This review paper presents the health risks of heavy metals such as: lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni) and arsenic (As) etc contamination in soils. The review reveals the major sources of these metals which are urban and industrial effluents, deterioration of sewage pipe, treatment water works, sewage sludge, fertilizers and pesticides. It also reveals the adopted standard for drinking water (maximum tolerable limit) by FAO, JECFA and WHO which are as follows: 0.05mg/L, 0.05mg/L, 1.5mg/L, 0.001mg/L, 0.02mg/L, 15mg/L, 0.3mg/L, 0.5mg/L, 0.01mg/L, 0.05mg/L and 0.05mg/L for Pb, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Zn, Fe, Mn, Se, As and Cd respectively. The accumulation of heavy metals in agricultural soils is of increasing concern because of food safety issues, potential health risks such as neurological disorder, cancer, kidney damage, fragile bone etc and their detrimental effects on soil ecosystem. However, the regular monitoring of levels of these metals from dump sites, effluents and sewages in soil and drinking water is essential to prevent excessive buildup of these metals thereby increasing toxicity and elevating the public health risk.
Earth and coastal ecosystems are not static, and they usually respond to environmental changes, mostly anthropogenic and climatic. Here, the authors described natural values, coastal landforms, and types of infrastructure that are most likely to be affected by climate change (CC) and provide information for assessing inundation, erosion, and recession risks for a chosen location. In this chapter, the authors focused on the land uses, the vulnerability of coastal infrastructure, and argued for effective linkages between CC issues and development planning. They also recommended the incorporation of CC impact and risk assessment into long-term national development strategies. Policies will be presented to implement these recommendations for adaptation to climate variability and global CC. The authors provide general recommendations and identify challenges for the incorporation of climate change impacts and risk assessment into long-term land-use national development plans and strategies. Overall, this chapter provides an overview of the implications for CC to coastal management.
Staphylococcus aureus is a significant cause of food poisoning in dairy products around the world. This study investigates the prevalence and antibacterial susceptibility profile of S. aureus obtained from dairy products and possible dairy products contaminating sources in pastoral communities of Niger State, Nigeria. A total of 2760 samples, comprising of 360 each of Ghee (Maishanu), Cheese (Awara), Local Yoghurt (Kindirmo), Raw Milk (Madara), and Fermented Milk (Nono), and 240 each from contaminating sources (such as handler’s hands, containers, udders, and water), were randomly obtained from various pastoral communities in Niger State, Nigeria. Isolation and identification of S. aureus was carried out according to standard microbiological methods. The results revealed a total of 204 (7.4%) S. aureus strains were isolated from the collected samples. Among the dairy products, raw milk accounted for the highest frequency of S. aureus 31 (8.6%), while cheese and ghee had 4.4% and 4.7% S. aureus, respectively. While from the possible contaminating sources, the handler’s hand the highest percentage of occurrence (4.2%), while the least (1.1%) was recorded from water. The S.aureus isolates showed >80% susceptibility to ceftazidime, cefuroxime, ciprofloxacin, vancomycin, minocycline, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. The isolates were resistant to oxacillin (31.4%), cefoxitin (29.4%), gentamicin (23.5%), ampicillin (20.6%), and ceftazidime (18.6%). Moreover, 87.5% of the S. aureus exhibit multidrug resistance. The presence of multidrug-resistant S. aureus in dairy products is of great public health concern; therefore, appropriate food safety measures should be implemented to improve the conditions under which these products are processed and sold
The growing dominance of urban environment with heavy metals through natural and anthropogenic depositions and the potentially adverse health implications following environmental contaminations have focused attention on the disposal of municipal and industrial wastes. This study employed analytical procedures to investigate the concentrations of chromium, iron, copper, zinc, manganese and aluminium at the municipal waste dump site of the study areas. Soil samples were randomly collected from different waste dumpsite across Nasarawa, Kogi, and Niger states and an undisturbed soil 100m away from the dumpsites was chosen as the control. From the result obtained, it was observed that the metals in all dumpsite types followed the order: Mn>Fe>Zn>Cu>Cr>Al. Mn had the highest mean concentration which was recorded in Bida, Borgu and Minna in Niger State while Al was the least detected in all the dumpsites with the lowest mean concentrations (5.7±0.96) recorded in Borgu. Mean concentration of all the metals at the dumpsites was higher than at the control which means there is an anthropogenic contribution from the environment. The concentrations of the heavy metals were generally lower than their respective guideline values for the protection of human and environmental health. However, with prolong practice of dumping refuse at these sites; concentrations of the heavy metals may increase above the recommended limits. Therefore, we recommend that further research be carried out on the heavy metals concentration of the waste materials to identify those that are potential sources of soil contamination to suggest appropriate treatment and disposal methods.
Microbial Source Tracking is a scientific approach that primarily aims to identify the sources of faecal contamination in water bodies. Microbial Source Tracking (MST) is a set of techniques employed to identify the origins of faecal contamination in water. The capacity to track faecal bacteria to their source is a crucial aspect of both public health and water quality management. The utilisation of information obtained from the method of MST would provide water quality managers with an enhanced comprehension of the origins of contamination, thus facilitating the implementation of remedial measures to impede transmission. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the gut-associated bacteria of the order Bacteroidales, specifically the Bacteroides genus, has a tendency to undergo co-evolution with the host, making it a highly viable option for MST applications. However, it is noteworthy that MST is also facilitating the scientific community with effective techniques for tracing faecal bacteria and pathogens in water sources. The methodologies utilised in MST are frequently categorised as either Library-Dependent Methods (LDMs) or Library-Independent Methods (LIMs). Microbial source tracking has been employed for diverse objectives, such as ensuring adherence to regulations, remediating pollution, and evaluating risk. The implementation of MST is expected to mitigate the prevalence of waterborne illnesses resulting from contamination. The implementation of MST has facilitated the ability to anticipate the probable origins of faecal contamination and the associated health hazards linked to compromised water systems. In addition to conventional faecal indicators, these methodologies are suggested as means to furnish supplementary insights into the origins of pollution, as well as the ecological and public health ramifications of animal-derived water contamination.
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