The Impact of Phosphate Mine Tailings on the Bioaccumulation of Heavy Metals in Marine Fish and Crustaceans from the Coastal Zone of Togo

AbstractAbout 2.5 million t of sedimentary phosphorite mine tailings, highly enriched with Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Fe, F, and Zn, are dumped annually in the coastal waters of Togo without any pre-treatment, causing serious pollution problems in the region. We conducted bioaccumulation investigations on fish...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mine water and the environment 2006-03, Vol.25 (1), p.56-62
Main Authors: Gnandi, K, Tchangbedji, G, Killi, K, Baba, G, Abbe, K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acid mine drainage
Bioaccumulation
Cadmium
Coastal waters
Coastal zone
Crustaceans
Groundwater pollution
Heavy metals
Marine fish
Metal concentrations
Mine tailings
Mine wastes
Phosphates
Pisces
Pollution sources
Seafood
Shellfish
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Summary:AbstractAbout 2.5 million t of sedimentary phosphorite mine tailings, highly enriched with Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Fe, F, and Zn, are dumped annually in the coastal waters of Togo without any pre-treatment, causing serious pollution problems in the region. We conducted bioaccumulation investigations on fish and crustaceans sampled from the polluted coastal zone. The highest concentrations of metals in fish and crustacean were found close to the tailings outfall and the values decreased further away from the source of pollution. Compared to the international reference norms for seafood given by the WHO, Cd is enriched 10 to 168 fold, Pb 20 to 107 fold, Cu up to 5 fold, Fe up to 15 fold, and F up to 3 fold.
ISSN:1025-9112
1616-1068
DOI:10.1007/s10230-006-0108-4