Groundwater in the coastal areas of Ghana: Quality and associated health risks

Self-supply water sources, particularly groundwater sources, play key roles in the water supply ecosystem of developing countries. Recent studies indicate that groundwater sources in coastal communities in Ghana are under threat from improper waste management practices, seawater intrusion and atmospheric aerosol deposition. In this study, Water Quality Index (WQI) and Nemerow's Pollution Index (NPI) were employed to assess groundwater quality in four coastal communities of Ghana. The health risks associated with metal pollution of groundwater were investigated using incremental life cancer risk and hazard quotient. pH of groundwater in all the studied communities were acidic during the rainy season. Electrical conductivity ranged from 0.44 to 2.61 mS/cm in the rainy season and from 0.43 to 2.45 mS/cm in the dry season for the four studied locations. Results also showed brackish conditions and mineralization of groundwater in Winneba, Accra, and Keta. Mean nitrate concentrations in Winneba and Accra were higher than the WHO standards for both the rainy and the dry season. Arsenic was higher than the acceptable level in Accra and Keta during the dry season, while iron was higher than the acceptable levels in Accra in both the rainy and dry seasons. Principal Component Analyses showed that Pb, As, and Fe had the highest loading in the first component in Essiama, while PO43-and Pb had the highest loading in the second component in Accra. WQI showed that the quality of groundwater in all the studied communities ranged from marginal to poor indicating that groundwater in the coastal communities often or usually departs from desirable quality. NPI revealed that NO3- , As, and Fe contribute to groundwater deterioration. Health risk assessment showed that As posed a high cancer risk in Accra and potential cancer risk in Essiama, Winneba, and Keta during the dry season. As also posed potential cancer risk in Accra during the rainy season. Non-cancer health risk was observed for As in Accra and Keta. The findings of this study suggest urgent regulations and monitoring strategies to improve groundwater quality in the coastal communities of Ghana

The first assessment of marine litter on somalian coast: The case of Liido Beach, mogadishu

This paper presents the first assessment of marine litter in the Mogadishu coastal area of Somalia.Samples were collected monthly using 100 m × 40 m transect and classified following OSPAR Marine Litter Survey Guide while litter sources were identified using Ocean Conservancy Marine Debris Index. The results showed a total of 119873 items consisting of plastics (89.47%), clothing items (7.53%), and others (3.00%) recovered from Liido Beach. Litter density ranged from 2.19 items/m2 to 14.18 items/m2 with a mean of 6.25 items/m2 and Clean Coast Index (CCI) suggesting that Liido Beach is extremely dirty (>20 items/m2). In addition, the primary sources of marine litter at the beach are local recreational and shoreline activities (54.12%), and dumping (36.61%). The dominance of plastic litter on the beach poses potential threats to marine biodiversity in the Somalia coastal area and the West Indian Ocean. It is recommended that effective strategies and solutions to mitigate litter on the beach and other coastal areas in Somalia should be developed and compensated with public education and awareness campaigns across the country