Water Quality Issues in Developing Countries - A Case Study of Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria

Water quality issues in developing countries – A case study of Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria Voudouris K & Voutsa D (eds): Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Rijeka, Croatia: InTech Online Publishers, 2012, pp 541-560, ISBN 978-953-51-0486-5To describe water as the engine of life will not constitute an overstatement. This is because water in its various forms, accounts for more than 70 per cent of the entire earth surface and all life forms regardless of their habitat depend on this abundant resource for their continuous existence. However, as huge as this vital resource is, only small percentage of its natural form could be readily used for drinking and sanitation purposes by man. These are normally stored up in repositories and embankments such as the aquifers, lakes, rivers and other surface freshwater bodies. Due to the increasing influence of natural ev ents and anthropogenic activities on these natural water sources, the pristine characteristics exhibited by these water sources often fade out with time. Today, the understanding of water quality has become conceptualized because of the numerous uses to which different types of water could be subjected to. More so, due to the complexity of several factors determining water quality and the countless choice of variables used to provide quantitative evaluation of this term, it is difficult to adopt a single definition of water quality (Chapman,1996). In a simple term, however, water quality refers to the composition of any water body as affected by nature and human cultural activities, expressed in terms of both measurable quantities and narrative statements (Novotny, 2003). Depending on the area of application, the criteria for establishing water quality requirements differ in many aspects. Hence, water which is suitable for a particular purpose, for instance, agricultural irrigation might not be useful for other purposes due to differences in water quality requirements. The causative factors responsible for the deteriorating water quality in most developing countries are quite similar. For instance, the city of Ibadan which is the largest indigenous city in Africa has several inter-related factors which directly or indirectly impact the quality of water bodies within the city. These are largely due to improper waste disposal, poor physical planning and increasing population pressures on the dilapidated infrastructures within the city. Omoleke (2004) also identified the culture of the indigenous people living in the core of the city as a vital factor contributing to these menace.Traditionally, the city been a commercial centre for local marketers of maize, yam and other food stuffs where heaps of refuse are generated on a daily basis. Due to the clustered distribution of old houses within the interior of the city, the mechanised collection of these refuse becomes virtually impossible. Hence, people resort to dumping their solid wastes into drains and stream channels which often results into clogging and flooding. More so, most of the houses around these areas do not have toilet facilities, as such people defecate indiscriminately on undeveloped plots of land or along the streams and rivers within the city. These uncivilized behaviours have continued to aggravate many dimensions of water pollution problems within the city

Testicular and Epididymal Characteristcs of Rabbit Bucks Fed Diets Containing Cottonseed Cake Supplemented with Carrot (Daucus carota) or Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe)

This experiment was conducted to investigate the reproductive characteristics of rabbit bucks fed cottonseed cake-based diets supplemented with carrot or ginger. Twenty four (24) cross bred (New Zealand White X Chinchilla) 6-8 weeks old rabbit bucks were involved in the study. The bucks were balanced for weight and allocated to four dietary treatments T1, T2, T3 and T4. Treatment T1 (control) contained soyabean meal (SBM) as the main plant protein source denoted as (SBM or 0% CSC). T2 had 100% SBM replaced with cottonseed cake (CSC), while T3 and T4 had T2 supplemented with carrot and ginger respectively. Except for testicular width, testicular characteristics were not significantly (P>0.05) affected. Testicular width decreased from 2.20cm in the control (T1) to 1.63cm in T2 (100% CSC). Mean epididymal weight and mean epididymal length were significantly (P<0.05) affected with mean epididymal length decreasing from 13.72cm in the control to 8.32cm in T2 (100% CSC). Supplementing T2 with either carrot or ginger increased the epididymal characteristics significantly (P<0.05). It could be concluded from this study that CSC with or without carrot or ginger supplementation may not have adverse effect on testicular characteristics. However CSC depressed epididymal characteristics which were corrected by carrot or ginger supplementation with ginger proving more effective. Keywords: Rabbit buck, Reproductive characteristics, Cottonseed cake, Carrot and Ginger

Effects of Na2Cr2O7 Inhibitor on the Corrosion Potential Response of Steel Reinforced Concrete in Saline Medium

Electrochemical monitoring method of the open circuit potential was used to investigate the effect of the concentrations of Na2Cr2O7 on the corrosion potential response of steel reinforced concrete in sodium chloride medium. In the study, five different concentrations of Na2Cr2O7 admixtures were employed in a system of replicated samples of steel-reinforced concrete specimens partially immersed in 3.5% NaCl to simulate marine and saline environments. Forty days measured responses from these were subjected to the statistical analyses of the Normal and the Weibull distribution functions and tested using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov goodness of fit criteria. Results obtained from the analyses identified 4 g Na2Cr2O7 with optimal averaged potential response inhibition performance by the Normal model which showed better agreements in its models of Na2Cr2O7 potential test data than that obtained from the Weibull model of the same data. These bear pertinent implications on the need for suitability studies of appropriate statistical distribution for studying performance of corrosion inhibitors even as suggestions were proffered for addressing results conflicts among replicates of steel reinforced concrete samples employed

Assessment and Comparative Study of Radon Level in Water Samples Collected within Ogbomoso Metropolis, Oyo State, Nigeria

In the recent time, due to the unavailability of public pipe borne water which the government provides for use, the alternative uncased and cased water became the popular means of water supply, both in rural and urban areas, not minding the likely health effect that may arise due to high level of concentration of radon and its progeny in drinking water from the aforementioned sources. Hence, this study focuses on the radon concentration in underground water samples collected across Ogbomoso land. A total of 300 water samples were collected, comprising of 160 water samples from uncased and 140 samples from cased well. The samples were analysed using a well calibrated active electronic radon detector RAD7 (DURRIDGE Company Inc., USA). The results obtained revealed that the radon concentration of the uncased well is in the range of 3.30 kBqm-3 to 33.95 kBqm-3, while the radon concentration for the cased well fell in the range 30.39 kBqm-3 to 65.98 kBqm-3. The results obtained from the two categories of water samples analyzed showed that the cased well sources had the highest concentration of radon compared with the limit set by local and international bodies. Hence, appropriate measures should be taken to mitigate the level of concentration of radon in the water within the study area before consumption. Concerted effort should also be made by the health workers to enlighten the residence on the potential harmful effect of radon to human health

Bioremediating Effect of Glomus Hoi and Pseudomonas Aeruginosa on the Organic Content and Heavy Metals of Soil Polluted with Oil Refinery Effluent using Amaranthus Cruentus as a Test Plant

This study analyzed the degrading effect of Glomus hoi and Pseudomonas aeruginosa on the organic content and heavy metals of oil refinery effluent polluted soil using Amaranthus cruentus as the test plant. This study was carried out to determine if agricultural activities can be improved using any or both of the micoorganisms. Eight different treatment layouts were used with three replicates for each level of pollution in the treatment layout. Ninety six (96) pots, each containing three kilograms of soil from both sterilized and unsterilized soil were used for the study. Fifty (50) grams of soil inoculum from propagated Arbuscular mycorrhiza was inoculated to a set of twenty four (24) experimental pots containing both sterilized and unsterilized soil before A. cruentus seedlings were transplanted to them. Another set of twenty four (24) pots containing both sterilized and unsterilized soil were injected with thirty (30) mL of P. aeruginosa inoculum solution before transplanting A. cruentus seedlings to them. The third set of twenty four (24) pots received dual inoculation of both fifty (50) grams of soil inoculum containing G. hoi and thirty (30) mL of P. aeruginosa inoculum solution before A. cruentus were transplanted to them. The residual twenty four (24) pots served as the control. Thereafter, pot preparation was arranged in the screenhouse in a randomized block design. The A. cruentus seedlings were raised in nursery for a period of two weeks before they were transplanted to the pots, seedlings were left for 3 days to overcome transplanting shock before contaminating the soil with refinery effluent at various concentrations of 0%, 2%, 4% and 6% v/w. The seedlings were allowed to grow for eight weeks before the termination of the experiment. The pre planting analysis of soil showed that heavy metals analyses (zinc and iron) of sterilized soil had a lower concentration to the unsterilized. The soil pH ranged from 6.3 to 6.8. It also revealed that organic matter and organic carbon content ranged from 0.8% to 1.3% and 0.4% to 1.7%. However, after the experiment, it was discovered in this study that treatments without any microorganism inoculation in sterilized and unsterilized soil had a higher level of % organic carbon and % organic matter content compared to the other treatments that were inoculated with one or two micro-organisms across all the levels of effluent concentration. Heavy metals of soil in all the soil samples were found to increase as the petrochemical effluent increased in concentration. The results obtained were analyzed using Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) and other descriptive statistics. This study opined that the combined use of G. hoi and P. aeruginosa was more effective in improving the organic contentand the reduce heavy metals of oil refinery effluent polluted soil than when either is used singly

Challenges in the Management of Mucopolysaccharidosis Type II (Hunter’s Syndrome) in a Developing Country: a Case Report

BACKGROUND: Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (Hunter's syndrome) is an X-linked chromosomal storage disorder due to deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme iduronate-2-sulfatase with patients rarely living till adulthood. Failure to identify patients early could contribute to an increased morbidity as identified in this case report.CASE DETAILS: An eight year old patient with Hunter's syndrome identified five years after disease onset with severe cardiovascular complications exemplifies the challenges faced in resource-limited countries towards making diagnosis and treatment of rare conditions. Elevated urinary glycosaminoglycans levels or a strong clinical suspicion of Hunter's syndrome, as identified in the index case, is a prerequisite for enzyme activity testing. Urinary mucopolysaccharide(MPS) level was 69.6mg/mmol(normal range is 0.0 - 11.6mg/mmol), and the confirming MPS electrophoresis analysis showed elevated heparan sulphate in the urine sample. Enzyme activity testing, with absent or very low iduronate-2-sulfatase activity, is diagnostic. However, the scarce availability and high cost of these tests is another constraint in making a diagnosis.CONCLUSION: Identification and management of mucopolysaccharidosis type II pose a problem in resource-constrained countries due to late presentation, lack of facility for diagnosis and treatment, cost and expertise required for the management.KEYWORDS: Mucopolysaccharidosis, Hunter's syndrome, Mucopolysaccharid

Comparative Study on the Contribution of Asbestos and Gypsum Building Materials to Environmental Radioactivity and Its Radiological Implications

Building materials have been studied and found to contain trace amount of natural radionuclides. In order to estimate the radiological impact to the dweller, the level of radionuclides present in asbestos and gypsum building materials available in Nigeria market were carried out using a well shielded and calibrated gamma spectrometry. The results obtained shown that the natural radionuclides of 238U, 232Th, and 40K are present in the building materials assayed, with activity concentration of 141.76 to 526.29 Bqkg-1, 2.14 to 7.94 Bqkg-1 and 9.89 to 14.23 Bqkg-1 for the gypsum samples and 221.64 to 513.38 Bqkg-1, 15.99 to 34.68 Bqkg-1 and 9.10 to 18.93 Bqkg-1 for the asbestos samples respectively. The average concentration obtained for samples are relatively lower than the worldwide average. The radiation hazard indices estimated are also lower than the international recommended values. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that the use of these materials in construction of dwellings may be considered safe for inhabitants and that the dwellers inside the buildings are not supposed to acquire any radiological complication in terms of radiation hazard. &nbsp

METHODS OF ASTM G16 AND CONFLICTS IN CORROSION TEST DATA: CASE STUDY OF NANO2 EFFECTIVENESS ON STEEL-REBAR CORROSION

In this paper, applications of the methods of ASTM G16 for addressing inherent conflicts in laboratory measurements of corrosion test data were studied, using the inhibiting effect of NaNO2 on the corrosion of concrete steel-rebar for the case study. For this, electrochemical monitoring techniques were employed for studying effectiveness of different concentrations of NaNO2 admixture in replicated concrete samples immersed in NaCl and in H2SO4 media for an experimental period of sixty-eight days. The corrosion test data from this experimental setup were subjected to the probability density fittings of the Normal and the Weibull functions as well as to significance testing methods of ASTM G16-99 R04 specifications. Results identified 10g (0.1208M) NaNO2 admixture with optimal inhibition efficiency model, η = 88.38±4.62%, in the saline/marine simulating environment and the 8 g (0.0966M) NaNO2 admixture with optimum effectiveness, η = 13.51±83.48%, in the acidic environment. The techniques of ASTM G16 adequately identified and addressed conflicting effectiveness from the test data of NaNO2 admixtures in the studied test environments

The Social and Political Dimensions of the Ebola Response: Global Inequality, Climate Change, and Infectious Disease

The 2014 Ebola crisis has highlighted public-health vulnerabilities in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea – countries ravaged by extreme poverty, deforestation and mining-related disruption of livelihoods and ecosystems, and bloody civil wars in the cases of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Ebola’s emergence and impact are grounded in the legacy of colonialism and its creation of enduring inequalities within African nations and globally, via neoliberalism and the Washington Consensus. Recent experiences with new and emerging diseases such as SARS and various strains of HN influenzas have demonstrated the effectiveness of a coordinated local and global public health and education-oriented response to contain epidemics. To what extent is international assistance to fight Ebola strengthening local public health and medical capacity in a sustainable way, so that other emerging disease threats, which are accelerating with climate change, may be met successfully? This chapter considers the wide-ranging socio-political, medical, legal and environmental factors that have contributed to the rapid spread of Ebola, with particular emphasis on the politics of the global and public health response and the role of gender, social inequality, colonialism and racism as they relate to the mobilization and establishment of the public health infrastructure required to combat Ebola and other emerging diseases in times of climate change