Monitoring of Industrial Waste Disposal by the Use of Computer-Developed Models: A Case Study of the Jakara Waste-Water Channel in Kano Metropolis, Kano State, Nigeria

Abstract

The concentrations of four heavy metals (Fe, Cd, Cu and Pb), from a previous study, on the determination of pollutants in waste-water samples along the Jakara waste-water channel in Kano metropolis were modelled using the Minitab statistical software. This was with the view of obtaining a model that would estimate and forecast the extent of pollution by the continuous discharge of industrial sewage on the canal. Though the initial concentrations of these metals were higher than the acceptable limits for sewage disposal by the World health organization (WHO), the obtained models showed that the concentrations of the respective heavy metals were increasing in a quadratic manner with time. Furthermore, from an initial concentration of 21.45, 3.58, 3.78 and 2.87mg/l for each respective heavy metal in the year 2008, the obtained models forecasted the concentrations at 95% confidence level, to be 15, 56, 30 and 35 times higher than their initial concentrations respectively by the year 2013. Finally, the order for this bioaccumulation was found to be Cd > Pb > Cu > Fe. The predicted concentrations would be indicative of the degree of bioaccumulation of these metals by vegetables if irrigated from this wastewater source.

Keywords: Bio-accumulation, Bio-magnification, Chemo metrics, geo-accumulation, Models, waste-water