Health risk assessment, chemical monitoring and spatio-temporal variations in concentration levels of phenolic compounds in surface water collected from River Oyun, Republic of Nigeria

Phenolic derivatives are used in the fabrication of pesticides, pharmaceutical products and many other industrial applications. These compounds are present in water bodies owing to the release of polluted wastewater from domestic activities and untreated agrochemical containers in wastewater bodies. This research work investigated the levels of five selected phenols (acetaminophenol, 4-chlorophenol, 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2-nirophenol and phenol) in water samples collected from ten locations of Oyun River, Ilorin, Kwara State and evaluates the health risks on the inhabitants. Extraction of phenol derivatives from the water samples was performed with the aid of liquid–liquid extraction methods, and the sample extract was analysed with the aid of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A general trend was observed across all locations with hazard index (HI) exceeding the recommended level of one in some locations (i.e. the mean HI ranges from 0.1977 to 3.3463 for adults and 0.5535 to 9.3696 for children, exceeding 1.00 in all occasions except November for both adults and children). This suggests that both the young and the adult population may be subjected to significant potential health risk from the ingestion of these pollutants in the water samples. The presence of phenolic derivatives in the samples could be associated with agricultural practices, domestic discharges, high washing of the soil and so on. Conclusively, it is pertinent to continue with the constant monitoring of the river because high levels of these endocrine pollutants could pose dangerous health effects to human and aquatic lives. More attention is needed in cubbing the rate of pollution in our rivers. However, United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) must be our core priority and target to achieve better living.