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Risk Assessment of Trace Metals in Roadsides Vernonia amygdalina Obtained in Abak, Nigeria

Received: 23 February 2020    Accepted: 4 March 2020    Published: 31 December 2020
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Abstract

Levels of some trace metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Mn) were investigated in roadside soil and the leaves of a common perennial vegetable (Vernonia amygdalina). Soil and vegetable samples were collected from roadsides of three major roads in Abak (Ikot Ekpene road, Ikot Abasi road and Uyo road). The samples were digested using standard methods and analysed using Unicam 939/959 atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results revealed that the levels of all the metals in soil samples were higher than the levels of metals in the corresponding vegetable. The metal levels in both the soil and vegetable samples were in the order: Cu > Zn > Pb > Mn > Cd. Cu, Cd and Pb with the levels of 106.71, 0.25 and 0.54 mg/kg, respectively, in plant samples respectively were higher than the WHO maximum permissible limits of 73.30 mg/kg for Cu; 0.20 mg/kg for Cd and 0.30 mg/kg for Pb. Zn (45.25 mg/kg) and Mn (0.47 mg/kg) were below the maximum permissible limits of 99.40 mg/kg for Zn and 500 mg/kg for Mn. Further analysis of the V. amygdalina pollution status using transfer factor (TF) revealed that Zn had the highest TF value of 0.5 while Cd recorded the lowest of 0.019. The toxic risk (hazard quotient) for adults and children consuming the V. amygdalina leaves showed that Cu was greater than one (1) and other metals were generally low and within safe limits. The Hazard indices were greater than 1 for both adults (1.69E+0) and children (1.94E+0). This implies that the trace metal contamination was capable of posing health hazard to consumers of this plant.

Published in Modern Chemistry (Volume 8, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.mc.20200804.11
Page(s) 48-53
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Risk, Assessment, Trace Metals, Contamination, Vernonia amygdalina, Roadsides

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  • APA Style

    Emmanuel Isaac Uwah, Itohowo Ime Jonathan, Iboroakam Essien Udosen. (2020). Risk Assessment of Trace Metals in Roadsides Vernonia amygdalina Obtained in Abak, Nigeria. Modern Chemistry, 8(4), 48-53. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.mc.20200804.11

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    ACS Style

    Emmanuel Isaac Uwah; Itohowo Ime Jonathan; Iboroakam Essien Udosen. Risk Assessment of Trace Metals in Roadsides Vernonia amygdalina Obtained in Abak, Nigeria. Mod. Chem. 2020, 8(4), 48-53. doi: 10.11648/j.mc.20200804.11

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    AMA Style

    Emmanuel Isaac Uwah, Itohowo Ime Jonathan, Iboroakam Essien Udosen. Risk Assessment of Trace Metals in Roadsides Vernonia amygdalina Obtained in Abak, Nigeria. Mod Chem. 2020;8(4):48-53. doi: 10.11648/j.mc.20200804.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.mc.20200804.11,
      author = {Emmanuel Isaac Uwah and Itohowo Ime Jonathan and Iboroakam Essien Udosen},
      title = {Risk Assessment of Trace Metals in Roadsides Vernonia amygdalina Obtained in Abak, Nigeria},
      journal = {Modern Chemistry},
      volume = {8},
      number = {4},
      pages = {48-53},
      doi = {10.11648/j.mc.20200804.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.mc.20200804.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.mc.20200804.11},
      abstract = {Levels of some trace metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Mn) were investigated in roadside soil and the leaves of a common perennial vegetable (Vernonia amygdalina). Soil and vegetable samples were collected from roadsides of three major roads in Abak (Ikot Ekpene road, Ikot Abasi road and Uyo road). The samples were digested using standard methods and analysed using Unicam 939/959 atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results revealed that the levels of all the metals in soil samples were higher than the levels of metals in the corresponding vegetable. The metal levels in both the soil and vegetable samples were in the order: Cu > Zn > Pb > Mn > Cd. Cu, Cd and Pb with the levels of 106.71, 0.25 and 0.54 mg/kg, respectively, in plant samples respectively were higher than the WHO maximum permissible limits of 73.30 mg/kg for Cu; 0.20 mg/kg for Cd and 0.30 mg/kg for Pb. Zn (45.25 mg/kg) and Mn (0.47 mg/kg) were below the maximum permissible limits of 99.40 mg/kg for Zn and 500 mg/kg for Mn. Further analysis of the V. amygdalina pollution status using transfer factor (TF) revealed that Zn had the highest TF value of 0.5 while Cd recorded the lowest of 0.019. The toxic risk (hazard quotient) for adults and children consuming the V. amygdalina leaves showed that Cu was greater than one (1) and other metals were generally low and within safe limits. The Hazard indices were greater than 1 for both adults (1.69E+0) and children (1.94E+0). This implies that the trace metal contamination was capable of posing health hazard to consumers of this plant.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Risk Assessment of Trace Metals in Roadsides Vernonia amygdalina Obtained in Abak, Nigeria
    AU  - Emmanuel Isaac Uwah
    AU  - Itohowo Ime Jonathan
    AU  - Iboroakam Essien Udosen
    Y1  - 2020/12/31
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.mc.20200804.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.mc.20200804.11
    T2  - Modern Chemistry
    JF  - Modern Chemistry
    JO  - Modern Chemistry
    SP  - 48
    EP  - 53
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2329-180X
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.mc.20200804.11
    AB  - Levels of some trace metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and Mn) were investigated in roadside soil and the leaves of a common perennial vegetable (Vernonia amygdalina). Soil and vegetable samples were collected from roadsides of three major roads in Abak (Ikot Ekpene road, Ikot Abasi road and Uyo road). The samples were digested using standard methods and analysed using Unicam 939/959 atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results revealed that the levels of all the metals in soil samples were higher than the levels of metals in the corresponding vegetable. The metal levels in both the soil and vegetable samples were in the order: Cu > Zn > Pb > Mn > Cd. Cu, Cd and Pb with the levels of 106.71, 0.25 and 0.54 mg/kg, respectively, in plant samples respectively were higher than the WHO maximum permissible limits of 73.30 mg/kg for Cu; 0.20 mg/kg for Cd and 0.30 mg/kg for Pb. Zn (45.25 mg/kg) and Mn (0.47 mg/kg) were below the maximum permissible limits of 99.40 mg/kg for Zn and 500 mg/kg for Mn. Further analysis of the V. amygdalina pollution status using transfer factor (TF) revealed that Zn had the highest TF value of 0.5 while Cd recorded the lowest of 0.019. The toxic risk (hazard quotient) for adults and children consuming the V. amygdalina leaves showed that Cu was greater than one (1) and other metals were generally low and within safe limits. The Hazard indices were greater than 1 for both adults (1.69E+0) and children (1.94E+0). This implies that the trace metal contamination was capable of posing health hazard to consumers of this plant.
    VL  - 8
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Chemistry, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria, International Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability Research (ICEESR), University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria

  • Department of Chemistry, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria

  • Department of Zoology, Akwa Ibom State University, Ikot Akpaden, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

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