Environmental assessment and impact of air, water and noise levels near a cement factory in Ewekoro, Ogun State, Nigeria
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Date
2024-09-15
Authors
Awos, Alaba
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Abstract
The air, water and noise were assessed for respirable particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and heavy metals (lead, chromium, nickel, cadmium, zinc and copper) and noise levels around a cement factory in Ewekoro. Air was sampled using a cassette sampler and was taken at Ewekoro and neighbouring communities (Papalantoro, Lapeleko and Itori) in Nigeria’s Ogun State. An atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) measured heavy metals in the water, and a sound level meter was used to monitor the noise levels. Comparing levels with the World Health Organization (WHO), National Environmental Standard and Regulation Enforcement Agency guideline (NESREA, Nigeria) and Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS) show some standards were exceeded.
The mean concentrations of Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr) and Nickel (Ni) in the air of the cement factory area and the impacted neighbourhoods were higher than the WHO/EU permissible limits. Chromium's hazard quotient (HQ) was above the WHO/EU safe level in adults and children through ingestion, inhalation and dermal contact in all areas monitored. Also, the HQ for Ni and Cd were higher than the safe levels in the cement factory area and Papalantoro but not in other areas, while Zinc (Zn) was determined to be at safe levels.
All heavy metals monitored in the river water, except Zn, exceeded the WHO permissible limit. The heavy metal sources cannot be pinpointed to the cement factor as other points and non-point contamination sources exist. The hazard index (HI) was greater than one in all the rivers monitored in children and adults, signifying an unacceptable health risk for non-carcinogenic effects. The HI for children in all the rivers sampled was higher than that for adults, indicating that children will experience more non-carcinogenic health risks than adults. The sum of Incremental lifetime cancer risk (∑ILCR) of both adults and children was higher than the acceptable level.
The highest daily noise level result at the cement factory was below the NESREA regulatory standard, while the result at the residential area was slightly higher than the standard.
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Keywords
particulate matter, heavy metals, hazard quotient, hazard index, carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic, incremental lifetime cancer risk