Assessment of concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in vegetables from farms in Accra, Ghana.

Ingestion of leafy vegetables is an important dietary component of most Africans due to its health benefits. High levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the leafy vegetables may pose a significant health hazard to the consumers. Rose/Hibiscus, Chinese cabbage, lettuce, and garden egg leaves from farms along the Nima Creek, Accra, were selected.

Review of the analysis of insecticide residues and their levels in different matrices in Ghana.

This review reports on how Ghanaian scientists analyse insecticide residues in various matrices in their laboratories as well as the levels of insecticides found in Ghana. It covers different sample preparation methods such as solid-liquid and liquid-liquid extraction. The main technique used for this analysis was gas chromatography (GC) with various detectors such as electron capture, flame photometric, nitrogen phosphorus, and mass spectrometric detection.

Exposure to toxicants in soil and bottom ash deposits in Agbogbloshie, Ghana: human health risk assessment.

Recycling of e-waste using informal or crude techniques poses serious health risk not only to the workers but also to the environment as whole. It is against this background that this paper sought to measure health risk faced by informal e-waste workers from exposure to toxicants such as lead, cadmium, chromium, copper, arsenic, tin, zinc and cobalt via oral and dermal contact with bottom ash and soil. Using random sampling techniques, 3 separate sites each (where burning and manual dismantling of e-wastes are usually carried) were identified, and a total of 402 samples were collected.

Variation and distribution of metals and metalloids in soil/ash mixtures from Agbogbloshie e-waste recycling site in Accra, Ghana.

Illegal import and improper recycling of electronic waste (e-waste) are an environmental issue in developing countries around the world. African countries are no exception to this problem and the Agbogbloshie market in Accra, Ghana is a well-known e-waste recycling site. We have studied the levels of metal(loid)s in the mixtures of residual ash, formed by the burning of e-waste, and the cover soil, obtained using a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (P-XRF) coupled with determination of the 1M HCl-extractable fraction by an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer.

Human exposure to PCBs, PBDEs and HBCDs in Ghana: Temporal variation, sources of exposure and estimation of daily intakes by infants.

Human exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) was evaluated in Ghana using breast milk samples collected in 2004 and 2009. Mean levels and ranges of PBDEs (4.5; 0.

Levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Densu River Basin of Ghana.

The concentrations of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Densu River Basin in Ghana were measured using gas chromatograph. Surface water samples were collected from nine stations, namely, Potroase, Koforidua Intake, Suhyien, Mangoase, Asuboi, Nsawam Bridge, Afuaman, Ashalaga, and Weija Intake in the Densu Basin. Total PAH concentrations varied from 13.

Water quality characteristics of Densu River basin in south-east Ghana.

Water quality of the Densu River was studied by determining the levels of various physico-chemical parameters including trace metals for planning of the basin. The pH range (7.40-8.

Contamination status of arsenic and other trace elements in drinking water and residents from Tarkwa, a historic mining township in Ghana.

This study was conducted to assess the contamination status of 22 trace elements, especially As in water and residents in Tarkwa, a historic mining town in Ghana. Drinking water and human urine samples were collected from Tarkwa in addition to control samples taken from Accra, the capital of Ghana in March, 2004. Concentrations of As and Mn in some drinking water samples from Tarkwa were found above the WHO drinking water guidelines posing a potential health risk for the people.

Evaluation of cycling patterns of dissolved oxygen in a tropical lake as an indicator of biodegradable organic pollution.

Dissolved oxygen cycling patterns in a tropical lake (Weija Lake) were shown to be useful as a potential indicator of biodegradable organic pollution, by dosing with liquid malt to give an additional organic burden of 2.5 and 5.0 mg l-1 TOC, and monitoring the DO values continuously for 140 h.

Natural fluoride and trace metal levels of ground and surface waters in the greater Accra region of Ghana.

In a study of levels of fluoride and trace metals in ten different stations of both surface and groundwaters in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana, groundwaters were found to have lower pH than surface water, resulting in groundwaters having higher concentrations of dissolved ions. Groundwaters had higher fluoride levels than surface waters. The correlation coefficient for fluoride on total alkalinity and for fluoride on sodium were 0.