Potentially Toxic Element Contamination of Groundwater, Surface Water and Tap Water in Kipushi Town and Lupoto Locality, Southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Groundwater, surface water and tap water contamination by PTEs (Potentially Toxic Elements) was assessed in Kipushi town and Lupoto locality of Kipushi administrative territory in the Upper-Katanga province, Democratic Republic of Congo. A total of fifty four water samples including thirty two samples from drilled water wells, ten samples from spade-sunk water wells, six samples from supplied tap water, four samples from a mine effluent and two samples from a river were collected from both localities in November and December 2017 and in January, February and March 2018. Then the samples were analyzed for their PTE contents by ICP-SF-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma-Sector Field Mass Spectrometry). Twenty PTEs including aluminum, arsenic, barium, bismuth, cadmium, cesium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, strontium, thallium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium and zinc were detected at various concentrations in each one of the samples. Many samples had concentrations and mean concentrations of PTE, such as arsenic, aluminum, cadmium, iron, lead, manganese and zinc, higher than the respective acceptable limits set for drinking water by the EU (European Union), the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency), and the WHO (World Health Organization) standards. Most PTEs being deleterious to human health even at very low concentrations, people who use the groundwater, surface water and tap water to meet their water needs in both localities are at risk.