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Coastal urbanisation has ramifications for the sustainable development of developing nations. There are often unquantified ecological and health risks associated with urbanisation. Sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analysed in surface sediment from three peri-urban coastal lagoons in southern Ghana. We found significant spatial variations of sediment PAHs. These variations were attributed to physiography of the lagoons and diverse anthropogenic activities surrounding them. Total PAHs ranged from 20.81 to 24,801.38 μg/kg (dry weight), underscoring a low to very high pollution level. Diagnostic ratios revealed both pyrogenic and petrogenic origins. Over 50 % of individual PAHs were of moderate ecological risk to benthic organisms, and cancer risk to humans was above the World Health Organisation's recommended safety limit (1 × 10 -6 ). These ecological and health risks should be wake-up call for a more integrated urban planning approach to coastal urbanisation as coastal communities largely depend on natural ecosystems for food and livelihood opportunities., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

An environmental pollution investigation was carried out to determine the concentrations of aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg) (heavy metals) in the surface water and river water bed sediments of lagoons and estuaries along the coastal belt of Ghana. The study assessed the environmental pollution situation and evaluated their sources and distribution of these metals. The total concentrations of Al, As, Cd, and Hg were determined by the neutron activation analysis technique. Water and sediment samples were collected from the Benya, Fosu, and Narkwa lagoons in the Central Region and from the Pra estuary in the western part of Ghana. Some indices, such as contamination factor, pollution-load index, contamination degree, and geoaccumulation index, were used to assess eco-environmental quality of the sampling sites. The analysis indicated that the Fosu lagoon was fairly polluted with Cd. The investigation indicated a highly localized distribution pattern closely associated with the two pollution sources (garbage/solid waste dumps and industrial activities) along the coastal belt. The resulting environmental deterioration required a concerted evaluative effort by all stakeholders., (© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011)