Abstract:

The quest to meet the needs of humans globally has led to contamination of different matrixes of our environment by hazardous substances. In this study, the levels of six heavy metals including Cd, Mn, Cr, Ni, Zn, and Pb, and pH and electrical conductivity were characterized in water samples obtained from Adoka spring and the results were used to evaluate the potability of the water resource and human health risk assessment. Except for Zn, the levels of other heavy metals did not comply favorably with drinking water standards. Hazard quotient values of the oral route for both children and adults were < 1 for Mn, Zn, and Ni while for the dermal route, the values were < 1 for all heavy metals except Cd. The hazard index values for both children and adults via the oral and dermal indicated high chronic risk. The Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk values indicated that the levels of Cd, Cr, and Ni in water pose a high risk of cancer to the populace. We recommend that an ex-situ removal of heavy metals from water via the use of residuals from treatment plants could be employed to reduce the heavy metal concentration in water before use.