Poly- and perfluorinated substances in environmental water from the Hartbeespoort and Roodeplaat Dams, South Africa

Concentrations of poly- and perfluorinated substances (PFASs) were determined in Hartbeespoort and Roodeplaat Dams, South Africa. Water samples were collected from the dams in February–March, and May–June, representing southern hemisphere summer and winter seasons, respectively. Solid phase extraction (SPE) was used to extract the analytes from the water samples and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) used for analysis. The mean PFAS concentrations detected ranged from 1.38–346.32 ng∙L-1 and 2.31–262.29 ng∙L-1 in the Hartbeespoort Dam and Roodeplaat Dam, respectively. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) and perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA) were the most dominant PFASs detected. The PFAS concentrations detected were higher in summer than in winter, but the difference between seasons was not statistically significant (p = 1). Furthermore, the concentrations of short-chain PFASs were higher than the longer chains. Overall, the PFAS concentrations in the present study are comparable to those reported in other parts of South Africa, and also Ghana, higher than the concentrations reported in Uganda, Singapore, and Vietnam, and lower than those in Germany, Japan and China. The measured concentrations of PFOA and PFOS raise concerns of human exposure to these chemicals since they are above the USEPA advisory limit. This suggests that communities living within the vicinity of the dams are most likely to be exposed to these chemicals

Leachate seepage from landfill: a source of groundwater mercury contamination in South Africa

Mercury has been used for many centuries in the production of consumer products such as thermometers, electrical switches, fluorescent light bulbs, batteries, biocides and pesticides, cosmetics and dental amalgam filling, among others. After use, these mercury-containing consumer products form part of the municipal solid waste (MSW). As a result of an unseparated solid waste collection system, mercury-containing wastes tend to end up in landfills where mercury and other pollutants can leach out of products into landfill leachates. The present study, therefore, was conducted with the aim of determining the total mercury (THg) concentrations in leachate and sediment samples collected from 4 selected landfill sites (3 sites in Gauteng Province – Soshanguve, Hatherly, Onderstepoort and 1 site in Limpopo Province – Thohoyandou). Groundwater samples were collected from the monitoring boreholes at the four selected landfill sites in the summer and winter periods. An acid digestion method was employed for sample preparation and this was followed by analysis using cold vapour atomic absorption spectrophotometry (CVAAS). The concentration range of total mercury in the Thohoyandou leachate, sediment and groundwater samples was 0.12–2.07 μg/L, 0.03–0.48 μg/g and 0.09–2.12 μg/L, respectively. In Soshanguve, the concentration range of total mercury in leachate, sediment and groundwater samples was 0.10–1.20 μg/L, 0.04–0.62 μg/g and nd –1.66 μg/L respectively, Hatherly concentration range was 0.42–1.31 μg/L and 0.06–0.78 μg/g in leachate and sediment, respectively and in Onderstepoort the concentration range was 0.12–2.41 μg/L, 0.03–0.50 μg/g and 0.05–2.44 μg/L, in leachate, sediment and groundwater, respectively. The findings from this study suggest that there is a likelihood of groundwater pollution by mercury from landfill leachate seepage, particularly for landfills that are not lined with a geomembrane.&nbsp

Is liver function test of any diagnostic relevance in patients presenting with hepatocellular carcinoma?

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a tumor with very poor prognosis in Nigeria because of late diagnosis. This underscores the need for cheap and available investigations to aid early diagnosis. Liver function test (LFT) is affordable, available and minimally invasive. The recognition of specific fluctuations in liver function test in HCC will facilitate pragmatic clinical, radiological and histopathological evaluation in individuals at risk.Aim / Objective: To determine if specific fluctuations in LFT is suggestive of HCC in patients presenting with this tumor at a tertiary health center in South-East Nigeria.Methods: This was a case-control study. Sera from 64 patients with HCC and 120 patients without HCC were analyzed for bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and albumin.Results: A total of 184 patients were studied. Among the patients with HCC, AST and ALT were elevated in 30(46.9%) and 31(48.4%) patients, respectively, while ALP was elevated in 33(52%). Hyperbilirubinaemia was present in 34(53%) and hypoalbuminaemia in 54(84.3%) of the patients. Except for bilirubin, LFT was more frequently abnormal in HCC than in non-HCC cases. However, the difference was not statistically significant between HCC and liver cirrhosis (p >0.05).Conclusion: No specific pattern of LFT is diagnostic of HCC. Abnormal LFT in a high risk patient should prompt urgent imaging and histopathological evaluation.Keywords: Hepatocellular carcinoma, Liver function tes

Solid-phase extraction method for the analysis of eleven phenolic pollutants in water samples

An analytical protocol for the determination of priority phenolic compounds: phenol, 2-methyl 4,6-dinitrophenol, 2-chlorophenol, 2,4- dichlorophenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, pentachloro-phenol, 2-nitrophenol, 4-nitrophenol, 2,4-dinitrophenol, 4-chloro-3-methylphenol, 2,4,6-tribromophenol and 2,4-dimethylphenol, in water samples using strata C18 cartridge is presented. Different parameters affecting extraction and peak separation were optimized. Recoveries using spiking of the test compounds varied in the ranged between 69.43 ± 1.76 % and 101.87 ± 0.45 %. The high recoveries obtained validated the method. Detection limits obtained ranged from 4 µg L-1 for 2,4- dimethylphenol to 166 µg L-1 for 4-nitrophenol, using LC-UV. The results obtained by applying the developed method to real environmental water sample containing 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2-methyl, 4,6-dinitrophenol, pentachlorophenol and 2,4,6-tribromophenol indicated the following concentration levels: 5.129, 0.561, 4.788 and 0.868 ng µL-1 , respectively.Cape Peninsula University of Technolog