Levels of Cadmium in Soil, Sediment and Water Samples from Tarkwa and Its Environs

Soil, sediment and water samples collected from the catchment areas of some selected rivers and streams in Tarkwa and its environs were investigated for the levels of cadmium using the Atomic Absorption spectrophometric technique. From the results, it was observed that cadmium levels were generally higher than the WHO (1993) recommended level of 2.0 mgkg-1. Cadmium levels in soil ranged from 1.23 ±0.21 mgKg-1 at N3 to 4.63 ± 1.13 mgkg-1 at K1. Soil pHw ranged from 4.99 ±1.16mgKg-1 at Bn2 to 6.60 ±1.39mgKg-1 at K4. Cadmium in sediments were generally very high. It ranged from 2.40 ± 0.06 mgkg-1 at Bn1 to 8.64 ±1.76 mgkg-1 at K4. Sediment pHw ranged from 4.59 ±2.49 at N2 to 5.87 ± 0.23 at K4. Cadmium levels in water were also higher than the WHO (1993) standard value of 0.003 mgL-1. However, the pHs of the water samples were very close to the minimum standard value of 6.5