Analytical Studies on Heavy Metal Contamination of Imo River

In river systems, surface water has been widely used as environmental indicators and their chemical analysis can provide significant information on the assessment of anthropogenic activities. The paper evaluates the pollution status of the Imo River with reference to heavy metal enrichment. The mean concentration of the ten metals used in this study was slightly higher than the recommended maximum permissible limit by the Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water Quality except zinc. The results of the metal pollution index revealed that the river is slightly to moderately polluted with metals. The application of factor analysis on the data-set identified three factors which imply that these metals enter the river through three possible sources. Factor one comprises of pH, nickel, lead, iron and cadmium and accounts for 34.46% of the total variance. Factor two has a moderate loading of 25.89% of the total variance with arsenic, mercury, chromium and manganese as contributors. Factor thre...