ASSESSING HEAVY METAL CONCENTRATION IN SOIL OF FABRIC PRODUCTION VICINITY

ABSTRACT

The study of heavy metal deposition and accumulation in fabric production vicinity is of increasing interest because of the awareness that heavy metals present in soils may have negative consequences on human health and the environment. This study describes the assessment of heavy metal concentration in soils of fabric production vicinity a case study of Itoku Adire Kampala market, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. Five (5) top soil samples and 5 sub soil samples were collected randomly from five different locationsSP1, SP2, SP3, SP4 and SP5 at the depth of 0-15 cm and 15-30 cm using soil auger. The soil samples were air dried and sieved using 2 mm sieve mesh.  Physical, chemical and heavy metal parameters of the samples were analysed using standard methods to ascertain the level of pollution. Descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential (Pearson’s correlation Analysis) statistics were employed to analyse the data. The mean concentration of heavy metals in the soil samples showed the distribution patterns of Fe>Mn>Pb>Cu>Cd>Co. The average concentrations of heavy metals in the samples were quite high. The concentrations of Pb and Cu were higher than the allowable levels set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON). Positive correlation at significant levels of 0.05 and 0.01 was observed between the pairs of Mn/Fe, Mn/Pb, Fe/Pb, Fe/Cu and Cu/Pb respectively which indicated the heavy metals common origin and degree of contamination. Therefore, there is a need for Environmental Protection Agency and other environmental regulatory bodies to be more effective in environmental assessment, monitoring and enforcement of environmental laws and regulations