Impact Of Municipal Solid Waste On Trace Metal Concentrations In Herbage And Soil Samples Of The Abuja Municipality

Abstract

The impact of municipal solid waste on the levels of cadmium, copper, nickel, lead and zinc in herbage and soil samples within Abuja municipality was studied. The flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry was used in the determination of the metals. The average concentration of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in the herbage samples were 0.3±0.1, 3.8±1.2, 2.9±0.8, 50.7±14.3 and 34.7±6.1 µg g-1 weight respectively. The concentrations of metal in the soil were higher than in the herbage samples and were in the order of Pb > Zn >> Cu > Ni > Cd. The concentrations of metal in the soil samples were higher than levels in normal farmlands. The levels of Cd and Pb in the soil samples were higher than levels in soil criteria of many countries suggesting that municipal wastes are contributing significantly to the metal concentrations in the herbage and soil samples.