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Playground Soil Contamination with Heavy Metals and Associated Health Risks of Children in Schools Locatedin the Sunyani-East Municipality of Ghana |
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| รหัสดีโอไอ | |
| Creator | 1. Emmanuel Tetteh Doku 2. George Adjei-Hinneh 3. Aning Justice |
| Title | Playground Soil Contamination with Heavy Metals and Associated Health Risks of Children in Schools Locatedin the Sunyani-East Municipality of Ghana |
| Publisher | Thai Society of Higher Education Institutes on Environment |
| Publication Year | 2566 |
| Journal Title | EnvironmentAsia |
| Journal Vol. | 16 |
| Journal No. | 1 |
| Page no. | 73-86 |
| Keyword | Heavy metals, Children, Playgrounds, Health risks, Pollution |
| URL Website | http://www.tshe.org/ea/index.html |
| Website title | EnvironmentAsia |
| ISSN | 1906-1714 |
| Abstract | Children are exposed to the adverse health impacts of heavy metals found in playgroundsoils where they conduct socio-physical activities in schools. This study focuses on heavymetals pollution of school playgrounds and their associated health risks in children withinthe Sunyani-East Municipality of Ghana. The concentrations of heavy metals including As,Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn in playground soil of schools were analyzed using atomic absorptionspectrophotometer. Principal component analysis and Pearson's correlation were applied todiscover explanatory variables and associations between heavy metals. The enrichment factor,contamination factor, geo-accumulation index and pollution load index were computed to assessthe extent of heavy metal pollution. The hazard quotient and hazard index were used to evaluatechildren's associated health risks of ingested playground soil. The results show high levels ofFe (12,093.33 40,026.67 mg/kg), Cd (0.60 11.43 mg/kg) and Cu (31.92 85.00 mg/kg) inplayground soils of most schools above the world soil average. Strong correlations betweenCd, As and Pb were observed, forming one principal component attributed to anthropogenicsources. Contamination and enrichment factors showed severe pollution of playgrounds withCd, Fe, As, and Cu. The hazard index of playground soils in a few schools indicated potentialhealth risks in children. Possible adverse health effects in children were attributed to levels ofCd, Fe and As thus revealing unsuitable playground environment in these schools. Consequently,proactive measures such as covering bare playground surfaces with natural or syntheticmaterials could mitigate the adverse impact of heavy metal contamination in school children. |
