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Assessment of Dissolved Heavymetal Pollution in Five Provinces of Zambia

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Assessment of Dissolved Heavymetal Pollution in Five Provinces of Zambia Journal of Environmental Protection, 2013, 4, 80-85 doi:10.4236/jep.2013.41b015 Published Online January 2013 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/jep) Assessment of Dissolved Heavymetal Pollution in Five Provinces of Zambia Kabunga Nachiyunde1, Hideo Ikeda1, Tetsuji Okuda2, Wataru Nishijima2 1Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation, Hiroshima University, Kagamiyama, Higashihiroshima, Hiroshi- ma, Japan; 2Environmental Research and Management Centre, Hiroshima University, Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan. Email: [email protected] Received 2013 ABSTRACT Zambia’s economy is hinged on mining activities with Cu being the main metal. Zn and Pb were mined at one point in Kabwe town. There are also known deposits of Co and Mn. The study focused on comparing heavy metal pollution from different regions across Zambia with a view of determining the impact of the stage of social development and economic activities on the environment. The water analysed was obtained near dump sites,farmlands, pit latrines, water reservoirs or dams, major rivers and small streams that traverse Lusaka city and towns in the Copperbelt,and water from several public taps. Analysis revealed that Mn was the largest pollution factor study areas; groundwater both near illegal dumpsites and on-site sanitation facilities did not reveal any severe pollution problems beyond drinking water permissi- ble values (PV). Furthermore, principal component analysis (PCA) and Pearson correlation (r) found a strong correla- tion between Mn, and the two metals - Cu and Ni at r = 0.632 andr = 0.676 respectively. The other parameters (Cd, Cr, As, Zn & Pb) were not a significant factor in explaining the dissolved metal pollution in Zambia. Keywords: Heavy Metals; Manganese Pollution; Copper Mining 1. Introduction metals in food, soils and sediments [2-5]. There are high incidences of pathogens such as typhoid, cholera, strep- In Zambia, there is a well-developed mining sector which tococci, salmonella, poliomyelitis, and protozoans; in is the backbone of the economy. The mining sector is fact many cholera outbreaks have been reported over the dominated by Cu and Co production. The country is also past years and from as early as 1977[6], as a result, heavy among the major producers of gem-quality emerald, a metal contamination has largely been ignored in Zambia variety of mineral commodities for the construction in- (e.g. by the media) although the scientific community dustry, and other gemstones (primarily amethyst, beryl, makes occasion effort to determine heavy metal loadings aquamarine and tourmaline) and has a high potential of in different environments (water, sediments/soil) [7]. coal production [1]. There is an effort to decrease to a minimum or elimi- 1.1. Description of the Study Areas by Province nate penetration of the most serious contaminants into the food chain and therefore also into the human body. 1.1.1. Kabwe town (Central Province) One of the tool in this struggle is to target the monitoring Kabwe, in central Zambia, is located about 150 kilome- of relevant contaminants in raw materials and foods of tres north of the nation's capital, Lusaka, and was Zam- animal origin and water which is the main component bia’s thriving industrial base. In 1902, rich deposits of Zn utilised by plants. In order to do this, the study focused and Pb were discovered there. Mining and smelting on a wide area of Zambia spanning five provinces and commenced thereafter and continued until 1994 without analysing water samples from 74 sites. Dissolved metal addressing the potential dangers of Pb contamination. Cd analysis was the focus of the study because the concen- and Ag were also produced as by-products. The mine and trations of metals in dissolved form are also readily smelter are no longer operating but have left a city poi- available for absorption by plants, and direct intake by soned and scared by debilitating concentrations of Pb animals. dust in the soil. In one study conducted in Kabwe, the Most of the published work in Zambia about pollution dispersal in soils containing Pb, Cd, Cu, and Zn extended has to a large extent been confined to study of heavy over a 20 km radius at levels much higher than those Copyright © 2013 SciRes. JEP Assessment of Dissolved Heavymetal Pollution in Five Provinces of Zambia 81 recommended by the World Health Organization [5]. of Zambia [10]. Published research on heavy metals is Mining is Zambia’s economic lifeblood, but Kabwe’s lacking in these predominantly rural districts of Zambia. mining activitiesceased in 1994, when heavy financial Most studies have focused on agriculture related ele- losses forced the state-run Zambia Consolidated Copper ments; the common anions and cations. Mines (ZCCM) company to shut down operations. Once was Africa’s largest and richest mining town, Kabwe was 1.1.4. Lusaka City (Lusaka Province) left with a legacy of toxic waste. From its earliest days of settlement in the early 1900s, the suitability of Lusaka city’s location has been a source 1.1.2. Solwezi (North Western Province) of great controversy, the major one having been hitherto Solwezi is the capital of the North Western Province of the nature of the bedrock and the hydrogeological regime Zambia. The district had approximately 239,051 inhabi- underlying the city. During the city’s founding, it usually tants as shown bythe 2010 census [8]. The main industry experienced periodic rises of the water table close to the in Solwezi is Cu mining at Kansanshi Mine located about ground surface, causing occasional flooding. There are 10 km north, and Lumwana Mine located about 65 km many issues related to threats of water resources, one west out of the town centre, run by First Quantum Min- contentious issue being the sanitation provision in Lusa- erals and Equinox Minerals respectively. ka which is unacceptably insufficient, as in most cities in Kansanshi Mine exploits Cu-Au ore from Kansanshi sub-Saharan Africa: most people do not have access to a Anticlinal. The mining site has been in operation since hygienic toilet; large amounts of faecal waste are dis- 19th century for Cu and Au successively. Lumwana on charged to the environment without adequate treatment. the other hand was discovered in 1961, no serious work There are also large amounts of backyard dumpsites; this was carried out there until Equinox Minerals Ltd became is likely to have major impacts on groundwater (and involved in 1999. streams/rivers) considering the shallow geology of Lu- The water from this region was sampled and analysed saka. A variety of industries are concentrated in Lusaka for dissolved heavy metal pollution. It is our proposition city and disposal of the waste they generate is questiona- that it will be in the best interest of the Zambian govern- ble. The Environmental Council of Zambia (ECZ) has no ment to carry out a similar, independent, study in the capacity to effectively monitor all the industries. On the same area after some years of sustained mineral explora- other hand, abstraction of ground and surface water for tion because Solwezi is home to some of the newest householduse is common in Lusaka city; it was impera- mines in the country and negative environmental effects tive to investigate the anthropogenic pollution due to may not have reached their climax yet. dissolved metal pollution on the vast Lusaka water re- sources. 1.1.3. Mazabuka District and its Satellite Town of Magoye (Southern Province) 1.1.5. Mufulira, Chingola, Kitwe, Ndola (Copperbelt Mazabuka and Magoye are predominantly agricultural Province) towns. In Zambia, fertilizer application primarily follows Streams and rivers are a major source of fresh water in a blanket recommendation. Historical evident exists that Zambia. The Kafue River, for example, is a major sup- continued fertilizer use without guided recommendation plier of fresh water to most residential areas in the Cop- and lack of proper soil management resulted in declining perbelt region including the mining and chemical indus- soil productivity. A soil fertility survey was carried out in tries where large quantities of water are used to wash 2001 in Eastern, Central and Southern Provinces of mineral ores in order to extract metals such as Cu and Co. Zambia whose objective was to prepare fertilizer rec- In the process, they generate effluents, which have po- ommendations based on soil analysis for use by farmers tential to pollute the environment. The effluents are dis- in these regions. A total of 651 composite soil samples charged into streams and rivers as a way of disposing were collected from small-scale farmers in several dis- them. The wastewaters (sometimespre-treated)are dis- tricts and among them Mazabuka district. Ninety per cent charging to the surface waters of streams and reach of the total soil samples from the districts sampled were ground waters through percolation and to the atmosphere found to have low to very low exchangeable magnesium by evaporation. Acid mine drainage, a condition created and 49% very low exchangeable calcium. Soil samples by effluents when disposed into stream and river waters, from Eastern, Southern and Central Provinces were affects the water quality [11]. Water samples from four found to have medium to very high exchangeable potas- mining towns, their network of rivers and tributaries sium. It was strongly recommended that lime be consi- were collected and analysed for dissolved heavy metals. dered as one of the major inputs in the farming system of the surveyed provinces. Inorganic fertilizer recommenda- 2. Method tions based on soil analysis were also given particularly for Central, Southern and some parts of Eastern Districts 2.1. Sampling Sites and Instrumentation Copyright © 2013 SciRes. JEP 82 Assessment of Dissolved Heavymetal Pollution in Five Provinces of Zambia The water samples were collected in September and Oc- fluence in this category (F1) and was associated with Ni tober 2011.
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