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1 Lente, I.; Keraita, Bernard; Drechsel, Pay; Ofosu-Anim, J.; Brimah, A. K. 2012. Risk assessment of heavy-metal contamination on vegetables grown in long-term wastewater irrigated urban farming sites in Accra, Ghana. Water Quality, Exposure and Health, 4(4):179-186. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-012-0077-8]
Risk assessment ; Heavy metals ; Contamination ; Vegetable growing ; Urban agriculture ; Wastewater irrigation ; Public health ; Sampling ; Indicators / Ghana / Accra
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H045012)
(0.48 MB)
Assessment was done of heavy-metal contamination and its related health risks in urban vegetable farming in Accra. Samples of irrigation water (n = 120), soil (n = 144) and five different kinds of vegetable (n = 240) were collected and analyzed for copper, zinc, lead, cadmium, chromium, nickel and cobalt. All water, soil and vegetable samples contained detectable concentrations of each of the seven heavy metals except for irrigation water which had no detectable chromium, cadmium and cobalt. All heavy-metal levels were below permissible limits except lead on vegetables which was 1.8–3.5 times higher. Health risk assessments showed for all elements that normal consumption of each of the vegetables assessed poses no risk. The highest hazard index obtained was 42 % for wastewater irrigated cabbage. Though within permissible limits, cabbage and ayoyo had the highest potential risk. Compared with previous studies on the same sites, the data show that the risk from heavy metals is less significance than that from pathogen contamination which has positive implications for risk mitigation.
2 Amoah, Philip; Lente, I.; Asem-Hiablie, S.; Abaidoo, R. C. 2014. Quality of vegetables in Ghanaian urban farms and markets. In Drechsel, Pay; Keraita, B. (Eds.) Irrigated urban vegetable production in Ghana: characteristics, benefits and risk mitigation. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.89-103.
Vegetables ; Marketing ; Chemical contamination ; Helminths ; Heavy metals ; Faecal coliforms ; Pesticide residues ; Irrigation water ; Lettuces / Ghana / Kumasi / Accra / Tamale
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H046605)
(395 KB)
This chapter shows results obtained from analyzing samples of vegetables taken at the farm gate and from selling points in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale. Microbiological data are based on a total of about 1,500 vegetable samples taken from different sampling points along the vegetable distribution chain – farm gates – and from different categories of sellers in Accra, Tamale and Kumasi. Fecal coliforms and helminth eggs were mainly used as the fecal contamination indicator organisms. For chemical contaminants, heavy metals and pesticides in irrigation water and vegetables were analyzed, while estrogens were used as an example for emerging contaminants.
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