Abstract

Analyses of lead, copper, chromium, cadmium, nickel, zinc and manganese contents in Otofure and Teboga waste dumps in Benin City, Nigeria were carried out to determine trace metal enrichment and distribution in the soils around the dump sites and environs. Results of analyses show that trace metal concentrations in the waste dumps were greater than those from the reference background sites by magnitude concentration differences of Pb (18.711 mgkg^-1), Cu (12.342 mgkg^-1), Cr (0.073 mgkg^-1), Cd (0.908 mgkg^-1), Zn (104.669 mgkg^-1), Ni (3.522 mgkg^-1), Mn (203.803 mgkg^-1) in Otofure area; and Pb (3.522 mgkg^-1), Cu (10.466 mgkg^-1), Cr (0.556 mgkg^-1), Cd (1.026 mgkg^-1), Zn (109.026 mgkg^-1), Ni (4.307 mgkg^-1) and Mn (161.349 mgkg^-1) in Teboga area. The calculated contamination/pollution (C/P) index values show that the dump sites were slightly polluted while the reference sites showed insignificant contamination. Analysis of enrichment factor shows that the dump sites are enriched in lead and zinc, and these decreased with distance away from the waste dump sites. The geochemical association of Cr–Cu–Zn in the soil among others shows their inclination towards anthropogenic sources. This study shows slight metal enrichment in lead and zinc content over other metals studied, but generally the average concentrations of trace metals were below international guideline values for environmental quality criteria.

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