Analysis of Heavy Metals Composition in Some of the Vegetables from Waste Dump Soils in Selected Urban Areas of Benue State

Abstract

Odoh R, Yebpella GG, Archibong CS and Anidobu CO

Vegetables are highly consumed in all the states across Northern Nigeria where they constitute a major source of nutritious food. Some of the vegetables that grow fast and successfully are used as source of food by all categories of households. Soil being the natural source of for food production is often contaminated with heavy metals and other toxins as result of human activities. This study was conducted to determine the presence, concentration and bioaccumulation of selected heavy metals in some of the varieties of the vegetables grown on soils containing waste dumps. The selected heavy metals were analyzed using AAS. The levels of the heavy Metals in both vegetables and their soils were generally low with Fe and Co having the highest and lowest mean values respectively. The values were within the acceptable standards indicating that the vegetable is safe for consumption. Significant differences were observed at P<0.05 between the mean values of Cu and Cr in amaranth samples and Fe in the soil samples. The Transfer Factor values were generally less than 1.00 except for Cr in samples from sites Ma and Gb and for Co in samples from site OT. Except for Cr, the TF values obtained did not provide a clear trend on the movement of the selected heavy metals from soil to the study vegetable samples. Therefore the use of soils from waste dump site for cultivation of vegetables did not impact much on the heavy metal analyzed in the vegetable samples studied.

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