Geochemical Assessment of Soil in Dumpsites Around Tombia-Amassoma Road, Western Niger Delta

Abstract

This research work focuses on determining the urban geochemistry of soil in
dumpsites around Tombia-Amassoma road, western Niger Delta. Nine (9) soil
samples were randomly collected within the dumpsite vicinity and two (2) control
samples were collected from a distance of about 9.0 km from the dumpsite. The
samples were prepared according to standard procedures and analyzed for some
heavy metals (Ag, Zn, Cu, Ni and Fe) using the Atomic Absorption
Spectrophotometer at Analytical Concept Environmental Consultants Laboratory
Ltd, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The geochemical data was subjected to multivariate
statistical analysis and comparisons were made with World Health Organization
standard. The results obtained showed that the mean concentrations of Ag
(0.54mg/kg), Zn (33.89mg/kg), Cu (31.85mg/kg) and Ni (22.80mg/kg) were within
an acceptable limit when compared with WHO standard, while Fe (6329.40mg/kg)
exceeded the limits. Geo-accumulation index and contamination factor revealed
that the soils around the dumpsite were moderately to heavily contaminated with
Fe thereby indicating that the sediment samples are polluted. The study concluded
that the soils around the Tombia-Amassoma dumpsite was contaminated with Fe
and as such should be discouraged in its usage for agricultural related purposes as
these highly toxic trace elements can be absorbed by plants. Therefore, a wellengineered
landfill that incorporates the local geology and the topography of the
area should be designed so as to prevent infiltration of heavy metals into the soil
and shallow groundwater system.