Assessment of health risks associated with contaminants in groundwater in the catchment area of selected dumpsites in Abuja north central Nigeria

Abstract

The human health risk assessment associated with heavy metals contained in sources of drinking water within the catchment area of some dumpsites in FCT Abuja were carried out. Surface and groundwater samples collected within the catchment area of the selected dumpsites were subjected to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in order to obtain the required analytes for the assessment. Parameters like Hazard Quotient (HQ), Hazard Index (HI) and Carcinogenic Risk Index (CR) that are needed for the assessment were computed. HQ and HI were computed for non-carcinogenic risk assessment while (CR) was computed for carcinogenic risk assessment. The estimated HI for adults via ingestion across all the investigated dumpsites, ranges from 2.38 to 11.6 which is considered unacceptable. The estimated HI value for adults via dermal absorption across all the investigated dumpsites, ranges from 0.026 to 0.07, which is interpreted to be acceptable. The estimated HI for children via ingestion across all the investigated dumpsites, ranges from 8.051 to 29.868, which is interpreted to be unacceptable. The estimated HI value for Children via dermal absorption across all the investigated dumpsites, ranges from 0.3820 to 1.237 in which about 80% are considered acceptable. The CR ranges from 0.0021 to 0.0109 and 0.004940 to 0.026 for adults and children respectively. This results according to USEPA indicate that both children and adults taking the investigated water via ingestion, are at high risk of contracting cancer.