Heavy metals research in Nigeria: a review of studies and prioritization of research needs.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int
; 29(44): 65940-65961, 2022 Sep.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35896878
ABSTRACT
Nigeria is experiencing continuous economic and industrial transformations, typical of many developing nations. In addition to its well-established oil industry, which is infamous for exuding various kinds of pollutants, there are increased mining operations, indiscriminate disposal and burning of wastes, illegal oil refinery and terroristic insurgency, all poised to increase the levels of heavy metal contaminants in the Nigerian environment. A recent revelation indicates that about 2 million people in South-western Nigeria alone could potentially be poisoned by lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg), emanating from illegal mining operations. This further underscores the importance of investigations of toxic trace metal levels in the country. The current review of 148 research articles was conducted to provide an understanding of the scope of heavy metals research in Nigeria and to prioritize needed research. The review recognized that the scope of heavy metals studies has been wide, covering matrices such as cosmetics, human blood, hair, medicines, foods, beverages, water, air, soil and crude oil. However, important toxic metals, especially mercury (Hg), arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb), are largely under-investigated. Also, there is a need for more studies to be conducted in the northern part of the country. Furthermore, studies need to focus on marine environments rather than the freshwater ecosystems alone. Techniques such as the inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) analyses are herein recommended to bridge the data gap and to overcome limitations in trace metals analyses in the Nigerian total environment.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Arsênio
/
Poluentes do Solo
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Oligoelementos
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Petróleo
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Metais Pesados
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Cosméticos
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Poluentes Ambientais
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Mercúrio
Limite:
Humans
País/Região como assunto:
Africa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int
Assunto da revista:
SAUDE AMBIENTAL
/
TOXICOLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Nigéria