CHEMICAL POLLUTION ASSESSMENT IN THE KATANGA COPPER BELT MINING REGION AND EFFLUENTS CHARACTERIZATION (D R CONGO, SUBSAHARAN AFRICA): AN INTRODUCTORY PAPER

The Katanga region in D R Congo, within the copper belt area, is heavily polluted with toxic trace elements from mining activities. The extent to which this pollution threatens supporting ecosystems and human health has been determined in this study. Mining effluents, air dust and sediments were analysed and the concentration of As, Cd, Pb, Co, Zn, Ni, Cr hexavalent determined. Results show that only Pb, Cu, Co concentrations in water were higher than these from the national standard values and from the World Bank as well. Zn was higher in Kafuba water at the bridge sampling site. Other trace elements were in non toxic species forms and showed lower values. However, epidemiological studies regionwide are recommended to determine the extent to which bioaccumulation process occurs in food chains.