Project title: Quantification of heavy metals in surface water from the paint industry effluent in Enugu State, nigeria - towards reducing water pollution.
Capitalizing on industrialisation and urbanisation to promote the economic growth has increasingly become a major concern that has a negative impact on surface water. Most of our water surface is gradually becoming polluted due to the effects of untreated discharge of waste water and the addition of other foreign materials from industries. These pollutants from the paint industries are heavy chemicals that potentially accumulate the surface water. These include: lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Nickel, Chromium, Zinc, Copper, etc. The effect of these effluents from paint industries exacerbates environmental degradation, which affects both humans and other living organisms due to the acute toxicity levels of the metals, and has caused a detrimental effect on surface water in major cities of Nigeria. It is also feared that these metals may enter the food chain through bio-magnification there by significantly affecting the aquatic life and the surrounding communities. The Enugu state environs have been plagued with perennial problems of surface water pollution, mostly due to heavy metals from the paint industries. This research project will focus on quantifying the volume of heavy metals present in industrial effluent from paint companies in Enugu State and to find solutions, either technological or plant based to deal with this type of effluent.