Studies on Heavy Metal Accumulation in Plant, Insect and Soil in a Public Dumpsite in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State

Abstract

Studies on heavy metals’ accumulation in plants, insects and soil was carried out in a municipal dumpsite located in Ado-Ekiti. The concentrations of five heavy metals, cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), and copper (Cu) in the samples was evaluated for the bio-assessment of environmental heavy metal pollution. The concentration of heavy metals in the plants, soil and grasshoppers from the waste dumpsite in Ado-Ekiti was found to be proportional in the order Cu > Co > Ni >Pb>Cd. It was noticed that Lead and Cadmium were undetected in all the samples of soil, insect and plant screened hence suggesting no immediate threat of poisoning. However, there were considerable levels of Copper, Nickel and Cobalt in the plants, insects and soil with the soil having the highest amount of cobalt and the grasshopper having high amounts of copper detected. Heavy metal pollution of the environment, even at low levels, and their resultant long-term amassed health effects are among the leading public health concerns all over the world. This study therefore recommends the prevention of any form of farming on dumpsite soils, wastes’ segregation at the point of generation and the use of geo-synthetic clay liners as protectors so as to prevent leachate percolation into underground soils.