10.
Levels of Hg and Cd in Selected Biological Species (tilapia,
mudfish, prawns, crabs and mollusk) from the River Pra Estuary of
Ghana
D.K. Dodoo, D.K Essumang[1],
N.G. Doe, C.K. Adokoh and A. Sam
Department of Chemistry, Environmental Research Group, University of
Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
[1] Correspondence sent.
kofiessumang@yahoo.com D. K.
Essumang, Department of Chemistry, Environmental Research Group,
University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana
Abstract:
The river Pra whose estuary was analyzed passes through very
important gold mining communities in Ghana. This makes it
important to study the bio-accumulation levels of cadmium and
mercury in some selected biological species which is fished from
the estuary. This piece of work determined the levels of the
metals mercury and cadmium in selected biological species namely
tilapia, mudfish, prawns, crabs and mollusk from the River Pra
Estuary using the Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA)
technique. The samples were taken every fortnight from four
sampling sites from Beposo to the Shama Beach in the Western
Region of Ghana for two and half months. It was observed that
the River Pra had elevated levels of the metals and the
concentrations ranged between <0.001 - 0.005 µg/g wet weight (ww)
for mercury and <0.001 - 0.012 µg/g wet weight (ww) for cadmium.
There is some level of contamination of the Pra river estuary
with mercury and cadmium. The sources of these metals though
diffused, there is every indication that mining operations up
stream may have contributed to the heavy metal load of the
estuary.
KEYWORDS: Mercury, Cadmium, Pra estuary tilapia, mudfish,
prawn, crab and mollusk
<<< |