Study on the Effect of Hospital Waste on Quality of Ground Water

Abstract

In this paper, the effect of hospital waste on the physical properties, chemical properties, and biological properties of groundwater was investigated. A total of 7 samples were collected 4 from open good sources 2 from the borehole and one from stagnant water (control) closed to the dumpsite where hospital waste is disposed of and the average values of the well water and borehole water were reported each in case. The analysis was conducted using standard analytical techniques and instruments and the result was compared with the requirement of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and local standards such as the Nigeria Standard for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ). The majority of physical and chemical parameters in borehole samples were within the WHO and NSDWQ permissible standards for drinking water. Total coliform of all the specimens was above the limit specified by both WHO and NSDWQ also the E coli of the specimens were within the limit set by WHO and above the limit set by NSDWQ except for the control which was above both the limit of WHO and NSDWQ. The high total coliform count in all the specimens indicated that the hospital waste has an impact on the quality of groundwater in the area.