Quality of Groundwater around an Abandoned Lead-Acid Battery Company in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

The physicochemical parameters for groundwater within the vicinity of an abandoned automobile battery company were assessed to determine the water qualities. Water samples were collected from the nine hand-dug wells from the adjascent settlement for analysis of 12 parameters and heavy metals. The heavy metals were determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) and other parameters by various scientifically accepted standard methods. The study showed the mean concentrations of Iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), Chromium (Cr), Lead (Pb), and Cadmium (Cd) ranged from 2.80 to 16.00 mg/l, 0.98 to 1.46 mg/l, 0.23 to 1.38 mg/l, 0.1 to 0.89 mg/l, 5.05 to 13.15 mg/l and ND to 0.17 mg/l, respectively while pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, total solids, total alkalinity, total hardness, sulphate, nitrate, phosphate, chloride and chemical oxygen demand mean values ranged between 6.18 and 11.35, 253.50 and 1007.67 µS/cm, 270.50 and 851.47 mg/l, 2.95 and 19.62 mg/l, 273.45 and 771.82 mg/l, 291.58 and 807.85 mg/l, 181.25 and 601.67 mg/l, 35.00 and 397.00 mg/l, 0.45 and 3.12 mg/l, 411.71 and 1005.92 mg/l, 0.49 and 4.40 mg/l, and, 2108.33 and 2393.33 mg/l, respectively. The study revealed that more than 50% of the well waters parameters investigated were generally above the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. The water qualities were very poor as regards heavy metals levels, pH, solid particles, conductivity, phosphate and chemical oxygen demand. This poses health risk to the population that depends on the well waters. Thus, the well waters in the study area require purification as a matter of urgency to make it totally fit for human consumption or domestic uses as this would surely prevent the outbreak of water borne diseases.