Industrial Activities and Heavy Metal Pollution: Assessment of Concentration of Zn, Cu, Cd Cr and, Pb in Soil Samples around Dangote Cement Factory Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study aims at determining the concentration of heavy metal contaminants in the soil around Dangote cement factory Kogi State, Nigeria. It also seeks to understand the relationship between the heavy metals and the level of concentration with respect to distance and direction as well as the ecological risk it poses. The monitoring and assessment of soil pollution have over the years become a very important area of study due to the significant threat it poses to the food web. A total of 33 soil samples were collected in the Northern, Eastern and Western axis within a radius of 4km of Dangote cement factory at a depth of 0-15cm using a stainless steel auger. The contamination factor indices for Cr and Cu show moderate pollution across all the samples collected from different axis at a different distance from the factory. Zn also pose a moderate pollution across the samples except for WK4 and NK4 where it is in a low level of contamination. The geo-accumulation indices for Pb and Cr show unpolluted to moderately polluted across all samples at different locations expect for sample location EK4. The results of the ecological risk assessment revealed that Cd poses the highest ecological risk of all the five heavy metals investigated.