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Vol.2 , No. 4, Publication Date: Jul. 10, 2015, Page: 23-34
 Heavy Metals in Four Edible Vegetables and a Crop using AAS and EDS&description=Port Harcourt and its environs have been heavily impacted by environmental pollution and soil contamination. This study was carried out to investigate the bioavailability of heavy metals in some of the vegetables consumed daily by the indigenes of a village. These vegetables and the crop were digested with oxi-acidic mixture and analyzed with Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The Energy Disperse x-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) was also used for further comparison. For all the samples, concentrations of Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Ni and Cd are highest during the dry spell period (Dec – Feb) for bitter leaf and during the less frequent rainfall (Sept – Nov) these metals, with the exception of Mn, are highest for the other vegetables and the crop. The AAS results show that Co has the highest concentration and is consistently high for all four vegetables followed by Fe while Pb has the least concentrations. The order of concentration is as follows: Co >Fe> Ni >Mn> Zn > Cd > Cu > Cr >Pb, while the trend for most metal concentrations in the samples studied is WL > SL > BL = FP > PF. Other metals and nonmetals detected using EDS are K, Ca, Mg, Al, Si, Mo, Cl, P, S and O in all the vegetable samples. All the above elements were also detected in the soil samples including Ti. Our results have shown the presence of the Heavy metals with some having concentrations above the FAO/WHO acceptable limits.&picture=http://www.aascit.org/aascit/decorators/img/journal/924.jpg)
| [1] | Kalagbor I. A., Department of Science Laboratory Technology, School of Applied Sciences Rivers State Polytechnic, Bori, Rivers State, Nigeria. |
| [2] | Emmanuel S. A., Chemistry Advanced Laboratory, Sheda Science and Technology Complex, Garki, Abuja, Nigeria. |
| [3] | Oyewole D. O., Physics Advanced Laboratory, Sheda Science and Technology Complex, Garki, Abuja, Nigeria. |
Port Harcourt and its environs have been heavily impacted by environmental pollution and soil contamination. This study was carried out to investigate the bioavailability of heavy metals in some of the vegetables consumed daily by the indigenes of a village. These vegetables and the crop were digested with oxi-acidic mixture and analyzed with Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The Energy Disperse x-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) was also used for further comparison. For all the samples, concentrations of Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Ni and Cd are highest during the dry spell period (Dec – Feb) for bitter leaf and during the less frequent rainfall (Sept – Nov) these metals, with the exception of Mn, are highest for the other vegetables and the crop. The AAS results show that Co has the highest concentration and is consistently high for all four vegetables followed by Fe while Pb has the least concentrations. The order of concentration is as follows: Co >Fe> Ni >Mn> Zn > Cd > Cu > Cr >Pb, while the trend for most metal concentrations in the samples studied is WL > SL > BL = FP > PF. Other metals and nonmetals detected using EDS are K, Ca, Mg, Al, Si, Mo, Cl, P, S and O in all the vegetable samples. All the above elements were also detected in the soil samples including Ti. Our results have shown the presence of the Heavy metals with some having concentrations above the FAO/WHO acceptable limits.
Keywords
Three Seasons, Rainfall, AAS, EDS, Atmospheric Pollution
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