HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT OF PLANTS GROWING AROUND OBAJANA CEMENT FACTORY, KOGI STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Cement manufacturing is identified as a major source of environmental contamination, primarily due to the atmospheric release of heavy metals, plants growing near cement factories are prone to bioaccumulation, which could lead to ecological and human health risk when such plants are consumed. This study was carried out to determine levels of some heavy metals in plants growing around Obajana cement factory using inductively coupled optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) following standard procedures. Sida acuta and Helianthus annus plants were sampled in this study. The mean concentration of the metals were; 17.82±4.54 (Cu), 48.40±1.81 (Mn), 21.70±7.37 (Ni) and 18.83±3.76 (Pb) mg/kg respectively. The results of the concentration (mg/kg) showed that Ni and Pb exceeded the WHO maximum permissible limit (WHO, 2007) while that of Cu and Mn were below the WHO MPL. Health risk assessment including Hazard quotient (HQ) indicated potential non carcinogenic risk for Adults from Pb while the Cancer risk (CR) revealed cancer risk from Ni for Adults in the study area. These findings highlights the significance of continuous environmental management measures to reduce heavy metal pollution from cement production.