National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS)
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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
An integrated pollution assessment index approach was used to assess the application of heavy metal pollution indices in the Ngoua watershed in southwestern (SW) Cameroon. The concentrations of Pb, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, Mo, Fe and Al in most of the water samples exceeded the maximum allowable concentration recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The Heavy Metal Evaluation Index (HEI) shows strong correlations with the Heavy Metal Pollution Index (HPI), Metal Index (MI) and the degree of contamination (Cd), and gives a better assessment of the pollution levels. Selected samples from the 10 sampling stations were classified as high polluted in Cd, MI and HPI in relation to the respective critical values. These values show comparable results to those of the HEI and indicate that about 88% of the samples with above average values were classified as highly contaminated and the remaining samples (12%) with below average values were classified as moderately contaminated. The Enrichment Factor (EF) analysis and the pollution indices reveal that the water quality is mainly controlled by natural and geogenic processes with major anthropogenic input. The current level of heavy metal distribution in the water of the Ngoua catchment is an environmental and health concern and requires special attention.
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