Project Abstract

<p> Water samples from ground water and some rivers from Owerri Local Government Area of Imo state Nigeria, were investigated for contaminants and heavy metals. The results obtained showed that in the month of April 2009, the ground water had mean maximum concentration 1.303 mg/dm3 of Pb, 1.048mgldm3 of Pb,1.488mgldm3 of Pb,for Otamiri and Oramiriukwa rivers respectively.For the month of May 2009, the ground water results showed maximum mean concentration 1.016mg/dm3 of Pb,1.069mg/dm3 of Pb, 1.7mg/dm3of Pb and 1.488mg/dm3 of Pb,for Otamiri and Oramiriukwa rivers respectively.The underground waters had mean concentration of 3.636mg/dm3 Cu,which exceeded WHO standard of 3.0mg/dm3 for drinking water.In the month of may Oramiriukwa river had Mn with a maximum mean concentration of 3.334mg/dm3 which exceeded the WHO standard of 2.0mg/dm3. The results showed lead of values 2.852mg/dm3 for the ground waters, 0.255mg/dm3 of lead , 1.045mg/dm3 of Lead and 0.855mg/dm3 of Lead for Otamiri,Nworie and Oramiriukwa rivers respectively. The correlation coefficient matrix for the element of 0.500 was taken to be significant. For the ground waters, Fe2+, Zn2+ were strongly correlated during April/June 2009 periods. The Otamiri river results showed that the heavy element Cu2+, Fe2+, Mn2+ and Zn2+ were strongly correlated in the month of April/May 2009 . The samples from Nworie River had strong correlation for the element Fe2+ Mn2+ and Zn2+ for the period of April/May 2009.Cu2+had strong correlation in the period April/May 2009. Oramiriukwa River had strong correlation for elements Cu2+, Fe2+, Pb2+ and Zn2+ in the period April/May 2009. Pb+ had strong significance in the April/May 2009 period. Mn24+ had very strong correlation in April/May 2009. A histogram chart of the frequency distribution of the heavy metal concentrations in the period,the pollution index of the water bodies were determined using Horton’s rule. The above results indicate that some of these water bodies should not be taken orally without treatment.Nworie river was founded most polluted of all the water bodies, followed by Oramiriukwa river,Otamiri river had mild pollutions, one of the ground water site’s was reported as heavily polluted with the element copper with a concentration of 3.636mg/dm3.It was discovered that none of the water sources investigated met WHO standards for safe water. <br></p>

Project Overview

<p> </p><p>INTRODUCTION<br>Water is an essential raw material for human life and a vital factor to<br>the establishment of industries. Without water no life [1].<br>Water in its natural environment is characterized by impurities. Being a<br>universal solvent, water contains dissolved solids, gases and hosts a number<br>of microorganisms.<br>Hence the quality of water is defined by the level of its physical, chemical and<br>biological impurities. [2]<br>Different sources of water include stream, lakes, ponds, rain, springs<br>and wells. Sources of water in Old Owerri LGA of Imo State include rivers like<br>Otamiri, Nworie and Oramiriukwa; and the underground waters (Boreholes).<br>These rivers and underground waters (boreholes) supply water for the daily<br>activities of the people living along the banks, tributaries and environs. Well<br>asFor example Nworie River discharges intoOtamiri river as a tributary while<br>Oramiriukwa River has a number of streams discharging into it as crossed<br>many communities on its course.<br>Pure, safe and clean water can only exist briefly in nature but is polluted<br>immediately by human activities and environmental factors. Industrial<br>effluents, fertilizers from farm lands, diesel from pleasure boats, are possible<br>pollutants of rivers and thier environ.[3]<br>The use of surface water by man is as old as the existence of human beings.<br>Water is a natural resource, and indispensable to life. Water supplies for<br>human consumption should be adequate and free from bacteria harmful to<br>humans. The quality of river water depends on the quality of the feeding<br>sources which include surface run off water, glaciers, swamp, rain and<br>underground water.<br>Underground water, like springs, boreholes are better quality water<br>2<br>than surface water, such as lakes, rivers, streams, due to the purification of<br>the former prior to distribution. The underground water is rarely polluted by<br>both man and animals [4,5,6].<br>Industrial effluents like toxic chemicals and heavy metals pollute<br>several surface waters. Mercury is one of the heavy metals, in a group that<br>includes lead, cadmium, plutonium and others. A feature the heavy metals<br>have in common is that they tend to accumulate in the bodies of organisms<br>that ingest them, their concentrations increase up the food chain. Some<br>marine algae may contain heavy metals of concentrations of up to one<br>hundred times that of the water in which they are living, small fish eating the<br>algae develop higher concentrations of heavy metals in their flesh, larger<br>fishes who eat the smaller fishes concentrate the metal still further, and so on<br>up to fish eating birds or animals [7]<br>Some non-metallic elements commonly used in industries are also<br>potentially toxic to aquatic lives and to some extent to human beings.<br>Chloride is widely used to kill bacteria in municipal water, sewage treatment<br>plants and to destroy various microorganisms are found in plumbing lines in<br>water works stations. Chlorine can also kill algae and harm fish<br>populations.[8]<br>Acids from industrial operations and acid mine drainages especially in<br>coal and sulphide areas remain serious source of surface and ground water<br>pollutions [9,10]<br>The run-off water from fertilized fields carries some of the fertilizers to<br>rivers. In rivers and lakes the fertilizer provides nutrients that increase the<br>growth of algae. The algae use up the oxygen dissolved in the water, and the<br>lack of oxygen causes the death of fish and other aquatic lives. Phosphates in<br>laundry detergents have the same effect. Hence the use of fertilizers as well<br>3<br>as detergents result in entrophication of water. Pesticides used on crops get<br>into rivers in this way too [10,11] destroying aquatic lives.<br>Urbanization and industrialization develop countries economically but<br>lead to environmental pollution. The main effect of urbanization is increased<br>run-off, which causes increased erosion thereby making the water muddy<br>which is a type of pollution. In addition many new and sometimes toxic<br>chemicals are added to the environment, industrial activities unbalance the<br>natural cycles with harmful substances such as heavy metals [10,12].<br>Many organic compounds occurring naturally and the synthetic ones<br>are widely used as herbicides and pesticides, as well as in a variety of<br>industrial processes. The negative effects in organisms vary with the<br>particular type of compound, some are carcinogenic, toxic directly to humans<br>or other organisms, and make water unpalatable, and some accumulate in<br>organisms as heavy metals. Oil spills are a kind of organic compounds<br>pollution of surface water. Vinyl chloride vapor used in the production of<br>plastics is carcinogenic and it is not known how harmful traces of vinyl<br>chloride in water may be. Laboratory tests conducted on animals revealed<br>that polychlorinated biphenyl’s (PCBs) cause impaired reproduction, stomach<br>and lower alimentary disorders and other problems [10,13].<br>Polluted water may contain pathogens and disease-producing<br>organisms such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, protozoa, parasites and worms<br>which are vectors that carry and spread disease like skin infections,<br>dysentery, diarrhea, typhoid fever, malaria and other related diseases [14,<br>15].<br>Most industrial effluents contain non-biodegradable, toxic and<br>hazardous wastes which bioaccumulate in living organism when consumed.<br>These wastes pose high health risks as well as threatening coastal and<br>estuarine fishes on which most rural populace especially in the riverine areas<br>4<br>depend on for their livelihood. [16,17].<br>The principal causes and sources of pollution in groundwater have<br>been grouped into four categories, namely municipal, industrial, agricultural<br>and miscellaneous [17].<br>Municipal sources – These include sewage leakages, liquid wastes and<br>soil wastes. Industrial sources-include liquid wastes and leakages from tanks<br>and pipelines as well as mining activities and oil field brines. Agriculture<br>produces pollution as a consequence of irrigation return flows, animal wastes,<br>pesticides etc. Under miscellaneous are listed spills and surface discharges,<br>septic tanks and cesspools, roadway deicing, interchange through wells, etc<br>[18].<br>Nitrates are important pollutants of groundwater and indeed of the<br>environment in general. All over the world an increasing input of fertilizers<br>aimed at increasing agricultural output is occurring and concomitantly there is<br>a general deterioration in the quality of both surface water and ground water.<br>Today, in most rivers there is an abnormal increase in nitrogen and<br>phosphorus concentrations. There is evidence of a link between gastric<br>cancer and high nitrate concentration in ingested water [11,19]<br>Such addition of nutritive elements induces entrophication with<br>problems concerning the use of water by human populations. The leaching of<br>nitrate from agricultural land is a great concern to the soil chemist. [5,19].<br>Mining operations produce many ground water pollution problems. The<br>nature of the pollutant depends on the material actually being mined and also<br>on the mining processes. Very important contributors are the coal,<br>phosphate, uranium mines and bodies producing iron, copper, zinc and lead,<br>etc. Since surface and subterranean mines usually extend below the water<br>tables, expansion of mining activities necessitates de-watering. The water so<br>removed is highly mineralized and referred to as acid mine drainage. Acid<br>5<br>mine drainage is characterized by low pH, high iron, aluminum and sulphate<br>contents. Coal accumulations are usually associated with pyrite, which is<br>stable for sub-water table conditions, but oxidizes if the water table is lowered.<br>Oxidation succeeded by contact with water produces iron [III]sulphate and<br>tetraoxosulphate (VI) acid in solution, and of course, if they reach ground<br>water its pH will be reduced and its iron and sulphate contents will increase<br>[2,5].<br>Drainage from waste heaps produced by mining and run-offs contain<br>agricultural and industrial wastes, water flowing through municipal and<br>industrial wastes leaches soluble materials and these become contaminated.<br>Leachate contains poisonous substances and if disposal sites are not<br>carefully managed in other to collect and treat leachate effectively, it can enter<br>the ground water system [19].<br>Other sources of ground water contamination include widely used<br>substances such as highway salt, fertilizers that are spread across the land<br>surface and pesticides. In addition, array of chemicals and industrial<br>materials leak from pipelines, storage tanks, and holding ponds. Among<br>these pollutants are classified as hazardous meaning they are either<br>inflammable, corrosive, explosive or toxic. As rain water percolates through<br>the soil, it carries pollutants to the water table. Here they mix with the ground<br>water and contaminate the supply. Because groundwater movements are<br>usually slow, polluted water may go undetected for a long time [20].<br>Another common source of groundwater pollution is sewage, which<br>emanates from an ever-increasing number of septic tanks. Others are<br>inadequate or broken sewer systems and farm wastes [21,22]<br>Sewage water, which is contaminated with bacteria, enters the<br>groundwater system and gets it polluted. Sewage and manure contain both<br>ammonia and acid, organic forms of nitrogen. Organic nitrogen may be<br>6<br>converted into ammonia in the soil. Nitrate is a problem as a contaminant in<br>drinking water due to its harmful biological effects. High concentration of<br>nitrates causes methamoglobinemia which causes gastric and intestinal<br>cancer [19,23]. Several human activities have indirect or devastating effects<br>on water quality and aquatic environment. Such activities include accidental or<br>unauthorized release of chemical substances, discharge of untreated water or<br>leaching of noxious liquids from solid waste disposal [24-26].<br>A recent work by Yahaya in 2006[27] revealed that the cat fish has<br>been isolated as net accumulators or bio accumulators of pollutants such as<br>zinc, Mn, Cr, Co, Ni, Rb, C, Cd etc. Zinc, an indispensable trace element, is<br>essential for human and fish existence, and is as well regarded as a pollutant<br>in several areas. Compared to the other bio-available metals, it was the<br>second most abundant in the Shell fish . Industries producing pesticides,<br>plastics, chlorine, caustic soda, pulp and paper introduce into the environment<br>(soil, water) heavy metals such as mercury [28,29]. Acid rain breaks rocks,<br>releasing heavy metals into streams, lakes and ground water, by this aquatic<br>environments are heavily contaminated by these heavy metals. Heavy<br>metals can not be degraded bio-chemically in nature. The stability of these<br>metals therefore allows them to be transported to considerable distances by<br>water. As a result of this process, the level of heavy metals in the upper<br>member of the food chain can reach values significantly high to cause health<br>hazards, when such organisms are used as food by man [26]. Some of these<br>heavy metals are clearly in organic form at the time of discharge and do<br>undergo further bio-transformation inside the fish, which render them<br>extremely dangerous. For example mercury exists in zero, [O], plus one,[+],<br>and plus two,[+2], oxidation states.Methyl mercury CH3Hg+ is an important<br>feature of this cycle, particularly with regard to its uptake by fish and humans.<br>Methyl mercury CH3Hg+ is the major mercury species found in fish and about<br>7<br>95% of the mono methyl mercury CH3Hg + eaten is absorbed by human<br>[30,31].<br>Many cities in the developing countries have been developed without<br>adequate and proper planning thus leading to indiscriminate actions including<br>dumping of wastes in and around water, washing and taking baths in rivers<br>etc. The use of rivers varies from one locality to another and so are the<br>involvements, demand for its use accordingly, from fish farming to<br>transportation, laundry and convenient points of waste discharge from both<br>home and industries, to recreation and do serve the domestic needs of the<br>people for water [32].<br>Analysis on the use of whole organisms to evaluate the concentration<br>of heavy metals in lower animals such as fish and crabs gave startling results<br>[27,33].<br>Mining activities have been identified with the exposure of heavy metals that<br>were once buried deep in the heart of the Earth to the surface from where<br>they are easily leached to the nearby soil, rivers, streams and lakes. The<br>toxic metals of lead have been known to bind with the active sites of enzymes,<br>thus preventing the enzyme from carrying out its normal functions. Heavy<br>metals, particularly mercury [Hg], lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) ,are sulphur<br>seeking and easily bind to S-CH3 and S–H (sulphydryl group) in enzymes,<br>protein, thus immobilize the enzyme[34].</p><p>Enzyme<br>S-H<br>S-H<br>Hg + Enzyme<br>S<br>S<br>Immobilized Enzyme<br>Active Enzyme<br>Hg<br>8<br>The immobilized enzyme cannot function and as a consequence the<br>host suffers. Heavy metals are natural components of the environment but<br>are of concern because they are being added to soil, water and atmosphere in<br>increasing amounts, leading to different types of pollution and unfavorable<br>alteration of the environment. The heavy metals have the tendency of being<br>non-biodegradable and to accumulate in living organisms [7].<br>1.1 HEAVY METALS<br>The term heavy metal refers to metallic chemical elements that have<br>relatively high density, toxic or poisonous at low concentration values. They<br>are natural components of the Earth’s crust that can not be degraded or<br>destroyed, which would mainly include the transition metals, some metaloids,<br>lanthanides and actinides. Examples include copper, zinc, selenium, iron,<br>lead, mercury, cadmium and silver etc [35]. Heavy metals are also classified<br>based on density, atomic weight, chemical toxicity in relation to living<br>organisms. An alternative term to heavy metals is ‘toxic metals’ of which no<br>consensus of exact definition exists [36]. Some of these metals such as<br>cobalt, chromium, copper, manganese, molybdenum and zinc are not left out<br>of the list of heavy metals [37]. Heavy metals may also be classified as “trace<br>elements” because they occur in concentrations of less than 1% (frequently<br>below 0.01% or 100mg/1kg) in rocks of the earth’s crust [38]. The trace<br>elements or heavy metals often called micronutrients such as zinc, copper<br>and manganese are useful to crops, while cobalt, manganese, copper and<br>zinc are to live stock [39].. These metals that can not be bio-degraded<br>chemically in nature include cobalt, zinc, manganese, magnesium, copper,<br>lead, nickel, cadmium and mercury [7], [40], [41],[42]. These toxic metals get<br>9<br>incorporated into the plant eduring the growth of the parent plant and remain<br>undegraded. Some heavy metals when present at high concentrations lead to<br>poisoning and these include lead, zinc, cadmium, mercury, nickel, copper etc.<br>The requirement, doses and tolerance levels of essential or trace elements<br>are decided on the basis of effects on growth, health, fertility and other<br>relevant criteria [13], [43].<br>In medicine and chemistry, heavy metals are defined and include all toxic<br>metals, irrespective of their atomic weights, members of the group VI, VII, VIII,<br>IX and X elements of the transition series of the periodic group [44] inclusive.<br>1.2 BENEFICIAL HEAVY METALS<br>Zinc [Zn] in the form of organo-zinc compounds is used in the<br>preparation of the organo metallic compounds, alkyl Zinc halides, RZnX; Zinc<br>alkyls, ZnR2.;[37].<br>Zinc is an essential component of about a hundred enzymes in total. This<br>number is smaller in vertebrates. In plants, zinc concentration levels are about<br>25-150mg/kg. At concentrations in excess of 400mg/kg it is toxic.<br>Zinc deficiency in man leads to dwarfism, reduced rates of blood clotting<br>and wound healing, skin abnormalities and other problems [13].<br>Lead [Pb] .The two major uses of lead are lead-acid storage batteries,<br>particularly for motor vehicles and as lead alkyl components added to petrol<br>such as tetramethyl lead used as anti-knock. From the ancient civilizations up<br>to the 1950’s, lead pipes were used for distribution of water in pipes in the<br>United Kingdom and other countries.<br>10<br>Mercury [Hg] is the only metal that is liquid at atmospheric . It is used<br>extensively in the manufacture of sodium hydroxide, chlorine, barometers and<br>thermometers. Dimethyl mercury is used in the dental industry.</p><p>1.3 HARMFUL HEAVY METAL<br>The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defined heavy metals as<br>harzadous substances, which on slight exposure can endanger human health.<br>Examples include mercury, cadmium, chromium, zinc, lead, nickel, copper,<br>iron, arsenic and selenium. Some of these metals exhibit extreme toxicity<br>even at low levels under certain conditions [45].<br>The presence of calcium and magnesium ions in water cause hardness.<br>This hardness provides protection possibly by preventing dissolution of lead<br>and calcium from water pipes as both metals can produce high blood<br>pressure, one of the precursors to heart attacks.<br>Lead binds strongly to a large number of molecules such as amino acids,<br>haemoglobin, many enzymes, ribonucleic acid, [RNA] and deoxyribonucleic<br>acid, [DNA]. It thus disrupts many metabolic path-ways. The effect of lead<br>toxicity is very wide and includes impaired blood synthesis, hypertension,<br>hyperactivity and brain damage [13].<br>The exhaust fumes from motor vehicles increase atmospheric lead levels<br>by factors of 20 (much more in urban areas). Further, the subsequent<br>contamination of soil and crop increases the amount of lead in food. The<br>average rate of absorption of dietary lead is about 5%, but about 40% of the<br>fine particulate lead retained in the lungs is absorbed, two thirds of the<br>11<br>absorption from the diet while one third comes from atmosphere. Again in<br>addition, lead intake is increased by about 5% for every 20 cigarettes smoked<br>per day. The absorbed lead enters the blood stream where over 95% is bound<br>to the red blood cells with a mean residence time of 1 month, [31.44]<br>Vanadium levels in the environment are rising as a consequence of the<br>burning of vanadium-containing fossil fuels and its mining and processing in<br>order to meet the growing needs for the metal in industry. Both acute and<br>chronic effects of occupational exposure to vanadium compounds are<br>manifested in the respiratory tract by irritation, including bronchitis and<br>pneumonia. Beryllium is a powerful phosphate inhibitor and strontium is a<br>competitor for calcium in the bone [31].<br>The toxic effects of cadmium received wide spread attention when some<br>Japanese developed Itai-Itai (“ouch ouch” disease. The main target organ for<br>cadmium are the kidney and liver, with critical effects occurring when a<br>concentration of 200. g /dm3 Cd(net weight) is reached in the kidney cortex.<br>The closeness between actual intake and suggested maximum is one of the<br>reasons for the concern over cadmium levels in soil, water and food. Smokers<br>are especially at risk because of the cadmium content of tobacco. Smoking 20<br>cigarettes per day corresponds to an oral intake of 40µgCd from food [44].<br>The target organ of organic mercury (methyl mercury [HgCH3), in<br>humans is the brain, where it disrupts the blood balance, upsetting the<br>metabolism of the nervous system. The main toxic effects of inorganic<br>mercury are that it tends to disrupt the functions of the kidney and liver.<br>Compared with the inorganic mercury, methyl mercury can much more easily<br>cross the placenta and affect the foetus. [34]<br>12<br>Since the industrial revolution, industrial and mining operations have<br>been accompanied by problems like industrial waste which may be toxic,<br>ignitable, corrosive or reactive. These wastes if not properly managed pose<br>dangerous health and environmental consequences. The introduction of<br>computers, drugs, textiles, paints and dyes, plastics-also brought hazardous<br>wastes which include toxic chemicals into the environment.[46,47]<br>Before substantial state and federal regulations began in 1970s, most<br>industrial wastes were disposed off in landfills, stored in surface<br>impoundments such as lagoons or pits, discharged into surface waters with<br>little or no treatment. Improper management of industrial as well as hazardous<br>waste has resulted in polluted groundwater, streams, lakes and rivers as well<br>as damage to wildlife and vegetation. Meanwhile, high levels of toxic<br>contaminations have been found in animals and human, particularly those like<br>firm workers, oil and gas workers, who are continually exposed to such waste<br>streams. [47]<br>Any waste that exhibits one or more of the following characteristics on<br>subjection to certain tests like ignitability, corrodibility, reactivity, toxicity is<br>hazardous.<br>1.4 HAZARDOUS WASTE<br>The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that a solid waste is<br>hazardous if it is generated from specific industries such as refining, wood<br>preserving and secondary lead smelting, as well as sludges and production<br>processes.<br>The waste is classified hazardous if it is generated from common<br>manufacturing and industrial processes, including spent solvents, degreasing<br>13<br>operations, leachate from landfills and ink formulation wastes. Chemical<br>products such as pesticides and other commercial chemicals enter the<br>environment terminating in the water bodies (surface or underground). [47]<br>Hazardous wastes may result from manufacturing or other industrial<br>processes such as cleaning fluid, aerosols, paints or pesticides discarded by<br>commercial establishments or individuals.<br>The hazardous wastes which can get to the water bodies include<br>chemicals such as acids, bases, reactive waste, wastewater containing<br>organic solvents, heavy metal solutions, and solvents, ink sludges containing<br>benzene and other hydrocarbons, sludges from refining process from the<br>petroleum refining industries and heavy metals from paper industry and<br>leather products manufacturing.<br>The water bodies are seriously contaminated on taking their natural<br>course through the urban cities where metal manufacturing industries produce<br>heavy metals, cyanide and paints waste are in operation. These industries<br>discharge their effluents on the environment subsequently leading to<br>underground water contamination. [48][49]<br>1.5 NON- HAZARDOUS INDUSTRIAL WASTES<br>Some wastes are classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as<br>non- hazardous. These contain specific toxic chemical constituents which<br>exceed the regulated concentration levels, but not enough to be considered<br>hazardous. These are liquids which are ignitable at temperatures above<br>65.56oc.<br>Some solids which combine with water and exhibit corrosive properties<br>might be hazardous and some empty containers which held hazardous<br>14<br>substances are toxic unless the residue has been completely removed<br>through certain processes.[46]<br>These heavy chemicals and metals produced by manufacturing<br>industries have been the main cause of the alterations of the quality of the<br>surface and underground water bodies. In places where these heavy<br>chemicals and metals are produced, the concentrations of these contaminants<br>have been found to be very high on the soil, surface and underground water<br>bodies. The inhabitants of these environments consequently became the<br>endangered species. Cases of kidney failures, liver problems, blood<br>infections, heart failures, and extinction of aquatic organisms are common<br>hazards.[46,47]<br>The World Health Organization (WHO) stipulated respective minimum<br>standard concentrations for these elements as numbers that will be present in<br>the water bodies before they can be considered safe for use.<br>1.6 JUSTIFICATION FOR THE STUDY<br>It is on record that a lot of work have been done on many African rivers<br>by World known scientists. Obodo analysed the River Niger in 2001 and in<br>2002 Obodo again worked on some rivers in Imo State which included five<br>major rivers (Imo, Otamiri, Nworie, Aba and Mba). Egereonu in 1999 carried<br>out analysis on the nitrate level in the River Niger. Emezie and Durugbo in<br>1980 also took their toil in carrying out analysis on Rivers in Imo State and<br>Nigeria.<br>In 2004, Egeronu determined the nitrate levels of rivers Nworie and<br>Otamiri and the laboratory studies of groundwater in Owerri and environs for<br>corrosion and environmental studies. In 1986, an unpublished B.Sc thesis by<br>15<br>Uwume studied the pollution levels of some selected natural rivers in Imo<br>State like Imo, Urashi and Mbaa.<br>K,With these reports it is clear that an aggregate has not been arrived at<br>that took a wholesome analyses of the water bodies/resources in Owerri Local<br>Government as assembled in this project hence the need to carry out this<br>work.<br>1.7 AIM OF THE STUDY<br>i. A pollution watch of the underground and surface water<br>contaminants in old Owerri Local Government Area of Imo State.<br>This entails sampling and analyzing ground water for quality<br>investigation of water which might be contributing to pollution.<br>ii. To establish, where possible, a relationship between the pollution<br>indices of the water bodies and the pollutants in the area of study.<br>iii. Utilization of the information realized in controlling future<br>contaminations of the environment by the pollutants.<br>iv. To design a possible scientific and effective control measure to<br>remove contaminations in these areas. [17]<br>1.8 SCOPE OF THE STUDY<br>The analysis was carried out on five underground and three surface<br>water bodies. The samples were collected from the water bodies weekly<br>within the months of April through May to June 2009. The surface water<br>bodies visited were Otamiri River at the banks of Emmanuel College Bridge<br>head, Umumbazor Nekede Bridge head, FUTO Ihiagwa Bridge head. Nworie<br>River at the banks of Akanchawa Bridge head, at the Amakohia New road<br>Bridge Head and Ware house Bridge head. Oramiriukwa River at the<br>Nkwoemeke, Ogbeke-Amaeze Obibi and Okolochi river banks. The<br>16<br>underground water (bore holes) were taken from the catchment areas of the<br>surface water at Amakohia, Akwakuma, Emekuku, Ihiagwa, Amaeze and<br>Okolochi.</p><p>1.9 STATISTICAL INSTRUMENT OF ANALYSIS<br>(i) Histogram: This is the chat of a frequency distribution represented in<br>diagrams, graphs; values of variables are scaled along the x-axis[abscissa]<br>and the frequency along the y-axis[ordinate] [50].<br>(ii) Spearman’s correlation co-efficient equation<br>For R, we define R = 1-6∑d2/n (n2-1) [51]<br>Where, d = difference in each pair of ranks<br>n = Number of objects being ranked<br>R = Defined in such a way that when<br>The ranks are in perfect agreement<br>R equals +1 and when in perfect<br>Disagreement R equals -1<br>(iii) Pollution Index<br>The overall pollution index of a water body as developed by Horton<br>can be evaluated by using the multiple items of water qualities and<br>the permissible level of the respective item for use.<br>Horton pollution index equation Pij = (maxCi/Lij)2 + (mean C1/Lij)2<br>2<br>If Pij is the pollution index then<br>Pij = F {Ci/Lij, C2/L2j, C3/L3j ………. Ci/Lij}<br>The following contaminant items were recommended for the index<br>discussion and computation. For example, temperature, PH, total dissolved<br>17<br>solids, total suspended solids, hardness, alkalinity, nitrate, chloride, sulphate<br>ions, acidity and heavy metals etc [52].</p><p>1.10 ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROPHOTOMETRY<br>1.10.1 Principles of Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer<br>In practice a solution of the element is sprayed into a relatively cool<br>flame in which the atom tends to remain in the ground state. Radiation of a<br>characteristic wavelength from a hallow cathode discharge lamp is passed<br>through the flame and the decrease in intensity is measured using a<br>monochromator and detector systems. The decrease is related to the<br>concentration of the element in solution.<br>Instrumentation: The Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS)<br>instruments are basically instruments with a burner compartment instead of a<br>cell (for the sample). They consist of a source of radiation burners plus<br>sample compartment, monochromator and a detector and recorder.<br>Radiation source is a hollow cathode lamp. This contains substantial<br>proportions of the element to be analyzed. The radiation produced correspond<br>to the emission spectrum of that element and so the required line may be<br>readily isolated by the monochromator.<br>Individual hollow cathode lamps are available for large number of elements.<br>Techniques: Hollow cathode lamps must be run at their specified currents.<br>Too low a current may give insufficient sensitivity, but too high a current will<br>shorten the life of the lamp. The position of the lamp in relation to the flame is<br>critical and should be checked periodically.<br>In general, the design and the condition for using Nebulizer burner and<br>detection system are very similar to that discussed under flame emission.<br>18<br>After the elimination of flame and nebulizer interferences the most important<br>causes of error in AAS are:<br>1) Nebulizer blockage<br>2) Changes in air and flow rate<br>3) Very low acetylene cylinder pressure.<br>4) Hollow cathode lamp drift. The input of the hollow cathode lamp tends<br>to drift producing a gradual shift of the zero standard range. Note:<br>frequent checking and control is necessary.<br>5) Changes in burner heights are difficult to monitor accurately [53-55].</p><p>Sample<br>Atomizer<br>Final Supply<br>Pressure regulator<br>Optical system<br>Detector Recorder<br>Fig 1: Block diagram of Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer</p> <br><p></p>