Determination of Some Heavy Metals in Roadside Soils from Some Major Roads in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria

Heavy metal concentration in road side soils with its potential ecological effects draws much attention in the developing countries. This necessitates the study of their accumulation in the road side soils of Maiduguri (longitude 11° 13’ N; latitude 13° 05’ E), to ensure effective protection of soil from the potential loss of its fertility. In this study, roadside soil samples from major roads (Baga road, Bama road, Ngala road and Kano/Jos road) of Maiduguri were collected and determined the levels of heavy metals (As, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cd, and Cu) in the roadside soil using the Perkin-Elmer analyst 300 Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The results showed that in all the sampling locations, Mn, Zn, Fe and Pb have higher concentration of 137.4±0.04 mg/kg, 392.11±0.07 mg/kg, 13491.70±0.07 mg/kg and 928.50±0.04 mg/kg respectively in roadside soil as compared with Cd of concentration ranges from 0 to maximum of 0.87±0.04mg/kg in Ngala road. The concentrations of Pb and Cd in the soil samples were higher than the recommended value of 48 mg/kg and 5.0 mg/kg respectively. The higher concentration of these metals in the roadside soil samples may be attributed to human activities and traffic volume. Therefore, there is need to further study the concentrations of such heavy metals in agricultural soil, plants and vegetables grown in that area, animals that fed on the plants and any other source that directly or indirectly link to the source of food of the populace.