Browsing by Author "Adesola Olubunmi ADEDEJI"

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    Concentration and Exposure Assessment of Antibiotics and Heavy Metals in Groundwater Sources in Two Rural Communities in Nigeria
    (Lead City University, 2023-12) Adesola Olubunmi ADEDEJI
    In most rural communities in Nigeria, access to potable water is of great concern. Likewise, several studies have linked heavy metals to the co-selection of antibiotic resistance, and Antibiotic Resistant Genes (ARGs). However, co-occurrence and exposure assessment data for antibiotics and heavy metals are scarce and when available are limited to urban areas. Hence, this study aims to investigate the occurrence, source, concentration and risk associated with antibiotic chemical residues and heavy metals in groundwater sources. A total of 30 groundwater samples from two rural communities were assessed for physicochemical parameters (pH, Temperature, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Electrical Conductivity (EC), and Dissolved Oxygen (DO)), heavy metals (B, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn) and common antibiotics (ampicillin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin and metronidazole). Samples for elemental analysis were digested using HNO3 and those for antibiotics analysis were extracted using Solid Phase Extraction (SPE). Elemental and antibiotics quantifications were done using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) and high-performance liquid chromatography-UV/Visible (HPLC- UV) systems respectively. All calibration curves exhibited r2 > 0.999 and relative recovery experiments were within the acceptable range. Concentration data obtained were subjected to descriptive, inferential and multivariate analyses. The average concentrations of all heavy metals in groundwater samples were below the WHO permissible limit for drinking water except for Cr, Ni and Pb at 0.05, 0.02 and 0.10 mg L-1 respectively. Although Ampicillin and Chloramphenicol concentrations were below the limit of detection, Ciprofloxacin (76 to 1137µg L-1) and Metronidazole (1191 to 7846 µg L-1) detection ranged between 30-60% in all groundwater samples. Data from this study indicated that Cr, Ni and Pb contamination in groundwater and may pose a potential health risk to the local inhabitants who depend on well water for consumption and other domestic uses. Keywords: Trace metals, Health risk assessments, Multivariate statistical technique. Word Count: 297