Chemical Assessment Of Ground Water

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

Water is the most relevant natural resources to the existenceof man. Without it nothing would survive on theearth. The volume of water which is available in portableforms is found in water from the ground, springs, riversand lakes, the proportion of which is only about 3% (Behailuet al., 2017). The available water is often inadequate to meet the needsof ever-growing population and industrial demands (Behailuet al., 2017).It is a common situation in the African continent that majority of the people are living in environments wherethe available water resources do not meet global standard (Sawyerret al., 2017). Groundwater is the commonest potable sourcearound the world (Kanmani and Gandhimathi, 2013). The chemical composition ofgroundwater is an indicator of how suitable it is for theconsumption, for human beings, animals and plants (Batabyal and Chakraborty, 2015).Water quality refers to the amount of physical impurities,dissolved gases, chemicals, and pathogen in a given sampleof water (Wurbs and James, 2010).

Human activities impact natural watersources, including groundwater. One of such activitiesis the indiscriminate location of abattoirs in residentialareas in developing countries. The abattoir industryis a vital constituent of the livestock industry because itmakes available domestic meat to over 150 million peopleand makes jobs available for a large number of peoplein Nigeria (Raphaelet al., 2018). However, the siting of abattoir otherwiseknown as slaughtering house is not often monitored andregulated as expected. Most of the abattoirs in Nigeria arenot well developed and facilities for the handling of abattoirsolid waste and wastewater are absent. Water pollutionfrom abattoir effluents, runoff from feedlots in dairyfarms, grazed pastures, fallow and sod amended withchicken wastes, grassland treated with dairy manure,and sewage sludge leads to contamination of water bodiesand could create significant environmental and publichealth hazards (Raphaelet al., 2018). The main abattoir activities includebutchering, removal of the hide, intestine management,rendering, trimming, processing and cleaning activities.The wastes generated from abattoirs usually compriseblood, oil, mineral and organic solids, salts and chemicalsadded during handling operations (Akangeet al., 2016). Abattoir wastewatercould significantly intensify the amounts of nitrogen,phosphorus, and total solids in the receiving water body(Akangeet al., 2016). Slaughtering houses are known globally to contaminatethe environment either directly or indirectly fromtheir several procedures. The situation is worsened whenabattoirs are situated near residential areas and as suchthe abattoir wastes are disposed in gullies where runoffwashes them downhill, thereby contaminating groundwaterand nearby streams. Shallow wells in this area arevulnerable to pollution from abattoir activities as theeffluents then percolate into the soil and find its way intothe aquifer, even though residence is not aware of thehealth risk as the water appears potable and fit for consumption.Assessing the water quality within the vicinityof abattoirs in residential areas will help to anticipate theimpacts on the health of residents who depend solely onthe well waters for consumption and other domestic uses.This is also important because most residents in developingcountries believe that because water is potable basedon physical observations, it has no effects on their health (Akangeet al., 2016).

Crops thriving on these soils have exhibited a decrease in development and harvest. With all this negative effect on the soil, this could lead to poor production of farm produce thereby affecting the economy of that environment in general. The situation in Nigeria, similar to what occurs in emerging nations still remains the battling with the challenge of the coordination and disposal of the unmanaged wastes into the environment, as the establishment of agencies such as Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) since 1998 has not made any difference. Although a lot of work had been done on soil contamination, little is documented about the level of adulteration of soil media by abattoir activities; the study therefore assessed soil samples for possible contamination of physicochemical parameters and heavy metals from different points and some meters around the environment(Akangeet al., 2016).

1.2    Statement of the Problem

Abbattoir slaughtering houses are known globally to contaminate the environment either directly or indirectly from their several procedures. The situation is worsened when abattoirs are situated near residential areas and as such the abattoir wastes are disposed in gullies where runoff washes them downhill, thereby contaminating groundwater and nearby streams. Shallow wells in this area are vulnerable to pollution from abattoir activities as the effluents then percolate into the soil and find its way into the aquifer, even though residentsmight not be aware of the health risk as the water appears potable and fit for consumption. Assessing the water quality within the vicinity of abattoirs in residential areas will help to anticipate the impacts on the health of residents who depend solely on the well waters for consumption and other domestic uses. Therefore, there is a need to examine such chemical assessment of ground water around abbatoirs in Saki, Ago Are and Tede, Oyo State.

1.3       Aim and Objectives

The aim of this study wasto examine the chemical assessment of ground water around abbatoirs in Saki, Ago Are and Tede, Oyo state.

Objectives are as follows:

1. To determine the physical properties and chemical properties of the ground wateraround abattoir
2. To identify the different types of waste generated from the abattoir and the disposal method employed.

• To compare the concentration of the groundwater with the World Health Organization (WHO) standard for drinking water.

1. Todetermine the possible impact of any pollutants found in the water on human health, animal and the environment.
2. To determine the possible impacts of pollutant found in the soil on plant and the environment.

1.4       Significance of the Study

Previous studies have shown that the characteristics of abattoir water chemical vary from day to day depending on the number of stocks being processed (Tebut, 2003). The wastes from abattoir operation can also be separated into solid, liquid and gases. The wastes are highly organic. The solid waste includes condensed meat, undigested feed, bones, horns, hair, and aborted fetus. The liquid waste is usually composed of dissolved solids, blood, gut content, urine, and water; while the fatty waste consists of fat oil, grease which are characterized with high organic levels (Magaji, 2000). Animal waste is usually microbiologically contaminated by micro-organism living naturally or entering it from the surrounding such as those resulting from processing operations. The killing of animals for community consumption is inevitable in most nations of the world and dated back to antiquity which result in in the pollution of the underground aquifer (Chukwu, 2008). Environmental problems are not new. Human societies have long had a major impact on environmental or natural resources. Their tendency to exploit it as if it were inexhaustible resources has repeatedly led to disaster, sometimes leading to the loss of entire human communities. Man in every corner of the world is thus making demands upon his surrounding and thereby altering his own natural environment and that of other living organisms.