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Cyanide contamination assessment via target survey and physicochemical and bacteriological characterization: a case study of Akrofrom-Techiman cassava processing area in Ghana

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Abstract

Improper discharge of cassava mill effluent (CME) has attracted much attention in major cassava-producing areas due to cyanide contamination. This study conducted a target survey on inhabitants and processors of the Akrofrom-Techiman cassava processing area in Ghana that aimed to assess their knowledge and perception of cyanide contamination from the CME discharge. The study further examined the effect of CME on the soil and groundwater at the processing area using physicochemical and bacteriological characterizations. Results revealed that inhabitants and processors exhibited high illiteracy on the impact of CME on cyanide contamination in the processing area. The study also indicated a wide characteristics of the soil at the processing site: pH (4.89–8.77), electrical conductivity (EC) (1063.00–1939.00 μS/cm), total dissolved solids (TDS) (523.90–963.50 mg/L), soil moisture (11.90–31.70%), free cyanide (0.02–0.33 mg/kg), and total cyanide (0.40–2.70 mg/kg). Results also showed that the physicochemical values of the CME were all above the Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permissible limits and were unsafe for discharging into the environment. The range of physicochemical and bacteriological parameters of the two boreholes revealed the following: pH (7.85–8.74), TDS (165.77–192.37 mg/L), EC (320.87–396.20 μS/cm), free cyanide (0.13–0.16 mg/L), total cyanide (1.29–2.15 mg/L), and bacteriological parameter (220–622 cfu/mL). The two hand-dug wells also recorded pH (8.54–9.56), TDS (140.77–156.10 mg/L), EC (288.53–340.67), biological oxygen demand (BOD) (21.51–1.61 mg/L), chemical oxygen demand (COD) (13.5–16.5 mg/L), free cyanide (0.10–0.11 mg/L), bacteriological parameter (241–302 cfu/mL), and total cyanide (0.79–0.86 mg/L). The study concluded that the discharge of CME at the processing site contributes significantly to cyanide contamination of the soil and groundwater at the processing area.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the KNUST Research Fund (KReF) with grant number VC/OGR/15. The authors wish to thank the Netherlands Development Organization Improved Cook Stove Project at Techiman, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Accra-Ghana, the Water Laboratory (Civil Engineering Department, KNUST), the Geotechnical Laboratory (Civil Engineering Department, KNUST), and the Geological Laboratory (KNUST) for giving us access to use their equipment for the characterization of the various samples used in this study.

Funding

This research was funded by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Research Fund (KReF) with grant number VC/OGR/15.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, PMB, UPO, Kumasi, Ghana

    Lois Pokuaa Adjei, Emmanuel Kwesi Arthur, Emmanuel Gikunoo & Frank Ofori Agyemang

  2. Department of Geological Engineering, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, PMB, UPO, Kumasi, Ghana

    Gordon Foli

  3. Department of Geomatic Engineering, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, PMB, UPO, Kumasi, Ghana

    Jonathan Arthur Quaye-Ballard

  4. Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Centre, Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, UPO, Kumasi, Ghana

    Rapheal Nsiah-Gyambibi

  5. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, KNUST-Kumasi, Kumasi, Ghana

    Douglas Siaw Baah

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  1. Lois Pokuaa Adjei
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  2. Emmanuel Kwesi Arthur
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  3. Emmanuel Gikunoo
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  4. Gordon Foli
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Contributions

All of the writers conceptualized and carried out this multidisciplinary study. Data gathering and experimental activities were done by Lois Pokuaa. Emmanuel Kwesi Arthur, Emmanuel Gikunoo, Gordon Foli, Jonathan Arthur Ballard, Frank Ofori Agyeman, Rapheal Nsiah Gyambibi, and Douglas Siaw Baah provided input to the analysis of the data and made a substantial revision to the first draft. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Emmanuel Kwesi Arthur.

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Adjei, L.P., Arthur, E.K., Gikunoo, E. et al. Cyanide contamination assessment via target survey and physicochemical and bacteriological characterization: a case study of Akrofrom-Techiman cassava processing area in Ghana. Environ Monit Assess 195, 482 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11037-8

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