An affiliate professor on the Department of Physics of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Professor Bright Kwakye-Awuah is elevating scientific and cost concerns over the Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) technology to scrub water our bodies polluted by unlawful mining actions.
The EPA on February 24, 2026, commenced a pilot software of the Copper-based nano liquid technology on the Birim River within the Eastern area.
After days of the clean-up trial, the EPA launched photos of what seems to be a visibly clear state of the diverted and stagnant pool of the Birim River.
But a piece of the general public and native scientists critiqued the technology, with some doubting the feasibility of the trial in preventing the unlawful mining menace.
Professor Bright Kwakye-Awuah, within the underlisted concerns, analyses the scientific and financial underpinnings of the technology whereas proffering viable options to restoring the polluted water our bodies.
In his submission, Prof. Kwakye-Awuah defined that the scientific validity of the technology for polluted rivers, highlighting that the technology reveals established antimicrobial and catalytic traits when utilized beneath managed parameters to facilitate flocculation – aggregation of dispersed particles to type bigger clusters – or induce oxidative destabilisation of suspended particles.
However, he believes rivers polluted by galamsey are multifaceted, involving excessive turbidity from clay and silt, a spectrum of dissolved and particulate heavy metals (together with mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium, and manganese), potential cyanide residues, excessive suspended solids, and disrupted hydrodynamics.
With copper itself being a heavy metallic, and introducing copper nanoparticles into an open river system, he says, raises vital concerns relating to secondary contamination, bioaccumulation in aquatic life, sediment enrichment with copper, and long-term ecological dangers.
“While rapid water clarification may be observed, visual improvements do not equate to compliance with regulatory standards for dissolved heavy metals. The dynamic nature of river systems means nanoparticles may disperse downstream, accumulate in sediments, or become resuspended during flooding events,” he added.
Pro. Kwakye-Awuah elaborated that any of such intervention would require strong validation, together with ICP-MS evaluation of residual metals, whole copper quantification, sediment and ecotoxicity research, earlier than they are often deemed scientifically sound.
“Without comprehensive chemical and ecological assessments, the approach may yield superficial results rather than true environmental remediation,” he famous.
With the EPA estimating that $200,000 is required per kilometre of the river for cleaning, Prof. Kwakye-Awuah suggests the true means to cease the air pollution is to combat off the unlawful miners.
“This assumes homogenous contamination, uniform effectiveness, and a one-off remedy able to resolving air pollution completely. However, if unlawful mining persists upstream, steady or repeated purposes can be essential, inflicting whole prices to escalate nicely past preliminary projections.
He continued that: “A thorough economic evaluation should consider treatment durability, reapplication frequency, long-term environmental liabilities, ongoing monitoring, and sediment management. Addressing symptoms in the river, rather than eliminating pollution at its source, risks creating a cycle of recurring public expenditure without sustainable outcomes. Cost justification must therefore be grounded in long-term effectiveness and risk of recurrence, not solely on immediate visual results”.
He beneficial some doable technology-based options to scrub the river, aside from the experimental copper-based nano liquid technology.
“Treating river segments with chemical nano-dosing primarily addresses downstream symptoms, whereas source-based interventions target pollution at entry points prior to dispersion,” he famous.
Prof Kwakye-Awuah asserts that remedy applied sciences should goal at bodily eradicating suspended solids and adsorption of dissolved heavy metals with out introducing further toxicants.
“Modular deployment at pollution nodes, coupled with water recycling for operational reuse, creates a closed-loop system that minimises river discharge,” he added.
He continued that: “When enforced alongside the cessation of in-stream mining and a polluter-pays model (requiring miners to fund water treatment) the economic burden shifts from the public to those responsible for contamination”.
By specializing in discharge factors somewhat than the whole river, he says, the handled volumes lower, capital and operational prices are extra manageable, and long-term sustainability is enhanced.
“Over time, source containment with engineered adsorption and flotation proves more structurally and economically viable than ongoing, river-wide chemical dosing, particularly when ongoing contamination is anticipated,” he famous.
In conclusion, Prof Kwakye-Awuah believes restoring the degraded water our bodies or every other pure useful resource should not introduce dangerous measures.
“Environmental restoration must not introduce new environmental hazards. Rivers are dynamic, living ecosystems whose water chemistry and/or biochemistry are different from non-laboratory systems. The deployment of copper nanoparticles in natural water bodies, absent comprehensive ecotoxicological validation, poses potential long-term risks,” he famous.
He continued that: “Effective remediation begins at the source of contamination. By intercepting pollution from illegal mining, treating it with advanced adsorption and flotation systems, and responsibly reusing treated water, we can safeguard our rivers without imposing further chemical burdens. Ghana must prioritise science-based, economically sound, and ecologically responsible solutions to ensure the preservation of our rivers for future generations.”.
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