EVALUATION OF HEAVY METALS CONTAMINATION IN THE SEDIMENTS OF SOME SELECTED WATER OF SOUTH SENATORIAL DISTRICT OF NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The present study was conducted to evaluate the level of contamination of heavy metals in the sediment samples of some water of south senatorial district of Niger State, Nigeria. Composite surface sediment samples (54) were collected from the fore, middle, and rear parts of the six (6) selected water bodies; digested and analysed for heavy metal concentration following the standard methods. The results obtained illustrated the decreasing concentrations of the heavy metals in the order of Fe (197.9±47.6) > Mn (77.32±15.83) > Zn (15.37±2.65) > Cr (13.04±1.43) > Pb (2.50±0.56) > Cd (0.72±0.1) mg Kg^-1. The overall concentrations of the studied metals were below the continental crust values as well as the sediment quality guidelines utilized in this study. Enrichment Factor (0.51 to 24.97) indicated a no to moderate enrichment for the heavy metals. The contamination factor ranged from 0.22 to 2.61 for the heavy metals. The degree of contamination of the sediment samples revealed a low degree of contamination in the sediment samples for all the sites. The geo-accumulation index illustrated none to moderate pollution (Class 0,3,4) of the sediment samples by the heavy metals. However, a negative moderate relationship existed between redox potential and pH; and between conductivity and chromium showing their dependence on each other. Thus, this study presents an indication of heavy metal contamination process in the selected water bodies and may serves a guide to other studies of metropolitan water bodies in order to determine for suitable remediation procedure.