Abstract
The study assessed arsenic contamination of underground water resources in Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State. The specific objectives included: (i) determination of the level of arsenic in underground water resource; (ii) comparison of the laboratory result with WHO standard; (iii) examining the variation of arsenic level in underground water resource and soil and (iv) examination of the effects of the arsenic contamination (if any) on the people living in the area. Water samples were collected from the three districts Afon, Owode and Onire) in the study area to investigate the arsenic concentration. Seventy five water samples of drinking water sourced from wells (n=45) and boreholes (n=30) were randomly collected and subjected to Arsenic elucidation using routine laboratory methods. The laboratory results were subjected to statistical analyses using SPSS 16.0 for descriptive statistics for preliminary interpretation of the relationship. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was adopted to show variation among the samples, while student t-test and correlation statistics were employed to compare laboratory result with WHO standard for Arsenic in water samples. The results of concentration test indicated that water samples (hand dug well and hand operated boreholes) within the study area exceeded the maximum concentration limits of WHO. The contamination of water resources within the study area is largely attributed to both natural and anthropogenic processes such, as erosion, undersurface weathering, toxic chemicals, improper waste and sewage disposal, wastes from industries, agricultural activities and vehicular emissions. This study concluded that people in the study area might be at a considerable risk of arsenic poisoning due to continuous use of these resource.
Key Words: Arsenic, Contamination, Water Resource, Natural Resources and Environment
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