Assessment of the Heavy Metals Concentration of Nkesa River, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

The growing concern on the safety of the inhabitants and users of the Nkesa River for different purposes, 
ranging from consumption, domestic activities and others too numerous to mention, necessitated the 
assessment of heavy metal concentrations of Nkesa River, Rivers State Nigeria. Concentrations of ten (10) 
different metals namely: Copper, Zinc, Iron, Cadmium, Chromium, Lead, Mercury, Vanadium, Manganese 
and Arsenic, from three (3) different sites of the river, namely: Mgbede, Okwuzi and Aggah, based on 
proximity to effluents, were analyzed using the Varian AA240 Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer 
according to the method of APHA 1995 (American Public Health Association). The study aimed to access 
the varied toxicity of these metals on both the inhabitants and other secondary users. Data obtained for 
heavy metals analysis, showed that Iron, Lead and Mercury, were above the maximum contaminant levels 
(MCLs) of USEPA (2010) and WHO (2004). The waters of Nkesa River is therefore, declared unfit for 
direct human consumption, as this would lead to Fe, Pb and Hg related illnesses; therefore posing potential 
risk of bio-magnification for inhabitants that depend on the river. It is therefore recommended that, an 
urgent need to properly manage wastes in the cities and monitor anthropogenic activities, is of great 
importance in order to ensure minimized effects on these parameters of Nkesa River. Sensitization should 
be carried out, to educate the people on the dangers of its ingestion.