Spatial Analysis, Speciation, and Carcinogenic Risk Profiling of Nickel Formulations in Well Water Networks near Steel Mill

International Journal of Chemistry | Vol. 9, No. 4, April 2018 | pp. 25–32

DOI: 10.46882/2018/IJC/000115

Article Type: Original Research Paper

Title: Spatial Analysis, Speciation, and Carcinogenic Risk Profiling of Nickel Formulations in Well Water Networks near Steel Mills

Names of Authors: T. H. Awotunde¹, R. M. Silva²*

Authors’ Affiliations:
¹Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria.
²Department of Environmental Chemistry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Abstract: Metallurgical industrial smelting operations discharge significant amounts of nickel-rich waste into surrounding environments, causing heavy metal leaching into shallow drinking water aquifers. This study monitors the spatial variations, chemical speciation, and carcinogenic health risk profiles of nickel compounds across twenty household wells positioned around an active steel mill. Water monitoring was carried out over consecutive wet and dry cycles. Total nickel levels and specific nickel fractions were quantified utilizing ion chromatography coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (IC-ICP-MS). Total nickel concentrations ranged from 10.5 to 138.4 μg/L, with 38% of monitored groundwater sites surpassing the strict WHO drinkable contaminant threshold of 70.0 μg/L. Speciation analysis showed that soluble nickel ions were the dominant species, accounting for up to 64.2% of the total metal burden profiles at down-gradient coordinates. Seasonal mapping confirmed elevated nickel mobilization during the rainy period, indicating rain-induced plume leaching. Chronic Daily Intake (CDI) projections and Lifetime Cancer Risk (LCR) indices for child consumption cohorts surpassed 1.8 in 10,000 near industrial boundaries, emphasizing an immediate public healthcare concern and a need for local membrane filtration arrays.

Keywords: Groundwater pollution; Nickel speciation; Ion chromatography; Metallurgical effluents; Cancer risk assessment; Heavy metals

Manuscript Timeline: Received: December 02, 2016; Revised: January 14, 2017; Accepted: February 10, 2017; Published: April 02, 2018.

Citation: Awotunde, T. H., & Silva, R. M. (2018). Spatial Analysis, Speciation, and Carcinogenic Risk Profiling of Nickel Formulations in Well Water Networks near Steel Mills. International Journal of Chemistry, 9(4), 25–32.

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