摘要
South Africa is pronounced a dry country. Though KwaZulu-Natal has a higher rain fall than most part of the country, it has recorded cases of austere droughts. The present study was aimed at examining the quality of water within Richards Bay precinct in relation to South African target water quality range （TWQR）. Fifty water samples were collected from five water sources （effluent, stream, Mzingazi River, Indian Ocean and Esikawini drinking tap water） and analyzed using ICP-MS technique to determine the concentrations of some traced metals i.e., Fe, Cu, T1, Zn, Pb, Cr, and Ni. The main impurities were found to be Cd, Mn and As with concentrations of 2.21 × 10^0mg. l-1, 7.19 × 10-1mg.l-1and 2.72 ×10-3mg. 1-1 respectively. The surface gross alpha contamination of mineral stores within the facilities ranges from 1.00 × 10-4 ± 1.5 × 10-2 Bq.cm-2 to 1.45× 10-2 ±4.20 ×10-3Bq.cm-2 with a mean concentration of 1.15 × 10-2 ±1.36 ×10-2Bq.cm-2while the gross beta contamination ranges from 1.00 ×10-3 ± 1.14 × 10-ZBq, cm-2 to 4.15 × 10-2 ± 2.17 × 10-2Bq. cm-2 with a mean concentration of 2.15 ×10-2 ±1.80×10-2Bq. cm-2. The result indicated that the water quality was acceptable.
