Human Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Tailings of Gold ore Matrix Using Proton Induced X-ray Emission Technique

B. Samaila¹

Section:Research Paper, Product Type: Journal-Paper
Vol.8 , Issue.7 , pp.49-54, Jul-2022

Online published on Jul 31, 2022

Copyright © B. Samaila . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 

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Abstract :
The mining tailings are a high risk part of mining activities as they incorporate unsafe heavy metals from processing operations which gift a danger to the general public and to the surroundings. Heavy metallic infection from mine tailings is a huge problem in many nations, Nigeria inclusive. In 2010, over four hundred humans such as youngsters have been reported lifeless because of artisanal mining activities in zamfara state. This study examined and assessed the human health threat of heavy metallic concentrations in tailings of gold ores in danko-wasagu gold mining sites by the usage of proton induced x-ray emission technique. The research aimed to provide exact information on numerous heavy metals’ risks and pollution index. In this study, samples of mine tailings from mining site of maga village had been collected and analyzed for lead (pb), chromium (cr), nickel (ni), copper (cu), zinc (zn), barium (ba) , strontium (sr), manganese (mn), and zirconium (zr) using pixe. Measured concentrations of those heavy metals had been then used to assess the hazard for community. Their concentrations have been such that Fe> Pb > Cr > Ba>Sr>Zr > Cu > Mn > Zn > Rb > Ni, with Fe, Pb, Cr and Br higher than permissible ranges. However, ni, mn, zr, became decrease than the most allowable limits. For the adult population, the hazard index found for all pathways was located to be the highest, making carcinogenic outcomes significant to the grownup populace. The end result indicated that the highest average value of incremental life cancer threat became discovered in Cr (642355.5 ppm), Pb (26967.04 ppm), Ni (8631.204 ppm) and the highest pollutants index become determined in Fe (67.92202), Pb (27.13375), Cr (4.6381) and Cu (1.9774), others are similar with the standard Value. The areas under investigation had been polluted with heavy metals in particular Fe, Pb, and Cr from mining activities with little crustal fabric contributions thereby posing severe environmental and health concerns. The extended populace exposure to heavy metals becomes discovered to affect the valuable apprehensive central nervous system, kidney, metabolism, and inactivation of enzymes, resulting in DNA damage. Also, heavy metals toxicity causes immunologic, reproductive, cardiovascular, renal, neurologic, and pregnancy issues. Sooner or later, there are essential wishes to put in place mining guidelines to defend citizens from heavy metal pollutants within the surroundings.?

Key-Words / Index Term :
Risk index, pollution index, PIXE and incremental life cancer Risk

References :
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