Investigation of Potentially Toxic Elements in Selected Water Bodies in Limpopo Province: Transport, Fate and Risk Assessment, and Detection and Remediation Method Development

Abstract

The alarming deterioration rate of the water quality due to pollution causes a severe global health concern to both the ecosystem and humans. One such concern is contamination of water by potentially toxic elements (PTEs), which is the most pressing environmental problem in society resulting from industrialisation. Industrial activities lead to the generation of considerable quantities of wastewater containing PTEs such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni) and vanadium (V). The information about the levels of As, Cr and Hg species, and other PTEs such as Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni and V in water bodies and their transport, and fate is important for risk assessment. In this project, PTEs and their species in water, sediment, soil, and vegetables were determined to assess the associated risks to humans via the food chain. The total concentrations of these selected PTEs in water and vegetable samples were quantified by inductively coupled plasma -mass spectrometry (ICP -MS).

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