Status of Environmental Contamination in Ghana, the Perspective of a Research Scientist

The production and use of chemicals is an important source of economic welfare in Ghana. However, many chemicals also enter the environment and chemical pollution remains a major environmental issue in Ghana. In Ghana, mining and agriculture remain the major contributors to chemical pollution. For mining; mercury, cyanide and arsenic are normally the reported cases of contamination. Studies have revealed high levels of urinary arsenic in Ghana comparable to other arsenic-endemic areas of the world, while arsenic contamination has been reported in groundwater. Mercury has also been reported in human blood, human urine and fish in southwestern Ghana. Generally, agriculture in Ghana, particularly vegetable farming is fraught with misuse and overuse of pesticides. Pests and diseases pose big problems in vegetable production and these have led many farmers to use chemical pesticides even if they have received no training in application techniques. The results on pesticides residue analysis by several authors indicated water pollution, food contamination and accumulation of toxic compounds in human fluids of farmers. Most examples of contamination reported in literature point to isolated cases. Thus, the status of contamination in Ghana as evidenced from a review of literature is localized and not nationwide.