Acquah Thomas, Appiah-Brempong Miriam, Anornu Geophrey Kwame
Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Centre, Kumasi, Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Heliyon. 2025 Jan 11;11(2):e41910. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e41910. eCollection 2025 Jan 30.
In the Eastern Region of Ghana, 95 % of residents have access to boreholes. However, approximately 30 % of these boreholes are characterized by unpleasurable taste, odour, oily scum and particulate matter. Thus, this study aimed to assess water quality, predict the sources of groundwater contaminants, evaluate the human health risk and to generate spatial distribution and health risk maps. In achieving this, the water quality of 136 boreholes in the region was evaluated through Water Quality Index (WQI) and Groundwater Pollution Index (GPI) analyses. Multivariate statistical procedures, namely, principal component and correlation analyses were employed to define the major groundwater pollutants and their possible sources. Non-carcinogenic health risk to infants, children and adults through nitrates, iron, manganese and fluorides ingestion was also assessed. The results revealed that groundwater in the region is generally slightly acidic with a mean pH of 6.30. WQI analysis grouped 68 % of the groundwater samples under the 'excellent' and 'good' water types with the remaining percent categorized under 'poor', 'very poor' and 'unsafe' drinking water types. GPI analysis classified 95 %, 2.21 % and 2.79 % of the boreholes as 'insignificant', 'low' and 'highly' polluted zones. From the multivariate analyses, the dominant pollutants were iron, manganese, chlorides, sodium, fluorides, potassium, turbidity, total suspended and dissolved solids, hardness, alkalinity, sulphates, nitrates and phosphates. The sources of these contaminants are primarily from rock-water interactions and fertilizers. Health risk assessment for nitrates, fluorides, iron and manganese ingestion revealed that 23, 17 and 15 boreholes in the region are likely to pose non-carcinogenic health risk to infants, children and adults respectively. Health risk maps indicated that the most vulnerable districts were Atiwa East, Fanteakwa North, Achiase, Birim South, Akwapim, Suhum and Ayensuano. From these findings, it is imperative that appropriate groundwater remediation measures are implemented in the region to protect public health.
在加纳东部地区，95%的居民能够获取到钻孔井水。然而，这些钻孔井水中约30%存在口感不佳、有异味、有油状浮沫和颗粒物的问题。因此，本研究旨在评估水质、预测地下水污染物来源、评估对人类健康的风险，并绘制空间分布和健康风险图。为此，通过水质指数（WQI）和地下水污染指数（GPI）分析，对该地区136口钻孔井的水质进行了评估。采用了多元统计方法，即主成分分析和相关性分析，来确定主要的地下水污染物及其可能来源。还评估了婴儿、儿童和成人因摄入硝酸盐、铁、锰和氟化物而面临的非致癌健康风险。结果显示，该地区的地下水总体呈微酸性，平均pH值为6.30。WQI分析将68%的地下水样本归类为“优良”水质类型，其余百分比归类为“较差”、“极差”和“不安全”饮用水质类型。GPI分析将95%、2.21%和2.79%的钻孔井分别归类为“无显著污染”、“轻度污染”和“高度污染”区域。从多元分析来看，主要污染物有铁、锰、氯化物、钠、氟化物、钾、浊度、总悬浮固体和溶解固体、硬度、碱度、硫酸盐、硝酸盐和磷酸盐。这些污染物的来源主要是岩石与水的相互作用以及肥料。对硝酸盐、氟化物、铁和锰摄入的健康风险评估表明，该地区分别有23口、17口和15口钻孔井可能对婴儿、儿童和成人构成非致癌健康风险。健康风险图显示，最脆弱的地区是阿蒂瓦东部、芳蒂夸北部、阿恰塞、比里姆南部、阿夸皮姆、苏胡姆和阿延苏阿努。基于这些研究结果，该地区必须采取适当的地下水修复措施以保护公众健康。
