Abstract
Water quality and health risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in <i>P. annectens</i> from freshwaters of Egi, Egbema, and Omoku communities, in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area of Rivers State, Nigeria were examined. The PAHs were checked using gas chromatography coupled with flame ionization detector (GCFID), while the physicochemical parameters were done using standard methods. Summary of the results from the three communities indicates that TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) mean value was 98.1±16.88 mg/l, TSS (Total Suspended Solid) had an average value of 68.5±10.29 mg/l, turbidity and pH had averages of 1.6±0.011 Unit (NTU) and 7.4±1.05 respectively. The concentrations of tPAHs were 4.415±1.34 µg/kg, 4.634±0.59 µg/kg, and 4.859±0.69 µg/kg for Egi, Egbema, and Omoku communities. The major PAHs were Nap, Acn, and BbF. The cancer risk for children was 2.1E-3, 2.3E-3, and 9.5E-5 for Egi, Egbema, and Omoku while that for adults were 7.1E-4, 5.7E-4, and 2.6E-4 for Egi, Egbema, and Omoku respectively. The cPAHs with the most risk index were DbA, BaA, BaP, and BkF respectively. The risk indexes were higher than the USEPA criterion of 10<sup>-6</sup>, indicating contamination of the fish species. It is recommended that monitoring of effluent should be done often and consumption of fish from polluted water sites should be avoided.
Highlights
In the developed world, environmental protection agencies are more active and environmental regulations are followed strictly
It could be concluded from the above findings, that the samples of P.annectens were contaminated by individual PAHs to certain concentrations
These levels could be attributed to human activities which are dominated by oil and gas exploration
Summary
Environmental protection agencies are more active and environmental regulations are followed strictly. If there is any unusual alteration in the environmental or water property, this can be seen and needed attention given to avoid an epidemic. This is quite different in the developing and underdeveloped countries of the world. There is always the release of obnoxious materials to the water bodies from their sources which could contain toxic chemicals; if absorbed by fishes could be transferred to man [6]. The aim of the study is to assess the physicochemical property of freshwater bodies and the health risk due to the presence of PAHs in Lungfish from Egi, Egbema, and Omoku all in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Council of Rivers State, Southern Nigeria
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