Investigating the current trend of selected heavy metal pollution with possible ecological and human health effects along the uMgeni River of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study aims to evaluate the concentrations, water quality analysis and health risk assessment of metals contained in water, soil and sediment samples along the uMgeni River, Durban, South Africa. Eleven heavy metals were studied and analysed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES). The concentrations of the heavy metal in water samples were in the order of As > Mn > Cd > Cr > Mo > Zn > Cu > Co > Ag > Ni with Pb not been detected in the water samples. All the heavy metals were found to be higher than the tolerable limits for safe drinking water as provided by the WHO and USEPA except for the Zn and Pb which were lower. The water quality index, heavy metal environmental index, and heavy metal toxicity index revealed that the quality of the water is poor and unfit for both domestic and irrigation uses. Similarly, the health risk assessment revealed that both carcinogenic-non-carcinogenic risk values for the heavy metals were higher than the threshold values provided by the USEPA and were more prevalent for children than adults.