The impact of gold mining activities on the Lom River in Wakaso (Adamawa Cameroon) and the potential of Moringa Oleifera seeds for the removal of pollutants from wastewater is evaluated on this paper. Water samples were collected for physicochemical (hydrogen potential, electrical conductivity, turbidity and suspended solids) and chemical (major ions and heavy metals) analyses. To evaluate the effect of mining activities on waters and sediments, a combination of multivariate statistical analysis (MSA) and methods to assess the sediment quality was used. The restorative effect of Moringa oleifera seeds was studied with the determination of the maximum removal efficiencies and the maximum adsorption capacities. The results of the physicochemical characterization of waters showed that these waters were slightly acidic to slightly basic (6.12–8.12), weakly conductive (185.8–584.1 μS cm⁻¹), turbid (345–801NTU) and had high content of suspended solids (167–700 mg L⁻¹). The average concentrations of studied heavy metals (Ni, Cd, Fe, Mn, As and Hg) in waters exceeded the limits recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Physicochemical characterization of sediments revealed that they were acidic to neutral (5.95–6.80) and organic matter (OM) content ranged from 11.11 to 15.78%. The concentrations of studied trace metals (Ni, Cd, Fe, Hg, Mn and As) in sediments were below the limits recommended by the WHO except for Cd and Hg. The study of the capacity of Moringa oleifera seeds to remove pollutants in waters showed that 54% of the electrical conductivity, 80% of turbidity and 94% of suspended solids were reduced. The maximum removal efficiency of 91.66, 92.30 and 24.48 and the maximum adsorption capacity of 2.4, 2.6 and 16.6 mg g⁻¹were observed for Cd (II), Hg (II) and Fe (II), respectively. Thus, the Moringa oleifera seeds which are locally available natural bio-adsorbent exhibit attractive property to treat wastewater.

本文评估了金矿开采活动对 Wakaso（喀麦隆阿达马瓦）Lom 河的影响以及辣木种子去除废水中污染物的潜力。收集水样用于物理化学（氢势、电导率、浊度和悬浮固体）和化学（主要离子和重金属）分析。为了评估采矿活动对水域和沉积物的影响，使用了多变量统计分析 (MSA) 和评估沉积物质量的方法的组合。通过测定最大去除效率和最大吸附容量，研究了辣木种子的恢复作用。水体理化表征结果表明，这些水体呈微酸性至微碱性（6.12-8.12），弱导电（185.8-584.1 μS cm ^-1），浑浊（345-801NTU），悬浮物含量高（ 167–700 毫克升^-1 )。研究的重金属（Ni、Cd、Fe、Mn、As 和 Hg）在水中的平均浓度超过了世界卫生组织 (WHO) 标准推荐的限值。沉积物的理化特征表明它们呈酸性至中性 (5.95–6.80)，有机质 (OM) 含量介于 11.11% 至 15.78% 之间。除 Cd 和 Hg 外，沉积物中所研究的痕量金属（Ni、Cd、Fe、Hg、Mn 和 As）的浓度低于 WHO 推荐的限值。能力的研究辣木种子去除水中污染物显示，54% 的电导率、80% 的浊度和 94% 的悬浮固体降低。对于 Cd (II)、Hg (II) 和 Fe (II)，分别观察到91.66、92.30 和 24.48 的最大去除效率和 2.4、2.6 和 16.6 mg g ^-1的最大吸附容量。因此，作为当地可用的天然生物吸附剂的辣木种子显示出处理废水的有吸引力的特性。