Ghana – Mapping Project

This project seeks to comprehensively map out toxic sites within 10 districts in Ghana. Trained investigators will then cover these districts street by street with a visible site identification protocol that separates possible site identifiers into a primary and secondary category. Primary identifiers, such as confirmed activity and tailings, are weighted higher than secondary identifiers such as visibly stressed vegetation and discolored water because they provide more concrete evidence of a toxic site. If a site reaches a predetermined minimum number of points on our rubric scale, the site will be deemed a likely contaminated site. XRF soil sampling will then be utilized to confirm toxic site status. Our investigators will also note additional information about exposure pathways and population affected.The data will allow us to extrapolate and estimate the number of toxic sites in Ghana, and build a better understanding of the different pollutants involved at these contaminated sites.  This will lay the groundwork for future cleanup.