A Survey of Arsenic Level in Tube-Wells in Bam Province (Burkina Faso)
- 1 Laboratory of Toxicology, Environment and Health, Doctorate School of Health, University of Ouagadougou, Ouaga, Burkina Faso
- 2 Laboratory of Toxicology, Environment and Health, Doctorate School of Health, University of Ouagadougou, Ouaga, Burkina Faso
- 3 Laboratory of Toxicology, Environment and Health, Doctorate School of Health, University of Ouagadougou, Ouaga, Burkina Faso
- 4 Plan Burkina, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Abstract
Groundwater is a main source of water supply for populations in Burkina Faso where there is a serious problem for drinking water access. However, water quality has not been always followed regularly. Recent studies showed that more than 50% of drillings in Yatenga province (north of Burkina Faso) have an arsenic concentration above the recommended WHO requirement . Preliminaries studies conducted in Bam (Center North of Burkina Faso) showed high arsenic level in certain localities. This work presents for the first time data on a large scale evaluation that had been performed in all the localities of Bam province in other to have a better assessment of contamination scale. A total of 707 drilling water samples have been selected randomly in 9 communes and analysed for the arsenic level using atomic absorption spectrometry with hydride generation. The results showed that 11% of drillings have an arsenic concentration above the recommended WHO requirements with Rouko commune having the highest rate of high arsenic level (22%).
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