The distribution of heavy metals between soil and soil solutions is a key issue in evaluating the environmental impact of long term applications of heavy metals to land. Contamination of soils by heavy metals has been reported by many workers. Metal adsorption is affected by many factors, including soil pH, clay mineralogy, abundance of oxides and organic matter, soil composition and solution ionic strength. The pH is one of the many factors affecting mobility of heavy metals in soils and it is likely to be the most easily managed and the most significant. To provide the appropriate level of protection for aquatic life and other uses of the resource, it is important to be able to predict the environmental distribution of important metals on spatial and temporal scales and to do so with particular emphasis on the water column concentrations. Regulatory levels reflected in water quality criteria or standards are based on water column concentrations. Predicting water column concentrations requires a consideration of the interactions of water column contaminants with both bed sediments and suspended particulates as critical components in the assessment. The adsorption behaviour of cadmium, copper, lead and zinc onto soils is studied under the various geo-environmental conditions of pH, concentration of adsorbate and adsorbent, and solution compositions. Experiments were conducted to determine the equilibrium contact time of various adsorbates for adsorbent in different systems. Experiments were also conducted to check the efficiency of various acid-mixtures to extract heavy metal from soils into the aqueous phase. The adsorption behaviour of heavy metals onto soils was also studied from sea-water system. Soils are characterized in terms of the role of clay minerals to remove the metals from the solution phase, back-ground levels of metals, maximum adsorption capacity to adsorb various heavy metals from different adsorption systems, and type of surface sites present. The experimental data of metal adsorption is described by Langmuir adsorption model. The adsorption data are also expressed in terms of surface loading, surface acidity, adsorption density, and affinity of soils for heavy metals in different adsorption systems. Ecological implications of changes in physical and chemical conditions in aquatic systems on heavy metals uptake by soils are also discussed. This research covers the following areas: the environmental impact of heavy metal discharge into the aquatic systems, the study of the mobility patterns of different heavy metals as function of geo-environmental conditions, and determination of the pathways and the ultimate fate of heavy metals in the environment.

Water quality is concerning as many still lack access to safe drinking water. Alternate sources such as rivers (FC up to 1600 CFUs/100 mL) and rainwater are often polluted. Rainwater tanks require maintenance to improve water quality, but could be used for non-potable purposes or irrigation. Grahamstown infrastructural failures initiate deviations from DWAF 1996 domestic water guidelines for microorganisms within the distribution system. Frequent testing can decrease risks of waterborne diseases. Limitations to this are inaccessibility of rural areas, distances from testing centres and costs. The low cost H2S strip test able to be used onsite by communities, may aid in risk assessment. H2S strip test results are not affected by sulphate (14 to 4240 mg/L) or nitrite (up to 47 mg/L). Transportation of the H2S strip tests between 10 and 32°C does not modify results significantly. Similarly to other studies: Klebsiella spp.; Enterobacter spp. and Serratia spp. were isolated from H2S strip tests. The mH2S strip test corresponds best with HPC in treated water, while in untreated river water it has approximately 90% correspondence with FCs, while survival of FC causes discrepancies with the H2S test after 22 days. A faecal coliform inactivation rate of 0.1 CFUs/ day, may be longer than many pathogens. Faecal source tracking, not currently practised in South Africa, could aid health risk assessments for disaster management, which would improve the NMMP programme. Bacterial survival times could propose the time period for which water is unsafe. Bifidobacteria and Rhodococcus are proposed to help identify the faecal pollution source. But enumeration of Rhodococcus is too lengthy (21 days). The tracking ratio of bifidobacteria (between 0.1 to 6.25) is not source definitive. The bifidobacteria survival rate, could indicator the time since faecal pollution. The bifidobacteria average survival rate is 2.3 CFUs per day for both groups. The culturability and selectivity of agar is still poor, with total bifidobacteria less selectively culturable. Enterococci overgrowth of TB was decreased by Beerens media. SUB is still useful to identify potential human faecal inputs. A single tracking method is thus not suitable alone, but requires a combination of techniques.

The growing crisis of antibiotic resistance is a major threat to ecosystems and human health. Infections caused by known and emerging antibiotic resistant pathogens are on the rise globally, with approximately 700,000 deaths per year caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria (1). In the United States, infections from antibiotic resistant bacteria cause more than 2 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths (2). Antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes are released into aquatic ecosystems through hospital waste, residential sewer lines and animal agricultural waste streams. Animal agriculture accounts for approximately 70% of antibiotic use in the United States (3). In agricultural ecosystems, runoff, land-applied fertilizer and waste lagoons can all contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance. In urban ecosystems, sewage spills and other wastewater inputs contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance. Environmental matrices, such as soil and water, can provide habitat, serving as reservoirs to potentially promote the spread of resistance. Research addressing antibiotic resistance primarily focuses on monitoring clinical occurrence and nosocomial infections (acquired in hospitals),but the natural environment also plays a role in the spread of antibiotic resistance. The consequences to aquatic ecosystems are not often studied and not well understood. Antibiotic resistance genes can transfer between bacteria through transduction, transformation and conjugation, potentially persisting in non-pathogenic environmental bacteria. Environmental reservoirs of antibiotics, antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes should be considered and integrated into frameworks to improve monitoring, regulation and management of urban and rural watersheds. The research presented in this doctoral dissertation includes field and laboratory studies designed to assess the prevalence and persistence of antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes in aquatic environments, with a focus on vancomycin-resistant enterococci, which are considered a major threat in the United States and top priority pathogens according to the Centers for Disease Control (2). The vanA gene associated with high-level resistance is located on mobile plasmids and associated with clinical infections, predominantly in the species Enterococcus faecium. E. faecium can cause bacteremia, endocarditis, pelvic infections and more (4). When vancomycin, often the last line of treatment for these infections, is no longer effective, the health burdens increase both financially and physically and infections can be fatal. Chapter 1 summarizes background and review of antibiotic resistance in the environment, including a co-authored review of culture-based methods to detect antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes in in the environment (previously published in the Journal of Environmental Quality (5). In Chapter 2, a field study was performed to investigate the occurrence and persistence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci and vanA in a sewage spill in Pinellas County, Florida, previously published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology (6). In Chapter 3, antibiotic resistance genes were quantified to study their persistence in poultry litter microcosms (manuscript in prep). In Chapter 4, microcosms were used to assess how nutrients and plasmid-associated vancomycin resistance affect survival among E. faecium strains (in process of submitting for publication at Applied and Environmental Microbiology). Antibiotic resistance is a public health crisis and the results of the studies presented here contribute data towards a better understanding of environmental reservoirs of antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes. The research has broad implications for public health, environmental policy and ecosystem management.

[pt] A contaminação dos solos e águas subterrânea tem sido um tema pertinente nas questões ambientais atuais, visto que, estes são recursos vitais tanto para a produção de alimentos quanto para o equilíbrio do ecossistema. O processo de degradação dessas fontes naturais está chamando a atenção da sociedade e se acentuou com o crescimento contínuo das cidades, pois, as áreas que antes eram destinadas as indústrias estão aos poucos sendo ocupadas por edificações residenciais, de lazer e/ou comerciais. Essa mudança de uso e ocupação do solo é um grande problema vivido em quase todas as cidades do mundo. Em meio a essa realidade, a essa problemática, este trabalho de dissertação irá abordar o caso da zona portuária da cidade do Rio de Janeiro, que está passando por esse processo devido às obras do projeto Porto Maravilha. O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar as possíveis contaminações provenientes das atividades passadas realizadas na região do Porto do Rio de Janeiro. A metodologia consistiu em um levantamento histórico da área, de todas as possíveis atividades realizadas no local, de todos os produtos que lá passaram e de todas as mudanças que ocorreram ao longo do tempo. Foi realizado uma compilação dos dados históricos e dos atuais, para poder caracterizar as possíveis fontes de contaminação encontradas na zona portuária do Rio de Janeiro, ou seja, se essas contaminações são passivos ambientais antigos ou se foram gerados com as atividades realizadas atualmente nas áreas. / [en] Contamination of soil and groundwater has been a relevant issue in the current environmental issues, since these are vital resources for both food production and for the balance of the ecosystem. The process of degradation of these natural sources are calling the attention of society and was accentuated by the continued growth of the cities, because the areas that were destined industries are gradually being occupied by residential buildings, recreational and/or commercial. This change in land use and occupation is a major problem experienced in almost all cities in the world. Amid this reality, this problem, this dissertation will address the case the port area of the city of Rio de Janeiro, who is going through this process due to the works of the Porto Maravilha, which has over years preparing the area to make it more accessible to the population and also to receive the events that are being held in the city as the World Cup that took place in 2014 and the Olympic Games the will take place in 2016. The project Porto Maravilha is preparing the port area, which for many years was a relegated town, to integrate the development process of Rio de Janeiro. The purpose of this project is to promote the restructuring of the site, through the expansion, joint and the requalification of public spaces in the region, aimed at improving the quality of life of current and future residents and environmental and socioeconomic sustainability of the area. The project covers an area of 5 (five) million square meters, located in the Port area of the city of Rio de Janeiro. As discussed throughout the literature, comprising Chapter 2 of this work, the port area is what we call a link between city and port. The city seen port is considered simply a port where incoming and outgoing goods, men and information and city view of the harbor, is considered a haven for sailors, merchants, port refuges boats authorities and a place for loanding and unloanding goods (VILLAÇA, 1996).

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The rapid growth of urban centers and the increase in deforested areas and agricultural activities, coupled with a lack of proper management of water resources has generated large amounts of waste carried to water bodies, usually beyond their capacity of assimilation. So, to assist the efforts of monitoring, control, supervision and development of territorial planning for environmental management body, one of the main tools used is the map of environmental fragility. However, it is necessary to assess how much uncertainty is implicit in applying this type of method. In this context, the objective of this study is to analyze the consistency of the methodological approach applied in the project FRAG-RIO, related for the contamination of water for the basin under study. For this, was compared the hierarchy of river reaches in a map of environmental fragilities of water contamination, with the hierarchy of river reaches based on the sampling stations for water quality of FEPAM/RS. The study area is the river basin Santa Maria, located on the southwestern border of Rio Grande do Sul, a predominantly rural watershed, characterized by extensive livestock and rice fields. For the development of methodology, in the stations of quality of FEPAM/RS were obtained observed data for concentration of the following parameters: fecal coliform, BOD, COD, ortho phosphate, total phosphorus, manganese, total Kjeldahl nitrogen and total solids. These data were transformed into loads, and then ranked. To construct the map of fragilities were considered three variables: the population organic load remaining, organic load of breeding and agriculture index. The final map of fragilities varies from 0 to 255, where smaller values indicate low fragility, while higher values represent the greatest fragility. The fragilities were analyzed in relation to the quality stations of FEPAM/RS in two ways: considering all contributing drainage area to the station, and considering only the incremental area of the station. The results of these tests were ranked and compared with the ranking of each parameter of quality stations. For this, the correlation between the hierarchies was analyzed using the Spearman test. The main result, it was observed that the analysis of environmental fragility relating to the aspect of water contamination is presented as a useful tool to support decision making in basins with a lack of data, particularly when considering the quality parameters of BOD and nitrogen. These parameters had the highest correlations with the hierarchy generated by the sum of the fragilities of all contributing drainage area to the quality station , with a determination coefficient of 59%. / O crescimento acelerado dos centros urbanos e o aumento de áreas desmatadas e atividades agropecuárias, aliados a falta de um gerenciamento adequado dos recursos hídricos, tem gerado quantidades elevadas de efluentes carreados para os corpos hídricos, normalmente além de sua capacidade de assimilação. Assim, para auxílio às ações de monitoramento, controle, fiscalização e elaboração do planejamento territorial ambiental pelo órgão gestor, uma das principais ferramentas utilizadas é o mapa de fragilidade ambiental. No entanto, é necessário avaliar qual a quantidade de incerteza está implícita ao se aplicar este tipo de método. Neste contexto, o objetivo deste trabalho é analisar a consistência da abordagem metodológica aplicada no projeto FRAG-RIO, referente ao aspecto contaminação das águas, para a bacia em estudo. Para isso, foi comparada a hierarquização de trechos de rios de um mapa de fragilidades ambientais quanto ao aspecto contaminação das águas, com a hierarquização de trechos de rios baseada nas estações de amostragem de qualidade da água da FEPAM/RS. A área de estudo corresponde à bacia hidrográfica do rio Santa Maria, situada na fronteira sudoeste do Rio Grande do Sul, sendo uma bacia predominantemente rural, caracterizada pela pecuária extensiva e lavouras de arroz. Para o desenvolvimento da metodologia, nas estações de qualidade da FEPAM/RS foram obtidos dados observados de concentração dos seguintes parâmetros: coliformes termotolerantes, DBO, DQO, fosfato orto, fósforo total, manganês, nitrogênio total Kjeldahl e sólidos totais. Estes dados foram transformados em cargas, e então hierarquizados. Para a construção do mapa de fragilidades foram consideradas três variáveis: carga orgânica remanescente das populações, carga orgânica das criações e índice agrícola. O mapa final de fragilidades varia de 0 a 255, sendo que valores menores significam baixa fragilidade, enquanto valores maiores representam as maiores fragilidades. As fragilidades foram analisadas em relação às estações de qualidade da FEPAM/RS de duas formas: considerando toda área contribuinte à estação, e considerando apenas a área incremental à estação. Os resultados obtidos destas análises foram hierarquizados, e comparados com a hierarquização de cada parâmetro das estações de qualidade. Para isso, foi analisada a correlação entre as hierarquizações por meio do teste de Spearman. Como principal resultado, observou-se que a análise de fragilidades ambientais referente ao aspecto contaminação das águas se apresentou como uma ferramenta útil para subsidiar à tomada de decisões em bacias com carência de dados, em especial ao analisar os parâmetros de qualidade DBO e nitrogênio. Estes parâmetros obtiveram as maiores correlações com a hierarquia gerada pela soma das fragilidades de toda área contribuinte à estação de qualidade, apresentando um coeficiente de determinação de 59%.

Foodborne diseases are a major challenge to school feeding programmes because inadequate food safety knowledge and skills of staff can result in unsafe food handling practices and cross-contamination, thus causing foodborne disease outbreaks. The aim of this study was to investigate the food safety and quality assurance measures of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. The research design was cross-sectional quantitative in nature. A total of 300 NSNP food service managers/coordinators and 440 food handlers were selected to participate in the study. Data collection was by means of a self-administered structured questionnaire and 192 food contact surface swap samples from 32 primary and secondary public schools. The majority of schools offering NSNP meals were located in informal settlements and most were found to lack basic resources such as electricity and potable tap water in their kitchens. 93% of food handlers did not know about Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP). The NSNP food service managers in some schools, especially in schools located in rural settlements, were found to have little knowledge or awareness of HACCP. No school was found to have implemented the HACCP, and only a few staff had received food safety training. Inadequate food safety knowledge was worst in schools located in informal settlements due to a lack of training. Up to 60% of food handlers did not know the correct procedure for washing a cutting board after it had been used. In addition, just over 95% of the food handlers did not know how to sanitise utensils and cutting surfaces after cutting up raw meat. The lack of hygiene was confirmed by the presence of Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, E.coli 015:H7, Salmonella and Shigella species on food contact surfaces. A total of 22 different bacteria genera were identified. It is essential to monitor NSNP kitchen hygiene practice to ensure the minimal contamination of food products and newly recruited food handlers should be trained on food handling practice and principles to ensure the safety of prepared food for school children. / Business Management / D. Phil. (Consumer Science)

Three wastewater treatment systems (WWTS) situated on Cayes in the Belize Barrier Reef System were assessed in terms of the unique public health and environmental circumstances of being a tourist destination surrounded by fragile coral reef. Laughing Bird Caye, Silk Caye, and Little Water Caye are three small cayes that are the staging points for local diving, fishing, and other recreational tourism. All three systems are based upon pour-flush toilets, semi-anaerobic biodigesters and drainage fields. Limitations in cost, available resources, useable area, high infiltration rates of the sand, and salinity of the water have played a major factor in the construction and performance of the WWTS on the Cayes. This thesis aims to form an understanding of treatment efficiency of the WWTS, investigate the effectiveness of decentralized saltwater-based WWTS in comparison to freshwater-based WWTS, and provide recommendations to improve the performance and resource recovery in a manner appropriate for the context in which the systems are deployed. A mathematical model was developed to predict the performance of the WWTS based on available operational and water-quality input data. The model is based on the mass balances of six species: inert solids, fecal solids, bacterial biomass, soluble substrate (i.e. dissolved organic carbon), ammonium and nitrate. Effects of salinity were estimated for the two saltwater-based WWTS. The model predicted the effluent concentrations of fecal solids, soluble biological oxygen demand (BOD), ammonium, and nitrate. A sensitivity analysis was also performed on the predicted effluent treatment efficiency based upon influent load, oxygen concentration and system salinity. Results from Silk Caye and Laughing Bird Caye indicate that varying the number of visitors from seasonal lows to highs has a moderate impact on the effluent fecal solids and soluble BOD in the effluent. Due to the relatively large volume of the WWTS at Little Water Caye, and thus high HRT, varying the number of visitors did not have a significant effect. The model predicted a reduction of nitrogen from the effluent due to settled solids and the assimilation of the nitrogen into bacteria. However the model consistently projected an effluent nitrate concentration (as mg/L as N) between 60 and 63 across the three WWTS. The oxygen concentration within the WWTS had the greatest effect on effluent BOD of the three parameters tested in the sensitivity analysis. Results from the sensitivity analysis indicate that a minimum concentration of 0.95 mg/L of oxygen is required before the model can accurately predict the effluent BOD concentration. The concentration of effluent fecal solids did not significantly change with changes in oxygen concentration. Salinity had a significant effect on the predicted fecal solids and soluble BOD in the effluent. Predicted fecal solids in the effluent wastewater increased approximately 60 percent from freshwater conditions to 4 percent salinity. Similarly, effluent BOD concentration increased strongly with increasing salinity. The increase in concentration is due to the major reduction of substrate-consuming bacteria by cell-die-off. The model predicts that a significant increase in cell die-off begins to occur at 2.4 percent salinity. The predicted effluent of the freshwater-based WWTS on Little Water Caye was compared to 166 wastewater treatment plants operating in Brazil. Comparison between the WWTS on the Caye and the decentralized WWTS in Brazil indicate that the predicted removal efficiencies of total suspended solids and soluble BOD are higher than the measured efficiencies of the WWTS. However, the total nitrogen removal efficiency for the WWTS on the Caye was the least effective; most-likely because the model does not account for denitrification within the biodigester. The comparison between the WWTS illustrates that the predicted removal efficiency of BOD and TSS solids is most likely less in the actual measurement than predicted value from the model. The WWTS on the Cayes were constructed to mitigate the impacts of the wastewater produced by visitors on the general health of the pubic and the environment. Considering the reports of the eutrophication affecting the coral reefs surrounding the Cayes, the WWTS have largely failed in at least one aspect of their purpose. The effluent water quality predicted by the model also suggests that significant concentrations of nitrogen are entering the surrounding ocean habitat as ammonia and nitrate. Recommendations to improve the effluent wastewater quality were separated into three categories based upon the required level of input to realize the recommendation. The input includes the capital cost and labor of the change, the level of buy-in from the users of the system, and the resulting maintenance requirements. The implementation of a urine separation toilet system was proposed as a method to reduce effluent nitrogen entering the environment and to create a resource recovery system (RR) from the already constructed WWTS.

Salmonella species is the etiologic agent of salmonellosis, which is a zoonotic infection that is characterized by diarrhea and systemic infection. Contaminated foods are usually the vehicles of Salmonella transmission along the food supply chain. Asymptomatic food production animals and effluents also contribute to contamination of meat. Antimicrobials have contributed significantly to treatment of salmonellosis. However, uncontrolled antimicrobial use is among the causes of antibiotic resistance, which results in treatment failure. The aim of this research study was to determine the extent of Salmonella spp contamination during the cattle slaughtering process in South African rural abattoirs (n = 23), water and cattle feaces. In addition, the aim was to determine antimicrobial resistance profiles of the Salmonella spp isolates. The specific objectives were: i) to establish the occurrence and distribution of Salmonella spp on cattle carcasses, hides, and intestinal contents and environmental samples using classical microbiology and molecular techniques; ii) to determine the Salmonella serovars using serotyping; and iii) to determine antimicrobial resistance patterns and multidrug resistance among the Salmonella isolates using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Materials and Classical microbiology techniques were used to analyze cattle faeces (n = 400), hides (n = 67), intestinal contents (n = 62), carcass sponges (n = 100), and water from the abattoirs (n = 75) for the presence of Salmonella spp. Further confirmation of the Salmonella isolates was done using Polymerase Chain Reaction whereby the invA gene was targeted. A total of 92 Salmonella spp isolates were recuperated. The 92 Salmonella were serotyped as described in the White-Kauffmann-Le Minor scheme. The 92 Salmonella spp isolates were further subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility examination towards the following antimicrobials: ampicillin (10μg), cefotaxine (30μg), kanamycin (30μg), oxytetracycline (30μg), and enrofloxacin (5μg) by using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion procedure. All the isolates carried the invA genes. The average Salmonella spp occurrence on carcasses, hides, and intestinal contents was 35.37% (n = 81). Eleven of the faecal samples (2.75%) tested positive for Salmonella spp. The Salmonella serovar that occurred more frequently was S. Enteritidis. Different serovars that were recognized on carcasses were not automatically found on the hides and intestinal contents. The incompatible frequency of the different Salmonella serovars on carcasses, intestinal contents and hides means that in addition to carriage on hides and in intestinal contents, new external causes that did not form part of this study also play a vital role concerning carcass contamination. Most Salmonella spp (n = 66; 71.7%) isolates were resistant to a minimum of one antimicrobial with main resistance detected towards oxytetracycline (51.90%). This emphasizes on the call for wise antimicrobial use at some stage in animal production and strict sanitation for the duration of slaughtering. Briefly, cattle slaughtered in South African rural abattoirs harboured different types of Salmonella serovars that were resistant to antimicrobials, which could be a public health risk and danger. The outcome should support policymakers with determining the effectiveness of existing sanitary measures during cattle slaughtering in rural abattoirs, which is vital from socio-economic, public health, and epidemiological perspectives. / College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences

M.Tech. (Biomedical Technology) / Drinking water in the greater Johannesburg area is produced by Rand Water and is transported to local Johannesburg Water where it is stored in reservoirs for distribution. At any point during the production, distribution and storage of the water, contamination with free-living amoebae, potentially containing amoeba resistant bacteria, may occur. Free-living amoebae are often resistant to the biocides used by water treatment industries and may thus be transmitted to public facilities, consumers’ homes and informal settlements through water distribution systems and during storage in small containers. The aim of our study was to analyse the water quality around Johannesburg with regard to free-living amoebae and amoeba resistant bacteria. A total of 182 tap and 5 storage tank water samples, collected from Hillbrow, Bertrams, Riverlea, Braamfischerville and Hospital Hill, were analysed for amoebae, indicator organisms, Legionellae, environmental mycobacteria, Shigella, Salmonella and Vibrio species using amoebal enrichment method. Direct microscopy indicated the presence of amoebae in 96.1% of samples. Acanthamoeba cysts were present in 69.0% of the samples. In 55.0% of these samples visibly active intracellular bacteria were observed within the sample suspensions. In the 46 samples analysed by polymerase chain reaction, the presence of Acanthamoeba species was confirmed in 65.2%, and the intracellular bacteria such as Legionella pneumophila and Mycobacterium avium was confirmed in 23.9% and 73.9% respectively. All samples indicated the presence of Shigella species while one sample contained Salmonella species on xylose lysine desoxycholate agar after amoebal enrichment processing. Vibrio species was not confirmed in the samples. Our results indicated a high risk of transmission of amoeba resistant bacteria through drinking water to people living in these areas.

M.Tech. / Fungi and their mycotoxins are major contaminants of cereals and maize which is the major staple food for Angolan population. The consumption of fungal and mycotoxins contaminated maize can induce health problems as these mycotoxins are known to induce immune suppression and other chronic diseases known as mycotoxicoses. In addition, to these mycotoxins also induce chronic diseases such as cancers of various types (liver, oesophageal, brain). Mycotoxins also immensely affect organs such as fragility and haemorrhage in tissues, liver-necrosis, bile-duct proliferation, caustic effects, intestinal haemorrhage and diarrhoea, adenomatosis, tremors, inco-ordination, mania, coma, photosensitization, sloughing of the extremities, nephrosis, uremia, infertility, prolonged oestrus, huge implications and infections in people with Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)- AIDS. There is a very little known about the incidence of mycotoxins in Angola, which are associated with Food, Environment and Health. Therefore, the aim of this scientific novel study in history of Angola was to analyse maize samples obtained from major markets in Angola and to establish their quality with regard to mycotoxins and fungi and well as to establish possible links to the prevalent diseases as well as chronic diseases recorded among Angolan populations. To attain these aims, 60 samples of maize were randomly selected and purchased from open rural and nonregulated informal (dusty and food exposed to open air) markets around Luanda, Angola. Luanda, being the capital city of Angola was found to be the best place to sample, because of the presence of huge markets in which food products as well as maize produced in different provinces are delivered and sold to its high population. Thus, sampling in these markets was representative of the whole country and the results obtained give an approximate the status of the quality of maize consumed in different parts of Angola. The result from this study approximates the status of possible health risks that consumers can be exposed due to consumption of these mycotoxins. The samples were analysed in the Food Environmental and Health Research Laboratories at the University of Johannesburg for fungi and mycotoxins contamination using fungal screening methodologies. In terms of mycotoxins extraction, a multi-mycotoxin (solvent-solvent) extraction, solid phase extraction using SAX column for fumonisins (FBs) and immuno-affinity column (VICAM) were used for confirmation of results. Normal thin layer chromatography (TLC), reversed phase thin layer chromatography (RPTLC) (both for FBs confirmation), fluorometer “VICAM” and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were techniques used for mycotoxins detection, identification and quantification. From the results obtained in this study, fungal isolation revealed contamination of the three most important toxigenic species: Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium spp.