Distribution and Variation of Heavy Metals and Soil Properties around a Mega Cement Factory in Gboko, Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract

Fifteen soil samples were collected from Gboko local government area of Benue state around the Dangote cement factory in Yandev. The samples were obtained at random distances round the factory and were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer(AAS) for Zn, Cu Pb, Cr and Cd. Physicochemical parameters believed to affect the mobility of metals in soil of the study area were examined to include; pH, LOI and CEC. The relatively high concentrations of zinc, copper and lead in the soil samples of the investigated area were related to anthropogenic sources such as cement industry, agriculture activities and traffic emissions. It was found that zinc, copper and lead have the highest level in areas close to the cement factory as seen in sites 1, 2, and 3 while the concentration of cadmium remained low. This study indicates that the metal pollution is caused by perculiar point source within the factory vicinity .Principal component analysis showed that anthropogenic activities seem to be the responsible source of pollution for metals in the soils with the varimax rotation indicating only two important components as Component 1 accounted for 69.14% of the total variance, while having high loadings on the elements Cr, Cd and Pb. ANOVA and pearson’s correlation analysis done at P< 0.05 showed a significance in metal variation among sites with the exception of the non-metallic properties as confirmed by the dendrogram.