Act Force Gold®, Butaforce®, and Atraforce® are among the most commonly used pesticides in Nigeria. The lethal concentrations and the respective toxic units for the three pesticides were determined. The genotoxic effects of the three pesticides were investigated in the red blood cells of Clarias gariepinus using micronucleus (MN) assay. The 96 h LC50 was 4.75, 4.84, and 54.74 mg L−1 for Act Force Gold®, Butaforce®, and Atraforce®, respectively. The toxic units in ascending order of toxicity were 1.83, 20.66, and 21.05 for Act Force Gold®, Butaforce®, and Atraforce® respectively. The estimated safe levels based on NAS/NAE varied from 4.75 × 10−1–4.75 × 10−5 in Act Force Gold® through 4.64 × 10−1–4.85 × 10−5 in Butaforce® to 5.74–5.74 × 10−5 in Atraforce®. Fish specimens were exposed to the pesticides and sampling was done at regular intervals at days 1, 7, 14, and 21 and after another 7-day recovery period. The results obtained indicated concentration- and duration-dependent increase in % MN formation with maximum values of 3.40 ± 0.25 for Act Force Gold® on day 14 and 3.05 ± 0.36 and 2.35 ± 0.14 for Butaforce® and Atraforce® respectively on day 7 of exposure. The 7-day recovery period could not reverse the trend as the % MN values obtained were significantly different from the control. The results further support the use of MN assay in assessing the toxicity of aquatic pollutants and can be used in the monitoring of aquatic ecosystems.
The disparity in both population and wealth distribution in Nigeria by geo-political zones is well recognized. There is also
the recognition that some of the environmental problems in certain sections of the country can be attributed to the imbalance
in both population and wealth distribution. Hence the various agitations for environmental resource control in the country.
What is lacking however is the research that shows the magnitude of the linkages between the disparity and the environmental
degradation in regional context. This provides the basis for this research. To achieve the aim of the research, a STIRPAT
model was employed as an analytical tool. The findings show that the southern geopolitical zones are generally more densely
populated and wealthier than the northern zones. The south is also experiencing a higher degree of environmental resource
degradation attributable to anthropogenic factors. Thus, there is congruence between population density, wealth distribution
and environmental degradation in Nigeria. Therefore the achievement of sustainable environment and development in Nigeria
requires deliberate policies to mitigate the impact of population concentration and wealth creation on the environment.
Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue. 相似文献
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