Assessing Uranium Pollution Levels in the Rietspruit River, Far West Rand Goldfield, South Africa
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Area
2.2. Field Work
2.3. Lab Analyses
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Rietspruit Water Chemistry
3.2. pH Value
3.3. Electrical Conductivity
3.4. Anions Concentration
3.5. Uranium Concentration in the Rietspruit Water
3.6. Uranium Concentration in the Rietspruit Sediment
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Parameters | Water Samples (n = 28) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maximum | Average | Minimum | SD | WHO Limit [19] | SANS 241 [20] | |
pH | 8.8 | 7.4 | 6 | 0.7 | 6–9 | 5–9.7 |
EC (µS/cm) | 1358 | 788 | 443 | 252 | 400 | |
Temp (°C) | 26 | 16 | 8.8 | 4 | 30 | |
Cl (mg/L) | 481.5 | 56 | 18.5 | 85 | 5 | 300 |
SO4 (mg/L) | 1009 | 302.2 | 13.2 | 241 | 500 | 500 |
NO3 (mg/L) | 25.1 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 11 |
NO2 (mg/L) | 2.9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
F (mg/L) | 1.2 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
PO (mg/L) | 14.8 | 1.1 | 0 | 2.8 | 0.03 |
Heavy Metal | Gold | Arsenic | Lead | Cadmium | Mercury | Cobalt | Manganese |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Concentration (mg/kg) | 2.3 | 223.1 | 120.9 | 3.5 | 0.3 | 4878 | 47,120 |
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Raji, I.B.; Hoffmann, E.; Ngie, A.; Winde, F. Assessing Uranium Pollution Levels in the Rietspruit River, Far West Rand Goldfield, South Africa. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 8466. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168466
Raji IB, Hoffmann E, Ngie A, Winde F. Assessing Uranium Pollution Levels in the Rietspruit River, Far West Rand Goldfield, South Africa. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(16):8466. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168466
Chicago/Turabian StyleRaji, Iyioluwa Busuyi, Emile Hoffmann, Adeline Ngie, and Frank Winde. 2021. "Assessing Uranium Pollution Levels in the Rietspruit River, Far West Rand Goldfield, South Africa" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 16: 8466. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168466