Groundwater quality in the neighbourhood of a medium-sized abattoir in Lagos, Nigeria
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Date
2017-07-25
Authors
Dada, E. O.
Soares, M. T.
Okunribido, F. G.
Akinola, M. O.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo
Abstract
Meat production is a multiple-benefit industry providing nourishment, employment and income to millions of people globally, but at the same time may pose air, soil, and water pollution threats if not properly managed. This study assessed the groundwater quality in the neighbourhood of a relatively medium-sized abattoir in Lagos, Nigeria. Borehole water, well water, and abattoir effluent samples were assessed for physico-chemical and microbiological qualities using standard procedures as prescribed by the American Public Health Association (APHA) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The physico-chemical qualities of the abattoir effluent were found to be poor, with values higher than regulatory limits. Similarly, the values of some physical parameters measured for groundwater were found to be above the limits set by the World Health Organizatiion (WHO). The mean total suspended solids (TSS) value of 36.00 ± 17.44 mg/l recorded for well water within abattoir neighbourhood was not only significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the values recorded for other water types, but was also higher than the recommended limit set by WHO. The chemical parameters analysed for all the groundwater samples were generally lower than the limit set by WHO except in few cases like total hardness which recorded mean values of 140.00 ± 62.45 mg/l and 122.00 ± 53.32 mg/l for well water within and off abattoir neighbourhood which were higher than the 100 mg/l level set by WHO. Since many of the abattoir operators in Nigeria are unskilled, it is recommended that training and re-training programme should be organized to sensitize these operators to simple abattoir wastewater pre-treatment procedures.
Description
Staff publications
Keywords
Well water , Borehole water , WHO , LASEPA , Research Subject Categories::NATURAL SCIENCES::Biology::Cell and molecular biology
Citation
Dada, E. O., Soares, M. T., Okunribido, F. G., & Akinola, M. O. (2017). Groundwater quality in the neighbourhood of a medium-sized abattoir in Lagos, Nigeria. FUNAI J Sci Technol, Vol.3(2), 91-102pp.