Asamoah Benjamin Darko, Yevugah Lily Lisa, Borquaye Lawrence Sheringham, Dodd Matt, Darko Godfred
Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana.
Department of Chemistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Environ Toxicol Chem. 2025 May 1;44(5):1400-1409. doi: 10.1093/etojnl/vgaf054.
Globally, elevated environmental mercury levels have been linked to artisanal and small-scale gold mining; however, investigations into mining communities often overlook other potential sources and their contributions to soil mercury accumulation. This study explored the positive matrix factorization (PMF) receptor model to identify other possible sources of mercury contamination in two major mining communities (Kenyasi and Obuasi) and a commercial city (Sunyani) in Ghana. The mercury concentrations across the three study areas showed no significant differences (p = 0.257 at the 95% confidence level). The PMF model identified mining as the major contributor to mercury accumulation in Obuasi and Kenyasi, with other activities, such as farming, also contributing substantially. The generation and burning of hazardous waste in the Sunyani municipality due to increased commercial activities have contributed significantly to mercury contamination. Although the hazard quotient indicated no adverse health effects in the study areas (hazard quotient < 1), the pollution and ecological risk indices showed that Obuasi was significantly enriched with mercury, with considerable levels found in Kenyasi and Sunyani. The results from this study will serve as a good database for environmental studies on mercury particularly in Kenyasi and Sunyani, where there has not been any extensive research on mercury contamination.
在全球范围内，环境汞含量升高与个体和小规模金矿开采有关；然而，对矿区社区的调查往往忽视了其他潜在来源及其对土壤汞积累的贡献。本研究探索了正矩阵因子分解（PMF）受体模型，以确定加纳两个主要矿区社区（肯亚西和奥布阿西）以及一个商业城市（苏尼亚尼）汞污染的其他可能来源。三个研究区域的汞浓度没有显著差异（在95%置信水平下p = 0.257）。PMF模型确定采矿是奥布阿西和肯亚西汞积累的主要来源，其他活动，如农业，也有很大贡献。由于商业活动增加，苏尼亚尼市危险废物的产生和燃烧对汞污染有显著贡献。尽管危害商表明研究区域没有不良健康影响（危害商<1），但污染和生态风险指数显示，奥布阿西汞含量显著富集，肯亚西和苏尼亚尼也有相当水平的汞。本研究结果将为特别是肯亚西和苏尼亚尼的汞环境研究提供良好的数据库，在这些地方尚未有关于汞污染的广泛研究。
