumpsites and on-site sanitation facilities did not reveal any severe pollution problems beyond drinking water permissible values (PV). Furthermore, principal component analysis (PCA) and Pearson correlation (r) found a strong correlation between Mn, and the two metals - Cu and Ni at r= 0.632 andr= 0.676 respectively. The other parameters (Cd, Cr, As, Zn & Pb) were not a significant factor in explaining the dissolved metal pollution in Zambia

Acute exposure to environmentally relevant lead levels induces oxidative stress and neurobehavioral alterations in larval zebrafish (Danio rerio)

“…In this study, we investigated the effects of environmentally relevant levels of Pb (as reported in Kabwe town and Zambia (Nachiyunde et al, 2013) on ensuing subcellular oxidative stress responses of the primary antioxidant, pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic genes and locomotor behaviour of larval zebrafish. Acute Pb exposure to larval zebrafish for 30 minutes induced hyperactivity characterised by significant increases in distance covered, swimming speed and mobile frequency as well as increased distance covered and speed under light illumination.…”

“…Samples from domestic animals like cattle, goats, free range chickens and wild rodents within the vicinity of the closed mine had substantial Pb accumulation in their tissues (Nakata et al, 2016;Yabe et al, 2013Yabe et al, , 2011. On the other hand, Pb levels in natural water bodies and ground water drawn from boreholes in the area were found to have the highest concentration of 94 µg/L from a given site with the average concentration of 3 µg/L, well below the Pb permissible values of 50 µg/L by the Zambia Bureau of Standards (Nachiyunde et al, 2013).…”

“…The exposure doses of Pb were prepared from the stock after appropriately diluting with Pb-free embryo media to 3 µg/L, 91 µg/L and 250 µg/L Pb concentrations, respectively. The 3 µg/L was based on the average Pb levels in water and 91 µg/L was estimated based on the maximum Pb sampled nearest to the point source (Nachiyunde et al, 2013) and 250 µg/L was the included as highest level of exposure approximately three times the maximum Pb level in Kabwe water bodies.…”

Urban groundwater quality in sub-Saharan Africa: current status and implications for water security and public health

“…There are only a handful of case studies which have characterised the impacts of waste dumps and industry in urban areas and these are dominated by examples from Nigeria. Examples of contamination from historical mining activity come from Nigeria (Ezekwe et al 2012) and Zambia (Nachiyunde et al 2013a). …”

“…A study by Nachiyunde et al (2013a) included sites from the Copperbelt in Zambia and found overall low contamination levels in groundwaters with no trace elements above WHO drinking-water guideline values. von der Heyden and New (2004) also carried out a detailed study in the Zambian Copperbelt on the impact of mine tailings on groundwater quality.…”