Selected toxic heavy metals in spring and river waters and their health implications: The case of Nonno Benja District, Ethiopia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20372/star.V15.i3.04Keywords:
Heavy metals, drinking water, Nonno Benja, water pollution, non-essential elements, physico-parametersAbstract
Water resources are facing an increasing environmental and public health problem due to heavy metal poisoning. This paper presents the investigation of selected hazardous heavy metals in spring and river waters and their health effects in Nonno Benja District, Ethiopia. For this purpose, three water samples were collected from three sources, namely Laga Hillo, Laga Bakare, and Laga Burkitu springs. The mean values of temperature, pH, total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, nitrate ( , ranged from 20.93-21.77 oC, 6.4-6.86, 52.97-105.5 μs/cm, 34.47-68.9) mg/L, 0.21‑0.41 mg/L, 0.046-4.4 mg/L and 0.058-1.37 mg/L, respectively for the three samples. The concentration ranges of the heavy metals detected by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (FAAS) follows Pb (21.76±2.65 to 17.94±4.67 mg/L), Zn (8.61±0.03 to 1.73±0.02 mg/L), and Cd (10.41±0.03 to 1.15±0.03 mg/L) which are by far greater than the value recommended by World Health Organization (WHO) (0.003 mg/L; 0.01 mg/L; 3.0 mg/L). The increase in metal levels may account for the fact that both natural and anthropogenic sources play a great role. Improved water safety, illness prevention, and sustainable environmental management could all benefit from the study's conclusions.
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Accepted 2026-09-25
Published 2026-09-30
