Assessment of Toxicity and Potential Health Risk of Pesticides and Heavy Metals along Bade Stretch of River Yobe, Nigeria
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Many towns in Bade Local Government Area (LGA), northern Nigeria have been designated as “hotspots“ for chronic kidney disease of unknown origin (CKDu). In a bid to unravel this mystery, the present study was conducted to investigate the potential health risks of River Yobe which passes through many towns in the district and serves as the main source of water for domestic and agricultural purposes. The novelty of this work lies in the selection of four towns namely Alagarno, Azbak, Dagona and Gashua which are directly connected to the river for the study. The physicochemical properties of water samples from the river in the four locations were evaluated followed by determination of heavy metal and pesticide concentrations in water, soil, and selected crops (rice and tomatoes) cultivated through irrigation using water from the river. According to the physicochemical analysis, the pH, electrical conductivity, chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand levels of water samples from the four towns were above permissible limits in comparison with World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Specifically, the total dissolved solids found in water samples from Dagona and Alagarno as well as turbidity of water samples from Dagona, Azbak and Gashua were above WHO standards. The concentrations of heavy metals and pesticides in water, soil and crops from the four study locations were above limits set by WHO. These findings indicate that anthropogenic activities including refuse dumps along the riverbank as well as release of untreated municipal effluents, pesticides and fertilizer residues from agricultural practices into the river may be responsible for the pollution reported in this study. Consequently, it is hypothesized that the chronic kidney illness afflicting the people of Bade LGA may be connected to poor quality of water from River Yobe and elevated concentrations of toxic heavy metals and pesticides in the crops.
Abstract
Many towns in Bade Local Government Area (LGA), northern Nigeria have been designated as “hotspots“ for chronic kidney disease of unknown origin (CKDu). In a bid to unravel this mystery, the present study was conducted to investigate the potential health risks of River Yobe which passes through many towns in the district and serves as the main source of water for domestic and agricultural purposes. The novelty of this work lies in the selection of four towns namely Alagarno, Azbak, Dagona and Gashua which are directly connected to the river for the study. The physicochemical properties of water samples from the river in the four locations were evaluated followed by determination of heavy metal and pesticide concentrations in water, soil, and selected crops (rice and tomatoes) cultivated through irrigation using water from the river. According to the physicochemical analysis, the pH, electrical conductivity, chemical oxygen demand and biochemical oxygen demand levels of water samples from the four towns were above permissible limits in comparison with World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Specifically, the total dissolved solids found in water samples from Dagona and Alagarno as well as turbidity of water samples from Dagona, Azbak and Gashua were above WHO standards. The concentrations of heavy metals and pesticides in water, soil and crops from the four study locations were above limits set by WHO. These findings indicate that anthropogenic activities including refuse dumps along the riverbank as well as release of untreated municipal effluents, pesticides and fertilizer residues from agricultural practices into the river may be responsible for the pollution reported in this study. Consequently, it is hypothesized that the chronic kidney illness afflicting the people of Bade LGA may be connected to poor quality of water from River Yobe and elevated concentrations of toxic heavy metals and pesticides in the crops.