MICROBIAL EVALUATION AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF WATER USED IN LABORATORIES IN MINI CAMPUS

ABSTRACT There has been a significant decline in accessibility to potable water over the recent past. Three (3) samples of tap-water were collected in the biology, physics, and chemistry laboratory in the mini-campus of Federal Polytechnic Offa, the Kwara State. Direct physicochemical and microbiological examination using standard methods was done on these samples. The total heterotroph count (THC) of sites A, B and C (chemistry, physics, and biology labs, respectively) was between 2.1 x [10 6] and 5.6 x [10 7] colony-forming units per millilitre. The results showed that the uppermost THC of 5.6 x 107 CFU ml -1 tap water of the biology lab. The overall viable count of the fungi present in the same sites was recorded to be 1.1 X 10 3 to 7.0 X 10 4 sporogenic fungal units per millilitre with the biology lab recording the highest value of 7.0 X 10 4 SFU/ml. The isolated bacteria were Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris and Bacillus cereus. The recurrant nature of the statement on the viable fungal count that involved comparison with the values of 1.1 × 10 3 to the 7.0 x10 4 SFU ml -1 in support of the fact that the biological laboratory produced the highest fungal load. The species of fungi include Penicillium and Cladosporium. Laboratory analysis of bacteria and fungi of the biology, chemistry, and physics laboratories showed various types of bacteria populations and could present serious health risks to the activity of laboratory workers, not to mention undermining the quality of research processes. There were acceptable parameters of pH, total dissolved solids, salinity, chloride concentration, biochemical oxygen demand, and dissolved oxygen that were within acceptable limits in all three laboratories.