Ghana: Urban farm vegetables high in mercury, faecal content – study

These open-surface waters often contain unmonitored concentrations of health-threatening contaminants, posing risks to human health, especially when used to produce vegetables for consumption.

By Wisdom JONNY-NUEKPE
B and FT Online
April 21, 2024

Excerpt:

An analysis of heavy metals and pathogen levels in vegetables grown using water from selected urban areas of the Greater Accra Metropolis has revealed that consumers face health risks linked to mercury (a heavy metal) and faecal coliforms.

The study, titled ‘Analysis of Heavy Metals and Pathogen Levels in Vegetables Cultivated Using Selected Water Bodies in Urban Areas of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA)’, was published in April 2024. It examines the levels of heavy metals and faecal coliform in two vegetables, lettuce and bell pepper, cultivated using open-surface wastewater from drains and constructed reservoirs at various locations within GAMA.

Using concurrent mixed methods, questionnaires were administered to 67 vegetable farmers, followed by the collection of vegetable samples from three urban farm sites – Haatso, Dzorwulu, and the Weija Irrigation Scheme site (WISS) – for laboratory analysis.

The concentrations of lead (Pb), mercury (Hg) and cadmium (Cd) were determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy after microwave digestion of the vegetables, while total faecal coliform was quantified using the MacConkey-Endo broth method.

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