Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometric Determination of Trace Metals in the Soils of Abuja Municipality Nigeria

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   General Pollution affects more than our water and air; soils also are seriously polluted. It is easy to forget that the soil is more than just a mass of inert matter. In its own way, the soil is a living organism. (I) Soil is a crucial component of the rural and urban environments, and in both cases, land management is the key to soil quality.

Pesticides are synthetic organic or inorganic chemicals used to control weeds in fields and lawns, and unwanted or harmful pests, such as insects, ants, beetles, houseflies, rodents and mites that feed on crops. Pesticides are divided into categories according to the target organisms they are designed to control. For instance, insecticides are made the control insects. The capacity of the soil to filter, buffer, degrade, immobilize, and detoxify pesticides is a function of the quality of the soil. Soil quality also encompasses the impacts that soil use and management can have on water and air quality, and on human and animal health.