HEAVY METAL DISTRIBUTION IN SOIL ALONG IWOFE RUMUOLUMENIROAD

The levels of Pb2+, Zn2+, Cd2+ and Cu2+ in soil along Iwofe Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt, Rivers State of Nigeria was determined toassess the impact of automobile emissions on the soil. The soil samples were digested using 10cm3 of 40% hydrofluoric acid and 1cm3of 70% perchloric acid mixture. The soil mean values obtained for Pb2+, Cd2+, Zn2+, and Cu2+ were 1.472 ± 1.314, 0.056 ± 0.003,3.995 ± 1.922, 1.426 ± 1.124 respectively. In this study the following trend of heavy metal contamination was established Zn2+>Pb2+> Cu2+ >Cd2+. For all the samples studied concentrations of the metals were distinctly higher than the control site indicatingenrichment of heavy metal on the soil as a result of automobile emissions on the busy roads. Result in the present study does not indicate any serious pollution compared to WHO permissible limit.